{"id":708416,"date":"2026-01-27T07:48:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T07:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/708416\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T07:48:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T07:48:23","slug":"2026-nfl-playoffs-prove-wins-arent-a-qb-stat-the-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/708416\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NFL Playoffs Prove Wins Aren’t A QB Stat \u2013 The Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NFL Playoffs have been entertainment central.<\/p>\n

Game after game has come down to the wire. Last-second winners all over the place. Drama galore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is, however, a lesson hiding in plain sight that these playoffs are teaching the NFL.<\/p>\n

CJ Stroud won a game 30-6 despite fumbling five times and throwing two picks. Caleb Williams beat the Packers while turning the ball over three times. Sam Darnold didn\u2019t even need to play football against the 49ers \u2013 someone off the street could\u2019ve been the Seattle QB, kneeled on 1st-3rd down, forcing a punt on 4th, and the result would\u2019ve been the same. Matthew Stafford, just this past Sunday, won a game without a touchdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If these playoffs have taught us anything, it\u2019s this: wins have never been, should never be used as, and never will be a quarterback stat. Ever.<\/p>\n

Why Do People View Winning As A QB Stat?<\/p>\n

The premise itself carries a bit of merit.<\/p>\n

The QB is seen as the heart of the team, the central piece \u2013 the offensive side of the ball runs through him. The team that scores the most points wins. Hence, wins are attached to the quarterback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This notion completely omits the impact of the other 10 players and coaches. But it is this notion that shapes some of the most salient narratives in the NFL today. Being the center of attention equals being the center of success, according to some.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some quarterbacks have helped reinforce this notion with elite play. The likes of Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes come to mind immediately. However, even there lies a problem. Of course, the greatest find ways to win \u2013 it\u2019s by definition what makes them great.<\/p>\n

But using the greats to prove that winning is a QB stat is using the exception to prove the rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The all-time greats are outliers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Statistics Stifling The Narrative<\/p>\n

There are an abundance of statistics that disprove that winning is a quarterback stat.<\/p>\n

A personal gem is Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, who is 4-1 in postseason games<\/a> in which he throws for less than 200 yards. His first loss? That\u2019d be the one he suffered this year against the 49ers. Furthermore, Hurts\u2019 304-yard game in SB 57 is his only 300-yard playoff game to date. The result of that game was a 38-35 Eagles defeat.<\/p>\n

Ok, that\u2019s just one person. Here\u2019s another \u2013 CJ Stroud\u2019s defenses in his three playoff victories have matched their opponents for scoring by themselves:\u00a0<\/p>\n

One last individual stat \u2013 this one involves retired QB Trent Dilfer. Dilfer is perhaps the poster child of win\/loss numbers lying. He made exactly one Pro-Bowl in his career and never threw more than 25 passing TD\u2019s in a season. Dilfer even has more career INT\u2019s than TD\u2019s. However, Dilfer has a playoff winning percentage of .833 (5-1), which is better than the following QB\u2019s:<\/p>\n

Patrick Mahomes, 81.0%\u00a0
\nJosh Allen, 53.3%
\nTom Brady, 72.9%
\nJoe Montana, 69.6%
\nAaron Rodgers, 52.2%<\/p>\n

That is a list of five quarterbacks who are either already in Canton or are going to be in 10 years.<\/p>\n

All but Allen are locks to be 1st-ballot.<\/p>\n

Only a cynic would entertain putting Trent Dilfer in that conversation, yet that\u2019s what using wins as a QB stat allows and even encourages.<\/p>\n

The Team Side<\/p>\n

Looking at the bigger picture, the league itself has evolved into a league where quarterback quality matters less.<\/p>\n

Volume passing numbers all around are down from 10 years ago \u2013 yards, attempts, it\u2019s all down. It\u2019s not a lack of receiving talent, either \u2013the position is probably as rich for talent as it has ever been. Conversely, all volume rushing statistics are up<\/a> from 10 years ago \u2013 rushing yards\/game, attempts, and yards per attempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Teams have simply figured out that having a strong run game to control time helps win football games more often. Shivam Sharma put that discovery into data in a piece<\/a> covering play styles, like the picture below:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A passing phenom isn\u2019t necessary under center. Nice to have? Yes. But a necessity, it is not.<\/p>\n

This is partially why running QB\u2019s are so valuable now. It\u2019s also why average passers in several categories can still be serial winners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why wins are such a no-go as a QB stat. The QB is being asked to do less, so it\u2019s no longer squarely on their shoulders. Ergo, the wins shouldn\u2019t be either. The defensive side of the ball hasn\u2019t even been mentioned in this article, but it\u2019s largely the same premise \u2013 defenses that force punts are more efficient than those that force turnovers, because turnovers are more volatile. More stops = less room for error.<\/p>\n

All in all, quarterbacks are being presented with better, more efficient supporting casts than ever before. There is less weight on their shoulders, and way more room for error. A game where a QB didn\u2019t throw a TD or, say, turned it over four times would be a three-score loss back in the day. Now, such performances win games 20-17 in overtime, and 30-6 on the road.<\/p>\n

Those afforded that luxury shouldn\u2019t be applauded for hitching a ride, and those not afforded it can\u2019t be ridiculed for missing their stop.<\/p>\n

The NFL has never been more of a team sport, and the final score should be treated as such.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2025 NFL Playoffs have been entertainment central. Game after game has come down to the wire. Last-second…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[77],"tags":[1036,1222,7,32,6,84,1878],"class_list":{"0":"post-708416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-playoffs","8":"tag-caleb-williams","9":"tag-cj-stroud","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-matthew-stafford","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-nfl-playoffs","14":"tag-sam-darnold"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115965965423509698","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}