Over the last 2 seasons, it has seemed like Quarterback play around the NFL has been declining on average for the first time since I have been watching in the late 2000s. This isn’t to say that there aren’t any great QBs in the league, but I feel like just from the eye test, I can’t remember watching so much incompetent QB play. The numbers on league average back it up as well as I’ve compared 2022 and 2023 (Thru Week 10) to the 4 years prior.
2018: 237.8 Yd 1.7 TD 0.8 Int 92.9 Pass Rtg 6.3 ANY/A
2019: 235.0 Yd 1.6 TD 0.8 Int 90.4 Pass Rtg 6.2 ANY/A
2020: 240.2 Yd 1.7 TD 0.8 Int 93.6 Pass Rtg 6.4 ANY/A
2021: 228.3 Yd 1.5 TD 0.8 Int 90.8 Pass Rtg 6.1 ANY/A
2022: 218.5 Yd 1.4 TD 0.8 Int 89.1 Pass Rtg 5.9 ANY/A
2023: 221.0 Yd 1.4 TD 0.8 Int 88.8 Pass Rtg 5.8 ANY/A
It’s just fascinating to me because I feel like the rules have never made it easier to be a QB than now.
I’m interested to hear firstly do people agree with this? And secondly what are the biggest reasons for this decline?
Am I reading too much into a small sample size and it’s an anomaly or is there more to it?
It’s the stupid emphasis on eliminating blindside hits to the defense. The only defense to the athleticism of the NFL defenders is to make them have to look around and not just flow to the football without a care in the world.