:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65611966/usa_today_13580505.0.jpg)
In the NFL being able to pressure the opposing QB with only three or four pass rushers is essential to stopping opposing offenses. The flip-side of that is that some QB’s are just better against the blitz than others. So far this year, by passer rating, Matt Stafford has been the best QB in the league vs the blitz (five or more pass rushers) with a passer rating of 128.3. Conversely, Sam Darnold has been the worst with a passer rating of 30.6. Joe Flacco is currently ranked 27th in the league vs the blitz with a rating of 74.9.
See the full table below. All data is from ESPN.com via Elias Sports Bureau.
| Rank | Quarterback | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | AVG | TD | INT | LNG | SACK | RTG |
| 1 | Matthew Stafford DET | 53 | 78 | 743 | 67.9 | 9.5 | 7 | 0 | 58 | 6 | 128.3 |
| 2 | Aaron Rodgers GB | 43 | 66 | 686 | 65.2 | 10.4 | 5 | 0 | 74 | 8 | 124.9 |
| 3 | Kirk Cousins MIN | 37 | 53 | 492 | 69.8 | 9.3 | 4 | 0 | 66 | 7 | 124.1 |
| 4 | Philip Rivers LAC | 35 | 52 | 476 | 67.3 | 9.2 | 5 | 1 | 55 | 3 | 120.4 |
| 5 | Teddy Bridgewater NO | 25 | 42 | 359 | 59.5 | 8.5 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 119.1 |
| 6 | Marcus Mariota TEN | 28 | 53 | 541 | 52.8 | 10.2 | 6 | 1 | 75 | 8 | 118.5 |
| 7 | Russell Wilson SEA | 56 | 86 | 731 | 65.1 | 8.5 | 8 | 1 | 48 | 10 | 117.9 |
| 8 | Patrick Mahomes KC | 37 | 56 | 483 | 66.1 | 8.6 | 4 | 0 | 52 | 3 | 116.9 |
| 9 | Carson Wentz PHI | 47 | 66 | 530 | 71.2 | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 108.8 |
| 10 | Matt Ryan ATL | 49 | 72 | 602 | 68.1 | 8.4 | 7 | 3 | 54 | 8 | 108.7 |
| 11 | Dak Prescott DAL | 40 | 57 | 502 | 70.2 | 8.8 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 0 | 107.5 |
| 12 | Kyle Allen CAR | 32 | 51 | 326 | 62.7 | 6.4 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 107.1 |
| 13 | Derek Carr OAK | 34 | 47 | 433 | 72.3 | 9.2 | 2 | 1 | 46 | 3 | 106.1 |
| 14 | Jacoby Brissett IND | 35 | 60 | 477 | 58.3 | 7.9 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 3 | 106.0 |
| 15 | Mason Rudolph PIT | 18 | 42 | 368 | 42.9 | 8.8 | 5 | 1 | 76 | 2 | 104.0 |
| 16 | Lamar Jackson BAL | 38 | 69 | 466 | 55.1 | 6.8 | 7 | 1 | 50 | 9 | 103.9 |
| 17 | Deshaun Watson HOU | 54 | 77 | 601 | 70.1 | 7.8 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 10 | 100.6 |
| 18 | Tom Brady NE | 50 | 88 | 765 | 56.8 | 8.7 | 5 | 1 | 59 | 2 | 99.9 |
| 19 | Jameis Winston TB | 39 | 66 | 610 | 59.1 | 9.2 | 7 | 4 | 67 | 7 | 99.9 |
| 20 | Gardner Minshew II JAX | 42 | 83 | 712 | 50.6 | 8.6 | 4 | 0 | 69 | 6 | 96.1 |
| 21 | Case Keenum WSH | 27 | 41 | 330 | 65.9 | 8.0 | 2 | 2 | 69 | 3 | 86.4 |
| 22 | Jared Goff LAR | 47 | 93 | 657 | 50.5 | 7.1 | 3 | 0 | 66 | 1 | 84.4 |
| 23 | Baker Mayfield CLE | 31 | 58 | 480 | 53.4 | 8.3 | 1 | 1 | 59 | 7 | 79.7 |
| 24 | Mitchell Trubisky CHI | 27 | 51 | 245 | 52.9 | 4.8 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 5 | 79.3 |
| 25 | Ryan Fitzpatrick MIA | 15 | 25 | 176 | 60.0 | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 4 | 78.1 |
| 26 | Andy Dalton CIN | 50 | 100 | 579 | 50.0 | 5.8 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 4 | 77.0 |
| 27 | Joe Flacco DEN | 38 | 65 | 396 | 58.5 | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 5 | 74.9 |
| 28 | Daniel Jones NYG | 34 | 63 | 374 | 54.0 | 5.9 | 1 | 2 | 64 | 6 | 63.9 |
| 29 | Jimmy Garoppolo SF | 38 | 64 | 423 | 59.4 | 6.6 | 2 | 4 | 39 | 6 | 63.5 |
| 30 | Josh Allen BUF | 34 | 61 | 356 | 55.7 | 5.8 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 6 | 61.9 |
| 31 | Kyler Murray ARI | 33 | 66 | 376 | 50.0 | 5.7 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 12 | 48.5 |
| 32 | Josh Rosen MIA | 11 | 26 | 86 | 42.3 | 3.3 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 35.1 |
| 33 | Sam Darnold NYJ | 25 | 47 | 188 | 53.2 | 4.0 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 7 | 30.6 |
We should not be surprised by Flacco’s rating. He has been fairly bad against the blitz since his first few years in the league. You can see his year-by-year performance in this table.
The data was missing for 2011, 2017 and 2018 (no idea why). Flacco missed the entire 2016 season with an ACL tear.
| Year | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | AVG | TD | INT | LNG | SACK | RTG |
| 2008 | 80 | 134 | 1,123 | 59.7 | 8.4 | 9 | 1 | 70 | 14 | 106.0 |
| 2009 | 100 | 163 | 1,241 | 61.3 | 7.6 | 11 | 2 | 72 | 17 | 102.3 |
| 2010 | 106 | 184 | 1,343 | 57.6 | 7.3 | 8 | 3 | 61 | 23 | 88.2 |
| 2011 | ||||||||||
| 2012 | 82 | 162 | 1,160 | 50.6 | 7.2 | 8 | 3 | 47 | 14 | 82.8 |
| 2013 | 101 | 191 | 1,074 | 52.9 | 5.6 | 9 | 5 | 59 | 28 | 74.4 |
| 2014 | 105 | 186 | 1,329 | 56.5 | 7.1 | 13 | 7 | 61 | 7 | 86.5 |
| 2015 | 67 | 124 | 749 | 54.0 | 6.0 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 10 | 68.9 |
| 2016 | ||||||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||
| 2019 | 38 | 65 | 396 | 58.5 | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 5 | 74.9 |
I don’t know that Brandon Allen or Drew Lock is going to be an improvement. You can see from the full table of 2019 QB’s that many rookie and/or second year QB’s are struggling against the blitz. I do know that both Brandon Allen and Drew Lock could beat a turtle in a foot race, so they will at least be a threat to scramble on plays where the OL allows immediate pressure (and there will be many of those with our starting OT’s).
The performance of Kyle Allen should give us some hope. Despite being an undrafted rookie thrust into a starting role, Allen has handled the blitz fairly well so far this season.