What is the maximum NFL passer rating?

The maximum possible NFL passer rating is 158.3, often called a perfect passer rating. It happens when all four components hit their cap of 2.375, which requires a high completion percentage, high yards per attempt, frequent touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

How is the NFL passer rating formula structured?

The formula has four components: a = (completions/attempts - 0.3) x 5, b = (yards/attempts - 3) x 0.25, c = (TDs/attempts) x 20, and d = 2.375 - (INTs/attempts x 25). Each is clamped to the 0-2.375 range. The rating equals (a + b + c + d) / 6 x 100.

Why are the components capped at 2.375?

The NFL caps each component at 2.375 and floors it at 0 to keep the rating within a sensible 0-158.3 band. Without the caps, an extreme single stat (like 100% completions) could distort the rating beyond the intended scale.

Does passer rating include rushing or sacks?

No. The traditional NFL passer rating only uses passing statistics: completions, attempts, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. Rushing yards, rushing TDs, and sacks are not part of this formula. The newer Total QBR metric does factor those in.

What is considered a good passer rating?

Anything above 100 is generally considered very good, and elite quarterbacks often post season ratings between 100 and 120. A rating around 90 is solid, the league average tends to sit near 85-90, and ratings below 70 indicate a struggling passing performance.

NFL Passer Rating Calculator

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NFL Passer Rating Calculator

The NFL passer rating is a single number that summarises a quarterback’s passing efficiency using just five box-score stats. This calculator implements the exact official formula the NFL has used since 1973, computing each of the four weighted components and combining them into a final rating between 0 and 158.3.

How it works

The rating is built from four components, each measuring a different aspect of passing efficiency, where ATT is attempts:

a = ((Completions / ATT) - 0.3) * 5
b = ((Yards / ATT) - 3) * 0.25
c = (Touchdowns / ATT) * 20
d = 2.375 - ((Interceptions / ATT) * 25)

Each of a, b, c, and d is clamped so it cannot fall below 0 or rise above 2.375. The four clamped values are then summed and scaled:

Passer Rating = ((a + b + c + d) / 6) * 100

Because each component maxes out at 2.375, the sum maxes at 9.5, and (9.5 / 6) * 100 = 158.33, which is why a perfect game caps at 158.3.

Example and notes

For a line of 25 completions on 35 attempts, 310 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT: completion rate is 0.714 so a = (0.714 - 0.3) * 5 = 2.071; yards/attempt is 8.857 so b = (8.857 - 3) * 0.25 = 1.464; TD rate gives c = (3/35) * 20 = 1.714; INT rate gives d = 2.375 - (1/35 * 25) = 1.661. Summing and scaling produces a rating near 114.6.

Tips: passer rating rewards avoiding interceptions heavily, since the d component starts at its maximum and only decreases. The metric ignores rushing, sacks, and game context, so pair it with Total QBR or EPA for a fuller picture of quarterback play.