Again, this is why stats drive me nuts.I graded Mac down because the first quarter happened, and he missed some throws that the team needed him to hit. Unlike others, I am willing to acknowledge that Mac did throw a nice deep ball at times and used all of the receivers at his disposal.
So far this weekend, if we rank the QB's by the flawed passer rating stat, Mac is tied for 13th w/ Stafford:
Love: 123.2
Ridder: 111.8 (only 18 attempts)
Purdy: 111.3
Tua: 110.0
Wilson: 108.0
Jimmy G: 107.9
Lawrence: 103.8
Cousins: 102.8
Herbert: 99.1
Carr: 96.1
Mayfield: 94.4
Goff: 94.1
Mac: 91.3
Stafford: 91.3
Hurts: 89.2
Geno Smith: 84.1
Jackson: 79.5
Richardson: 79.0
Dobbs: 78.8
Fields: 78.2
Stroud: 78.0
Howell: 77.6
Mahomes: 77.5
Dak: 72.0
Pickett: 68.4
Watson: 67.3
Burrow: 52.2
Young: 48.8
Tannehill: 28.8
Daniel Jones: 0.0 (In progress)
So, he was basically middle of the pack by the basic numbers. Probably ends up there in the more advanced metrics when all is said and done. You could probably quibble with some of the others ahead of him (DeShaun Watson's performance was seriously overrated by QBR, for example). By throwing 54 passes, Mac was asked to do a lot more than some of the other QB's ahead of him. The interception hurts him, as it should, as it was a bad mistake. But, yes, there was some bad QB play this past weekend.
Anyway, I can take this one as a moral victory. But they don't have room for any others given the schedule, and any good feelings from this one will be erased if they start the season an unacceptable 0-4.
I've already granted Love/Purdy/Tua/Stafford/Lawrence (maybe) as having equal or better games yesterday than Mac.
If I squint really, really hard, maybe I throw Jimmy G. and his 26 pass attempts (with a pick) in a whopping 17-16 game in that group. Of course, folks around here would be eviscerating Mac for getting Jakobi's head taken off late in the game.
Folks are shitting on our YPA stats yesterday, but wait a second, Russell Wilson? He had 177 yards on 34 pass attempts. What's that work out to? 5.20? Russell Wilson couldn't put up 17 points yesterday against the Raiders, at home. Desmond Ridder completed 15 passes for 115 yards. 51 of which came on 2 plays, and his touchdown was a swing pass to Bijan who made 3 guys miss inside the 10 to score. Kirk Cousins throws for 300+ at home, in a dome, against the shitty Bucs to guys like Justin Jefferson, but his QBR is higher because of ypa? Apparently, these stats don't take into account him dropping two snaps at key moments in the game, plus a pick. 3 turnovers. He did not play better or even close to as well as Mac yesterday. Justin Herbert? We talk about Mac not being able to win games. Herbert got the ball back with 1:45 and a 2 point deficit against Miami, and proceeded to take 2 sacks in 5 plays, game over. Baker? Jared Goff?
This is my point, these stats in short samples are fucking terrible. They completely lack context.