22 NFL quarterbacks completed a game with a perfect passer rating from 1999 to 2017. And we’re not talking about wide receivers who throw a single pass that happens to go for a touchdown, or quarterbacks entering a game in garbage time. These 22 quarterbacks threw for a minimum of 15 passes and achieved a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
Ben Roethlisberger joined an elite club with his third perfect performance
Ben Roethlisberger played lights-out in the Steelers’ 52-14 win over the Panthers. In doing so, he joined an elite club of players to finish three games with a perfect passer rating.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
It’s already happened three times in 2018, accounting for 13.6 percent of all such occurrences since Pro Football Reference began tracking that data in 1999. It started in Week 4 with a spectacular Thursday night game from Jared Goff and the Rams against Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. Goff completed 26 of 33 passes for 465 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions in a 33-26 win. Cousins also had a great game, but not a 158.3 passer rating like Goff.
In Week 8, Russell Wilson dazzled in a win against the Lions that saw him complete 14 of 17 passes for 248 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
Most recently, Ben Roethlisberger was nearly flawless in a 52-21 Steelers win over the Panthers in which he completed 22 of 25 passes for 328 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. It was Big Ben’s third game with a perfect passer rating, tying him for the most games with a perfect passer rating since 1999. The other quarterbacks to complete three games with a perfect passer rating are Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning. That’s a pretty elite club for the Steelers quarterback.
Tom Brady is the only other quarterback with more than one game with a perfect rating in his career. He’s had two games with a perfect passer rating, but hasn’t had one since 2007. That same year Roethlisberger had two and Donovan McNabb had his one and only.
Making what Roethlisberger has done even more impressive is that he was just three-tenths of a point shy of of a perfect passer rating in 2004 in a 17-16 win over the Jaguars during his rookie year. He then finally accomplished the feat twice in 2007 before waiting more than 10 years to do it again on Thursday.
Had that 2004 performance been just a tiny bit better, Roethlisberger could be sitting alone as the quarterback with the most perfect passer ratings. Instead, he’s tied with two of the NFL’s best-ever quarterbacks.
NFL perfect passer rating performances
Player | Date | Team | H/A | Opp | Result | Week | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Rate | Sk | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Smith | 2013-12-15 | KAN | @ | OAK | W 56-31 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 85 | 287 | 5 | 0 | 158.3 | 2 | 12 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2007-11-05 | PIT | BAL | W 38-7 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 81.25 | 209 | 5 | 0 | 158.3 | 3 | 22 | |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2018-11-08 | PIT | CAR | W 52-21 | 10 | 22 | 25 | 88 | 328 | 5 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 6 | |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2007-12-20 | PIT | @ | STL | W 41-24 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 80 | 261 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 4 | 34 |
| Donovan McNabb | 2007-09-23 | PHI | DET | W 56-21 | 3 | 21 | 26 | 80.77 | 381 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 5 | |
| Doug Flutie | 2000-12-23 | BUF | @ | SEA | W 42-23 | 17 | 20 | 25 | 80 | 366 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Drew Brees | 2009-11-30 | NOR | NWE | W 38-17 | 12 | 18 | 23 | 78.26 | 371 | 5 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Geno Smith | 2014-12-28 | NYJ | @ | MIA | W 37-24 | 17 | 20 | 25 | 80 | 358 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 6 |
| Jared Goff | 2018-09-27 | LAR | MIN | W 38-31 | 4 | 26 | 33 | 78.79 | 465 | 5 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 9 | |
| Kerry Collins | 2002-12-22 | NYG | @ | IND | W 44-27 | 16 | 23 | 29 | 79.31 | 366 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Kirk Cousins | 2015-11-15 | WAS | NOR | W 47-14 | 10 | 20 | 25 | 80 | 324 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 3 | 23 | |
| Kurt Warner* | 2000-10-01 | STL | SDG | W 57-31 | 5 | 24 | 30 | 80 | 390 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 2 | 14 | |
| Kurt Warner* | 1999-10-03 | STL | @ | CIN | W 38-10 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 80.95 | 310 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 2 | 11 |
| Kurt Warner* | 2008-09-14 | ARI | MIA | W 31-10 | 2 | 19 | 24 | 79.17 | 361 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 2 | 12 | |
| Marcus Mariota | 2015-09-13 | TEN | @ | TAM | W 42-14 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 86.67 | 209 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 2 | 24 |
| Nick Foles | 2013-11-03 | PHI | @ | OAK | W 49-20 | 9 | 22 | 28 | 78.57 | 406 | 7 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 1 |
| Peyton Manning | 2003-09-28 | IND | @ | NOR | W 55-21 | 4 | 20 | 25 | 80 | 314 | 6 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 9 |
| Peyton Manning | 2000-10-22 | IND | NWE | W 30-23 | 8 | 16 | 20 | 80 | 268 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Peyton Manning | 2002-11-10 | IND | @ | PHI | W 35-13 | 10 | 18 | 23 | 78.26 | 319 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Griffin | 2012-11-18 | WAS | PHI | W 31-6 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 93.33 | 200 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 2 | 8 | |
| Russell Wilson | 2018-10-28 | SEA | @ | DET | W 28-14 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 82.35 | 248 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 2 | 11 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 2015-10-25 | MIA | HOU | W 44-26 | 7 | 18 | 19 | 94.74 | 282 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 4 | 41 | |
| Tom Brady | 2007-10-21 | NWE | @ | MIA | W 49-28 | 7 | 21 | 25 | 84 | 354 | 6 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 10 |
| Tom Brady | 2010-11-25 | NWE | @ | DET | W 45-24 | 12 | 21 | 27 | 77.78 | 341 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 1 | 3 |
| Trent Green | 2003-12-14 | KAN | DET | W 45-17 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 80 | 341 | 3 | 0 | 158.3 | 0 | 0 |
This season we’ve seen quarterbacks playing lights out week after week. In addition to Roethlisberger, three other quarterbacks recorded a passer rating of at least 145 (minimum 20 attempts) in Week 10.
Browns QB Baker Mayfield: 151.2
Saints QB Drew Brees: 150.4
Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky: 148.6
Four quarterbacks with a 145+ passer rating (minimum 20 attempts) is the most in a single week in NFL history, surpassing the previous high of three. That has occurred four different times, most recently in Week 3 of the 2017 season.
This season, there have been 13 games featuring a quarterback with a passer rating of 145+ (minimum 20 attempts). Trubisky and Brees have done it twice, and in addition to the previously-mentioned names, Ryan Tannehill, Matt Ryan, Nick Mullens, Patrick Mahomes, and Ryan Fitzpatrick are part of the club, too.
Of the 28 quarterbacks who started in Week 10 (67.9 percent), 19 of them recorded a passer rating of 100+ (minimum 15 attempts), the most in a single week in NFL history. That surpassed the previous high of 17, which was set in Week 2 this year.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, it’s fair to expect more quarterbacks to dominate and for NFL record books to continue to change. In Week 11, two of the NFL’s top three offenses face off as the Chiefs head to Los Angeles (not Mexico City) to take on the Rams.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (3,150 passing yards, 117.4 passer rating) and Rams quarterback Jared Goff (3,134 passing yards, 113.0 passer rating) rank first and second, respectively in the NFL in passing yards. They’re two of only eight quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 3,000 passing yards and a 110+ passer rating in their team’s first 10 games of a season. Each of the previous six quarterbacks to accomplish that feat captured MVP honors in their respective seasons. But there can’t be two MVPs. Expect a lot of points and an exciting Monday Night Football game.
After his incredible performance last week, Roethlisberger is set to take on a Jaguars team that ranks first in the league in passing yards per game, allowing an average of just 200.6 passing yards each week. It should be interesting to see how he follows up such a strong performance against not only a good defense, but the team that knocked the Steelers out of the playoffs last season.
As Roethlisberger’s NFL career winds down, he still has opportunities to become the league’s first quarterback with four perfect passer rating games.
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