- A detailed look behind the assessment of pff: Pff 0-100 degrees are derived from a detailed -2 to +2 assessment scale that is applied to each player to each game.
- Critical insight: Data at play level can help to distinguish routine implementation of the playing elite, so that the entire range of Quarterback performance is brought into clearer focus.
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PFF is recognized worldwide for his football data, and the core of that reputation Player numbers. When most people hear ‘pff figures’, they think of the 0-100 scale that has become a fixture in football analysis in the past decade.
When interpreted correctly, these figures serve as a valuable tool that is used daily by teams, coaches, agents, analysts and fans to evaluate performance on the field. They use coaches to inform game plans, players get an objective picture of their game over time, and fans rely on them to feed debates and to deepen their understanding of the game.
I am going into my 11th season for PFF and my third leads our assessment team. And at that time, one thing has become increasingly clear: although the 0-100 grade scale is generally recognized, the base underneath it is overlooked by every player with a scale of -2 to +2-grot parts of each player. As a result, much of the most important context is behind what the figures actually mean lost in the translation.
So, here is a quick look behind the curtain (with more to get on the road), followed by a look at how this applies to NFL Quarterbacks from the 2024 season.
The core of our Play-by-Play assessment system is a “zero”-the figure that is granted when a player does exactly what is expected on a certain game. From there, a player can achieve positive or negative figures in steps of 0.5 points, depending on how much are exceeding his performance or falls short in expectations. It is a simple but powerful framework that drives every pff figure that you see.
So let’s take quarterbacks as an example. When we apply this scale more wider, here is how it takes place:
It is first and 10 and the Quarterback completes a sloping route of three meters. In that scenario, the QB receives a 0 hand, regardless of what happens after the pass is caught. Whether the recipient will be tackled immediately, a big profit breaks down or the ball is rumbling, the figure of the quarterback remains unchanged because he simply performed the piece as designed.
It is again first and 10, and the Quarterback delivers an in -time, accurate throw to a draft match and hits the recipient in Pasie while setting in a weak in the coverage of zones for a win of 11 meters through the air. That throw will almost certainly earn a +0.5 degree from our classes, regardless of whether the recipient is tackled immediately, picks up extra Yardage or even drop the pass. The figure reflects the quality of the throw, not the result after the ball leaves the hand of the quarterback.
Let’s now say that it is second and 5, and the Quarterback focuses on a route to the sidelines, but the pitch sails high and outside the borders. It is not a dangerous pass and does not run the risk of being intercepted, but it is also not -Catch for the recipient. In this case, the Quarterback usually receives a number of -0.5, the first level below expectations in our system.
Now imagine the same scenario, but instead of sailing the ball outside the borders, the Quarterback knocks the recipient over and leaves the pass in the game, making it possible for crashing safety to possibly make a play on the ball or even intercept. That type of Miss is a greater risk and falls further under the expected standard, resulting in a more significant downgrade, usually a -1 or worse.
These play-by-play figures form the basis of our entire assessment system. With that in mind, let’s switch to the NFL season of 2024 and look closer to Quarterbacks, in particular due to the lens of positive degree speed, which measures how often a QB earns a figure above zero on per-play.
Top 10 Quarterbacks in a positive Grad-Play game percentage (2024, only regular season)
When you see that list for the first time, I suspect that your first reaction is one of the two things: either there is no way in which the top 10 quarterbacks from the 2024 season represents “, or” that is not close to matching the total figures of 0-100. “
If one of these was your first thought, you are absolutely right. There is so much more that is about playing Quarterback – and in the process that produces the number of 0-100 – than just how often a player performs above expectations on a certain game.
Positive Graded Play Rate certainly has value in itself, but it is not good for how often a player receives negative play-by-play figures. Trevor Lawrence, for example, placed the sixth highest negative Graded playing speed in 2024. It also does not catch the weight of quarterbacks that consistently deliver large plays, such as Josh Allen, whose 7.3% of earning a +1.0 grade or better about 1.5 percentage points was higher than that of another Quarterback.
Now let’s go one step further due to that positive degree speed by applying weights to every level of positive figure. By scaling up the data to emphasize higher play games, we can make a better distinction between routine version and playing elite level. This distinction helps us, for example, distinguish us, for example between a 11-yard towbar in a soft zone and a 30-year sideline strike with pinpoint accuracy against tight coverage are positive points, but not all positives are made equal.
Top 10 Quarterbacks in weighed Positive Sorted Pass-Play Rate (2024, only regular season)
Note how the photo is getting a little clearer?
This is still not the whole picture, because we have not yet incorporated into a negative numerical speed. And if we apply the same weighted approach to negative plays, we see some revealing results: Anthony Richardson would have had the worst weighted negative degree speed under Quarterbacks, Jameis Winston was the fourth worst and Brock Purdy in 15th place.
Even with this extra context, PFF’s Play-by-Play figures offer a clearer and more effective lens for analyzing football performance.
So how does all these tires bind back to the overall number of 0-100 that you see on our site and in the football world? It is directly derived from this play-by-play evaluations-a snap-by-snap assessment of the performance of each player. What that final number means not only how often a player exceeds expectations, but also the size of those positive games, the frequency and seriousness of errors and the broader context in which each game occurs.
Insight into the “why” behind every rough quality transforms that 0-100 score into a more complete and objective reflection of performance on the field.
Click here To gain access to the full 0-100 overall figure of each quarterback and use the interactive tool below to explore their play-by-play evaluations in more detail.
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