The Read Optional Passing Indexes — Week 6

The Read Optional ROPE (Offense) and ROPED (Defense) Indexes are our in-house statistical passing efficiency metrics, analyzing the performance of the NFL quarterbacks. Based loosely on the passer rating formula, I have taken it further by analyzing data that looks at receiving, blocking and pass rushing to give a more rounded view of the passing offense. In total there are six metrics that are measured to give a ROPE/ROPED Index score; completion percentage, yards per attempt, yards per completion, touchdown percentage, interception percentage and adjusted sack rate. For a full breakdown of the way the ROPE and ROPED Indexes are put together, including the thresholds for achieving a ‘perfect’ game, you can find my original posts explaining them here (ROPE)and here (ROPED).

ROPE Index — Week 6

If we thought last week was a tough week for quarterbacks, it got worse this week. The average ROPE Index rating in week 6 was just 44.6%, down 4% on week 5 and the season average has dropped to 49.2%. Last year through 6 weeks, the average rating was 53.1% and you have to go back to 2013 to find a season where the quarterbacks were below a 50% rating through the first 6 weeks (also 49.2%).

The week 6 ROPE Index leader is Carson Palmer, who rolled back the years and posted his highest rating since 2015 with a 78.8% rating as the Cardinals beat the Buccaneers. It was only the 5th time in his career that Palmer has completed over 80% of his passes in a game and the first time he’s achieved it since 2013. Palmer led the league in week 6 in completion percentage, yards per attempt, yards per completion and touchdown percentage.

Kirk Cousins continues his stellar start to 2017, finishing tied for second in week 6 with a rating of 71.2%. He tied with Marcus Mariota who posted his highest rating of 2017 in the win over the Colts and showed his ability to play from within the pocket as he recovers from the hamstring injury that kept him out of last week.

Ben Roethlisberger posted his highest rating of the season with 68.2% as he led the Steelers to victory over the previously unbeaten Chiefs. Somewhat fortunate to not be picked off in the 4th quarter, an errant pass to Antonio Brown bounced off the Chiefs’ defensive back’s helmet and into Browns arms, which he then took 51 yards for the touchdown which ultimately won the game for the Steelers.

Ryan Fitzpatrick showed why he is one of the top backups in the league, if not a reliable starter, as he stepped in when Jameis Winston got hurt and was not afraid to throw the ball downfield as he led a comeback that fell just short. His 66.7% rating is the third highest rating by a backup quarterback in 2017.

Five players posted a rating below 20% this week, including Cam Newton who had finished as the top rated passer in each of the last two weeks and then proceeded to put up his worst ever ROPE Index rating with a 15.2% effort against the Eagles. Not since week 16 of the 2013 season have there been five or more passers with a 20% or lower rating in a single week.

Brian Hoyer was benched for the 49ers as he went 4 of 11 for just 34 yards and was replaced in the second quarter by CJ Beathard, the 4th rookie to play this season. Beathard did not disgrace himself as he posted a 40.9% rating, throwing his first touchdown pass in the narrow defeat to the Redskins.

Kevin Hogan had a shocker as he replaced DeShone Kizer for the Browns this week, posting the joint lowest rating of the week of 10.6%, tied with Brett Hundley. The Hogan experiment is over already as Kizer has been renamed the starter for the visit of the Titans in week 7.

Finally we couldn’t not mention the injury to Aaron Rodgers, who is almost certainly on course to miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken collarbone against the Vikings. Brett Hundley came in for his first meaningful snaps in three years at the Packers and understandably struggled against a fierce Vikings defense. Hundley gets a pass this week and it will be interesting to see how he fares in his first full start in week 7 against the Saints.

ROPE Index — Season to Date (min 100 pass attempts)

Ales Smith stays on top of the season-long rankings, despite posting his worst ROPE Index rating of the season against the Steelers. Smith still leads the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt, and is the only quarterback in the league with at least 15 pass attempts who is yet to throw an interception in 2017.

Kirk Cousins jumped ahead of Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Jared Goff this week and is up to second place in the rankings as he continues a career start to 2017. His previous best rating through the first 6 games of the season was the 58.2% he started the 2014 season with.

Cam Newton’s worst ever single game rating in the loss to the Eagles sees him drop 10 places this week from 7th to 17th.

Joe Flacco, who had such a strong week 5 performance against the Raiders, sits as the joint 30th of 32 quarterbacks as he posted an 18.2% rating in week 6 against the Bears. His 35.4% rating through 6 weeks is his worst since his rookie season in 2008 (33.9%)

ROPED Index — Season to date

The Jaguars sit atop the pass defense rankings for the third consecutive week as they held the Rams to just 124 passing yards in week 6, with a top 7 rating of 63.6%. After the five interceptions of week 5, they didn’t manage to intercept Jared Goff this week, though they still lead the league in interceptions with 10 for the season. The Steelers remain in second place despite one of their lowest ratings of 2017 of 56.1% against the Chiefs. They remain just ahead of the Bengals who had a bye this week and the two now meet in week 7 in Pittsburgh.

The best ROPED Index rating of week 6 was held jointly by the Texans and Vikings, who both held their opponents to under 200 yards passing and had three interceptions and four sacks each. The lowest rating in week 6 came came from the Buccaneers, who drop to 31st in the overall standing for their pass defense. They are only slightly ahead of the Patriots who remain in last place as they allowed their sixth consecutive 300 yard passer and are the first team to concede over 2,000 passing yards this season.

I’ll be back next week with the updated week 7 rankings. You can find me on Twitter @PaddiCooper or @ReadOptional.