Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen?

It’s a question that has been on the mind of Los Angeles, NFL scouts, media and fans for two seasons now. And on Saturday, the two signal callers will lead their respective teams against each other for the first time in their careers.

The two will forever be linked, two of the nation's top QBs separated by less than 15 miles; one an under-recruited gem and the other a phenom. The question will continue at the next level, the pair projected to be the top QBs taken in 2018 should both decide to leave early.



Last season it was impossible to get a side-by-side comparison of the two, what with Darnold leading a nine-game win streak while Rosen played just six games, his season cut short with shoulder surgery.

This year both have played full seasons (Rosen has missed one game with a concussion) but with two different paths for their respective teams.

Saturday's results on the field could give us clarity for the question, but until then, here is a comparison between Darnold and Rosen’s 2017 seasons with the help of some “signature stats” from the PFF vault:

The Basics

Darnold Rosen

3,198 yards (2) 3,132 yards (3)

8.28 YPA (1) 8.20 YPA (2)

24 TDs (2) 21 TDs (3)

11 INTs (1) 9 INTs (4)

97.8 NFL Rating (2) 96.7 NFL Rating (4)

63% completion (5) 62.3% completion (6)

87.78 PFF Rating (4) 91.26 PFF Rating (2)

17 Dropped Passes 28 Dropped Passes

2 Batted Passes 5 Batted Passes

(#) ranking among Pac-12 QBs

Deep Ball*

Darnold Rosen

766 yards 621 yards

10 TDs (1) 8 TDs (2)

4 Dropped Passes 1 Dropped Pass

4 INTs 2 INTs

20.2% of Attempts 11.8% of Attempts

37.2% Completion 40% Completion

*PFF defines a deep ball as an attempt 20 yards or more down the field

Under Pressure

Darnold Rosen

107 Dropbacks UP 126 Dropbacks UP

642 yards 700 yards

6 TDs 3 TDs

5 INTs 2 INTs

59.2 Completion % 67.1 Completion % (1)

25.2 Pressure % 30.7 Pressure %

16.8 Sack % 15.1 Sack %

Note: Last season Darnold had a sack percentage of just 7.1 percent, No.1 in the nation. Only six QBs posted sack percentages in single digits, Darnold the only one to break 8.5 percent. He only faced 84 dropbacks under pressure, tied for No. 8.

No Pressure

Darnold Rosen

2,556 yards 2,432 yards

18 TDs 18 TDs

6 INTs 7 INTs

74.8 % w/ NP (1) 69.3 % w/ NP

67 Completion % 66.9 Completion %

15 Drops 21 Drops

Note: One interesting note is that Darnold is very good when he's forced to make a quick throw. When he makes a throw at 2.5 seconds or less, he's completing 71.1 percent of his passes (Rosen is at 68.0 percent). When he has 2.6 seconds or more his percentage drops to 47.7 percent (Rosen at 54.6 percent). But among Pac-12 QBs with at least 300 pass attempts, he's only held the ball for 2.6 seconds or more on 37.6 percent of his drop backs, last among the conference.

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