by Vince Verhei

Congratulations to Peyton Manning, who has set the record for touchdown passes in a season for the second time in his career. Manning tops our quarterback tables for the seventh time this season, but it was a lousy week for most other passers across the NFL. Take Tennessee's Ryan Fitzpatrick. Facing the Jacksonville Jaguars and their 30th-ranked pass defense, Fitzpatrick threw one interception and was sacked three times, while converting only three of 12 plays on third or fourth down. It was a lousy game against a lousy team, and it deservedly finished below replacement level in our DYAR rankings. Through the end of Sunday night, it was also one of the ten best games of the week.

December 22, 2013, was a horrible day for quarterbacks across the league. Thirty quarterbacks finished with enough plays to qualify for our tables, and a whopping 21 of them (70 percent!) finished below replacement level. The collection of below-replacement-level quarterbacks included four Super Bowl champions with six rings between them. It also featured 11 former first-round draftees, five of them taken with the very first pick in the draft. Three of those quarterbacks were rookies, but nine of them have played at least 10 seasons in the NFL.

Through the first 15 weeks of the season, we averaged 11.9 negative-DYAR quarterbacks per week, including 16 in Week 14, which had been the worst week for quarterbacks this season until now. We might expect to see more bad quarterbacks late in the year, because the bye weeks are over and we're seeing more quarterbacks, period. On the other hand, there were only seven such passers in Week 15.

There are other reasons to expect a greater number of bad passers late in the year. Harsh December weather could dampen passing numbers, and injuries could take Pro Bowlers out of the lineup and replace them with street free agents. (Green Bay, hello!) Regardless, this is a lot of bad quarterbacks in one week, even in December. We've been running Quick Reads on this site since 2009, and we've never had more than 17 negative-DYAR quarterbacks in any December week before.

Breaking down basic passing numbers by week shows that a league-wide decline late in the season is barely perceptible, if it even exists at all. No, we can't blame this on any calendar-based trend. Instead, it simply appears that this Sunday, nearly every quarterback in the league happened to suck very badly, all at the same time.

NFL Basic Passing Stats by Week, 2009-2013 Weeks Comp% Yd/Pass TD% INT% Sack% Weeks 1-4 61.6% 6.74 4.3% 2.8% 6.2% Weeks 5-8 60.5% 6.58 4.2% 2.9% 6.6% Weeks 9-12 61.2% 6.72 4.4% 2.8% 6.1% Weeks 13-17 59.9% 6.55 4.3% 3.0% 6.4%

Not surprisingly, it was a pretty rough week for receivers too. Nate Washington's league-best 49 DYAR wouldn't have been better than third in any other week. Only nine receivers this week accumulated 30 DYAR. In some weeks this season, 30 DYAR wouldn't have been enough to qualify for the top 20 receivers. Oh, there were some productive receivers this week, but by and large they weren't terribly efficient. Washington's Pierre Garcon, Tampa Bay's Vincent Jackson, and Denver's Eric Decker and Julius Thomas averaged 8.8 catches for 132.8 yards between them, but they had a cumulative catch rate of 57 percent. As such, the leaderboard is dominated by players who made the most of limited opportunities. After Washington, the next five receivers (including sixth-place Riley Cooper of the Eagles) averaged only 4.8 targets apiece. As a group, though, their catch rate hit 88 percent, and they averaged 12.0 yards per target. (NOTE: Obviously, this paragraph was written prior to Roddy White's big game on Monday night.)

RUSHING DYAR LEADERS: By rushing data alone, the top five running backs this week were LeSean McCoy, PHI (65 DYAR); Jamaal Charles, KC (52); Fred Jackson, BUF (42); Eddie Lacy, GB (35); and Edwin Baker, CLE (35). New England's LeGarrette Blount (34) and Philadelphia's Bryce Brown (32) were right behind. It is kind of funny that I started listing these leaders separately because the running back tables were usually dominated by players with high receiving totals, and since then the runners have usually been the names at the top of the list anyway.

If there's a surprising name missing from that list, it's Pittsburgh's Le'veon Bell, who gained 124 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers' win over Green Bay. Bell averaged 4.8 yards per carry and gained seven first downs on the day, so it's not as if his totals were skewed by one or two long runs. Ten of his carries, though, gained 2 yards or less, and he also had a fumble on first-and-10 at the Pittsburgh 2-yard line. The Steelers also threw him two passes. Two were incomplete, and the third was a 5-yard gain on third-and-8. That all adds up to 3 DYAR rushing, -14 receiving, and -11 total.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Peyton Manning DEN 32/51 400 4 0 192 192 0 From FO head honcho Aaron Schatz: "Manning now has the fifth best season all-time with 2,245 DYAR. He won't get to No. 1 (Brady in 2007, 2,674 DYAR) and probably won't get to his own best season (2004, 2,434 DYAR). His current 40.4% DVOA isn't even in the all-time top 10 with a minimum of 400 passes, although it would make the all-time top 10 with a minimum of 500 passes. Why do our stats not register this as Manning's best season ever, despite the touchdown record? Denver's schedule this year just comes out as way too easy. Kansas City (7) and the New York Giants (10) are the only defenses that Denver played which rank in the top ten in defensive DVOA against the pass. San Diego is 31st, Oakland is 27th, and the other three NFC East teams that Denver played all rank between 22nd and 29th. When Manning had the highest passing DVOA ever with 58.9% DVOA in 2004, he played a roughly average schedule. (We're talking here about opposing pass defenses, not opposing teams as a whole.) Manning's 2000, 2003, and 2006 seasons, all currently in the all-time DYAR top dozen, came against harder schedules. Tom Brady's record-setting DYAR in 2007 gets a boost of more than 200 DYAR because the Patriots played a surprisingly difficult schedule of defenses that year. In fact, all five Tom Brady seasons currently in the all-time DYAR top ten came against schedules of above-average difficulty."





Against Houston, Manning struggled after the break. On Denver's first three drives of the second half, each one a three-and-out, he went 1-of-7 for 4 yards with a sack. At that point, Denver was only ahead 16-13. On their next four drives, he went 8-of-12 for 100 yards with three touchdowns and three other first downs, plus a 27-yard DPI, to put the game away. 2. Andy Dalton CIN 27/38 366 4 0 192 190 2 Speaking of quarterbacks who caught fire in the second half. After halftime, Dalton went 13-of-14 for 186 yards with two touchdowns and eight other first downs, plus two sacks. 3. Nick Foles PHI 21/25 230 2 0 143 140 3 Foles only have five third-down passes all game, and only one after halftime. On third downs, he went 4-of-5 for 41 yards with two touchdowns and two other first downs. His only failed third-down play came with 14 yards to go for a first down. 4. Matt Ryan ATL 37/48 348 2 2 137 137 0 5. Geno Smith NYJ 20/36 214 2 0 94 83 11 To his right: 6-of-16 for 61 yards and three first downs. To his left: 6-of-11 for 67 yards with a touchdown and four other first downs. Up the middle: 8-of-9 for 86 yards with a touchdown and other five other first downs. 6. Andrew Luck IND 26/37 241 1 0 80 78 2 On Kansas City's half of the field, Luck went 12-of-20 for 102 yards. Aside from his 33-yard touchdown, though, he had only two other first downs, and he was also sacked once. Inside the 20, he went 0-for-4. 7. Tom Brady NE 14/26 172 1 0 64 64 0 Brady threw five passes to the deep middle of the field. The first was incomplete. The second resulted in a 34-yard DPI. The last three were all caught for gains of 17, 19, and 21 yards. 8. Colin Kaepernick SF 13/21 197 1 0 49 23 26 9. Tony Romo DAL 17/27 226 2 1 47 47 0 On third and fourth downs, Romo went 7-of-9 for 78 yards with two touchdowns and four other first downs. He was also sacked twice. 10. Kellen Clemens STL 16/20 158 0 0 27 60 -32 Inside the Tampa Bay 40, Clemens managed to go 6-of-7 without throwing a touchdown. Those six completions amassed 49 yards and only three first downs. He was also sacked once. 11. Chad Henne JAC 24/34 237 2 1 21 27 -7 On third and fourth downs, Henne went 6-of-10 for 53 yards, but only gained two first downs. That includes five failed plays with 7 yards or less to go for a first down.

LET THE PARADE OF CRAP BEGIN!



12. Ryan Fitzpatrick TEN 17/26 181 1 1 -5 -9 5 Not counting passes to Nate Washington, Fitzpatrick went 11-of-18 for 64 yards with five first downs, three sacks, and one interception. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 13. Thaddeus Lewis BUF 15/25 193 0 1 -6 -4 -3 On Miami's half of the field, Lewis went 5-of-9 for 27 yards with one first down and one interception. 14. Philip Rivers SD 19/29 201 1 1 -8 -8 0 On passes that traveled at least 15 yards past the line of scrimmage, Rivers went 0-for-5 with an interception. 15. Kirk Cousins WAS 21/36 197 1 1 -12 -15 3 Cousins' 8-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon in the third quarter left Washington trailing by a 14-13 score. From that point forward, he went 5-of-12 for 47 yards with only two first downs. Not counting passes to Garcon, he went 10-of-18 for 53 yards with two first downs and an interception. 16. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 16/28 167 2 1 -12 -25 13 Third downs: 3-of-5 for 16 yards with no first downs, plus one sack. His only fourth-down pass was a 6-yard gain with 1 yard to go. 17. Eli Manning NYG 23/42 256 1 1 -19 -19 0 How not to protect a lead: When the Giants were ahead, Manning went 4-of-7 for 34 yards and one first down, plus two sacks, one for a safety. 18. Matthew Stafford DET 25/42 222 0 2 -30 -30 0 Stafford threw nine passes that traveled at least 14 yards past the line of scrimmage. One was complete for 17 yards on third-and-9, one was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, and the other seven fell incomplete. 19. Russell Wilson SEA 11/27 108 1 1 -40 -56 15 On Seattle's two scoring drives, Wilson went 8-of-11 for 97 yards with a touchdown and five other first downs, plus one sack. The rest of the game, he went 3-of-16 for 11 yards with one interception, three sacks, and no -- zero -- first downs. 20. Drew Brees NO 30/44 281 1 2 -40 -41 1 Brees finished the first half with as many first downs (five) as sacks. Before halftime, besides those five takedowns, he went 17-of-24 for 124 yards with a 16-yard DPI and one interception. 21. Matt Flynn GB 21/39 232 1 1 -41 -20 -21 Flynn's first red-zone pass resulted in a 5-yard touchdown. He threw four other passes inside the Pittsburgh 20, on three different drives, and they were all incomplete. 22. Joe Flacco BAL 22/38 260 0 2 -48 -53 6 Flacco did not throw a pass on New England's half of the field until the Ravens were down by 17 points in the second half. Once across the 50, he went 5-of-9 for 41 yards and two first downs, plus a 23-yard DPI. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 23. Cam Newton CAR 13/21 181 1 1 -60 -47 -13 Third downs: 1-of-5 for 2 yards, with three sacks and no first downs. Average yards to go on those eight plays: 6.1. Average yards per play: -3.9. 24. Carson Palmer ARI 13/25 178 1 4 -76 -70 -6 Palmer's first pass to the short middle of the field was complete for a 63-yard gain. Even that was thrown to a receiver 14 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, barely meeting the criteria for a short pass. He threw seven other passes to that area over the rest of the game. One was complete for 5 yards on second-and-10, three were incomplete, and three were intercepted. 25. Mike Glennon TB 16/26 158 0 0 -84 -78 -6 Red-zone passing: 0-for-3 with two sacks and an 8-yard DPI. 26. Jay Cutler CHI 20/33 222 1 1 -84 -90 6 Cutler's average pass play came with 9.9 yards to go for a first down, highest of any starting quarterback this week. 27. Matthew McGloin OAK 20/36 206 0 1 -89 -87 -2 McGloin had 10 pass plays with 4 yards or less to go for a first down. He went 2-of-10 on those plays for 8 yards, with just one first down. 28. Ryan Tannehill MIA 10/27 82 0 0 -95 -95 0 Tannehill had no turnovers, so he wasn't last in DYAR this week, but my word, was he ever impotent. He threw for three first downs all day, and none in the second half. His longest completion gained just 13 yards. He had five plays on Buffalo's half of the field, none in the red zone, and none in the second half. He went 2-of-3 for 16 yards and one first down with two sacks. On third and fourth downs -- I am not making this up -- he went 0-for-7 with five sacks. In the second half, he went 1-of-10 for 9 yards with three sacks. He went 0-for-11 on passes to receivers more than 10 yards downfield. It's amazing. 29. Alex Smith KC 16/28 153 0 2 -133 -155 22 Smith had seven plays inside the Indianapolis 40, all down by two scores in the second half. He went 1-of-5 for 7 yards with one first down, two sacks, one fumble, and one interception. 30. Jason Campbell CLE 18/40 178 0 2 -138 -152 13 Red-zone passing: 4-of-11, 24 yards, no touchdowns, one first down, one sack. 31. Matt Schaub HOU 18/37 176 1 2 -143 -146 3 Schaub's 15-yard touchdown pass to Keshawn Martin left Houston down by just three points with more than 25 minutes left in the game. From that point forward, he went 7-of-15 for 38 yards with three first downs, two completions for negative yards, two interceptions, two sacks, and one fumble. 32. Matt Cassel MIN 13/27 114 1 3 -155 -159 4 Cassel only threw for four first downs all day, three of them when the Vikings were trailing by at least 28 points in the second half. On third and fourth downs, he went 1-of-10 with a sack-fumble and a pick-six. That one completion was an 11-yard gain on fourth-and-17.

Five most valuable running backs Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. LeSean McCoy PHI 133 2 29 0 65 65 0 Ten of McCoy's 18 carries went for first downs, and six of them went for 10 yards or more, while only two were stuffed for no gain. All six of his targets came on first-and-10, and all were complete, two for first downs, though one went for an 8-yard loss. 2. Jamaal Charles KC 106 1 38 0 60 52 8 Charles had 13 carries against Indianapolis and all of them gained at least 3 yards. That may be a first for 2013. He had a 31-yard touchdown and two other 10-yard runs, with five total first downs. He also caught five passes in six targets for 38 yards, with another first down in the process. 3. Joique Bell DET 91 1 63 0 43 27 15 Ten targets, ten completions, though only two went for first downs. Bell was stuffed three times in 20 carries, but he had four 10-yard runs, and added a touchdown on third-and-goal from the 1. 4. Fred Jackson BUF 111 1 7 0 37 37 0 Ten of Jackson's 19 carries gained 6 yards or more, with three 10-yard runs and a 9-yard touchdown. The Bills threw him two passes, and he caught them both, one for no gain, one for 7 yards. 5. Edwin Baker CLE 64 1 12 0 37 35 2 That's two QR appearances in two games for Baker, who gets a big opponent boost for playing the Jets. Baker's longest run gained only 9 yards and he had just four first downs, including his touchdown, but he was stuffed for a loss just once and nine of his 17 carries gained at least 4 yards.

Least valuable running back Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. C.J. Spiller BUF 77 0 26 0 -36 -33 -3 This is the third time in 2013 that Spiller has been the least valuable player running back in the league. He had three receptions in four targets for 26 yards, which sounds OK, but none of those catches gained first downs, and his longest catch was a 12-yard gain on second-and-17. On the ground, Spiller had a 23-yard run in the fourth quarter, and added a 7-yard gain on second-and-5 shortle thereafter, but those were his only first downs on the day. His other 18 carries averaged 2.6 yards each, including three runs for no gain or a loss, and he also fumbled.

Five most valuable wide receivers and tight ends Rk Player Team Rec Att Yds Avg TD Total

DYAR 1. Roddy White ATL 12 15 141 11.8 1 82 Ten of White's catches went for first downs, including four third- or fourth-down conversions. 2. Nate Washington TEN 6 8 117 19.5 1 49 Fitzpatrick's first two passes were thrown to Nate Washington, and five of his last six passes were also thrown to Washington. Washington had only one other target the rest of the day. Five of his catches gained first downs, including three gains of 25 yards or more. 3. David Nelson NYJ 4 5 33 8.2 2 39 Each of Nelson's receptions picked up a first down, including three third-down conversions. 4. Lance Moore NO 3 3 47 15.7 0 38 Each of Moore's three receptions gained at least 13 yards and a first down, and he also had a 16-yard DPI on third-and-2. 5. Mike Brown JAC 5 6 71 14.2 1 37 Brown had catches of 21 and 24 yards, and added a 7-yard touchdown.