NFL Week 16 is set to kickoff soon, and the passing attack is in full swing for a lot of teams. Here are the top five passing leaders going into Week 16.
Advertisement
Passing Yards Leaders after Week 15! 🏈 (by @Bridgestone) pic.twitter.com/9BPFZkOPY5
— NFL (@NFL) December 22, 2020
#1. Patrick Mahomes: Kansas City Chiefs, 4.462 Yards
The MVP frontrunner has passed his way into making the Chiefs Super Bowl favorites once more. Mahomes is the leading passer in the league going into NFL Week 16, and his team’s record reflects that as they sit atop the AFC with a record of 13-1.
Mahomes holds a 36-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio and is second in the league with a quarterback rating of 83.4. Further, Mahomes is also tied second in the league with a 110.6 passer rating and is second with 8.3 yards per attempt.
Not only, is Mahomes passing well, but he’s also delivering throws that pick up huge yardage. Mahomes also finished with the most Pro Bowl votes, and it’s becoming easy to see why.
With a couple games left in the season, Mahomes could potentially reach the 5k mark for the second time in his three years as a starter. He’s already bordering on legendary status.
The Chiefs have now faced a top-five defense on nine occasions with Patrick Mahomes as their starter, per @EliasSports.
In those games, they are 9-0 and averaging 29.0 points per game. Pretty decent.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 21, 2020
Not even a good defense can slow him down apparently.
Also Read : Nike NFL Uniforms & NFL Merchandise. Where to buy and who has the best kits?
#2. Deshaun Watson: Houston Texans, 4,134 Yards
If you go just by the numbers, it looks like Watson is having himself an MVP caliber season as we go into NFL Week 16. However, football is a team sport, and despite Watson’s heroics the Texans sit a measly 4-10.
Watson’s numbers are either right on par with Mahomes or even better in certain cases. Watson leads the league with 8.8 yards per attempt and is tied with Mahomes for second with a 110.6 passer rating.
Certainly, Watson’s play is not the reason the Texans are losing. Watson is averaging a career high 293.5 yard per game and has already broken his career high of 26 touchdowns with 27 on the year.
He has only six interceptions to his name too. Watson was voted to the Pro Bowl once more, making it three in a row for him as his sensational young career develops.
It remains up to the Houston organization to find a way to appropriately build around him now so his phenomenal stats aren’t wasted again.
Adding to the list, Watson has also been one of the most accurate quarterbacks this year, as his 69.9 completion percentage is third in the league behind Drew Brees and Russell Wilson.
Deshaun Watson is on pace for 4,700+ passing yards, has 27 passing touchdowns to only 6 interceptions, is completing 70% of his passes, also has 3 rushing touchdowns and 400 rushing yards…
And Texans are still 4-10.
— Eric (@PointGods) December 20, 2020
Also read: NFL Pro Bowl Snubs : 2021 NFL Pro Bowl Roster Most Surprising Snubs
#3. Matt Ryan: Atlanta Falcons, 4016 Yards
Ryan is in a similar situation to Watson. His individual success hasn’t translated to the team, and as a result the Falcons are also 4-10.
Ryan is having a slight down year compared to his usual style of play, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been absolutely dealing it this season.
Ryan has thrown for 22 touchdowns on the year along with 11 interceptions. His QBR and passer rating are nothing note-worthy, but Ryan continues to provide consistency for this Atlanta team.
There are going to be questions moving forward about Ryan’s future with the Falcons as they haven’t been impressive since their Super Bowl run, but he has proven to be a quality starter in the league.
Matt Ryan (343) has surpassed Fran Tarkenton (342) for the 10th-most passing touchdowns in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/72iEA8KdLh
— Kevin Keneely (@KevinKeneely1) December 20, 2020
#4. Josh Allen: Buffalo Bills, 4,000 Yards
Allen is probably the third best quarterback in the league right. Or, at least, he has the case for it. His stats have drastically improved from last year, and he has guided the Bills right to the second seed in the AFC.
Allen has a whopping 30 passing touchdowns this season to just nine interceptions. The addition of Stefon Diggs has given Allen a reliable WR1, and he is taking complete advantage of it.
Allen is already having a career year. He’s averaging career highs in completion percentage, yards per game, QBR, and passer rating.
It appears the Bills have found their franchise quarterback.
359 passing yards and 4 total touchdowns.@JoshAllenQB is your AFC Offensive Player of the Week (again): https://t.co/Mv1VWdCd6m pic.twitter.com/kniXkTN85e
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 23, 2020
#5. Tom Brady: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3,886 Yards
Brady and the Bucs have had a roller coaster of a season. At times, Brady again looks like one of the most dominant quarterbacks in the league as the Bucs offense rolls to victories while other times they seem just average.
This inconsistent style of play means that this Tampa Bay team is a complete wild card when it comes to the playoffs. However, we can’t ignore the season Brady has had.
Brady is having an absolutely stunning season. He’s on pace to throw for the most yards in his career since 2017, and he’s also already thrown 32 touchdowns, the most since 2015.
The only knock on Brady’s game has been his difficulties with the deep ball and his turnover problems. Brady has thrown 11 picks this year after throwing just 8 all of last season.
Brady’s 32 touchdowns are fourth in the league, and considering the fact that he’s 43 years old, that’s insanely impressive. Who knows if Father Time will ever catch up to Brady.
The 300-game milestone does mean something to Tom Brady because it’s a good representation of how much of his life he’s poured into the game of football. https://t.co/XtaY0MXOoh
— Scott Smith (@ScottSBucs) December 23, 2020
Also read: Joe Montana would rank almost last in 2020 NFL quarterback stats