Joe Flacco
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Michael Nania grades every throw from Joe Flacco‘s performance against the Miami Dolphins. How well did he really play?

Each week this season, I will be grading every Sam Darnold play from the Jets’ most recent game to get a 0-to-100 grade on the quality of his performance. Of course, Darnold did not take the field in the Jets’ Week 6 game against Miami, so we will again be looking at Joe Flacco‘s performance.

Sam Darnold Grades

Week 1 at Buffalo Bills

Week 2 vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 3 at Indianapolis Colts

Week 4 vs. Denver Broncos

Joe Flacco – Week 5 vs. Arizona Cardinals

Nania’s Darnold Grades home page (links to all 2019-20 games)

Grades Explained

Digging through the All-22 film, I went back and graded every play (pass attempt, sack, rushing attempt) Flacco logged in the game, scoring each on a scale of 0-to-10 (5 representing an average play).

Anything and everything is taken into account. Ball placement. Accuracy. Should-be turnovers. Unlucky turnovers. Protection. Play-calling effectiveness. Impact of the route-running and ball tracking quality by the intended receiver. Down and distance. Field position. Game situation.

Every layer of decision-making is considered. Did Flacco choose the best available option? Did he scan the field to check all possible options? Did he take an over-aggressive shot when a first down was available underneath? Did he check down too early and leave a potential big play on the field? Should he have run? Did he take a sack he should not have? Should he have thrown the ball away?

Simple statistics do not account for any of those factors. Using a manual, play-by-play grading system, many crucial variables that usually go overlooked are being properly valued. Sprinkle in this essential context, and we get a grade that is much more representative of the quarterback’s true performance level than standard box score numbers.

Flacco’s final scores are scaled from 0-to-100, with 50 representing the approximate league average (based on the analysis of other quarterbacks).

Let’s hop right into it. Here is my comprehensive 0-to-100 grade on Flacco’s performance against the Dolphins.

Overall Grade


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Michael Nania is one of the best analytical New York Jets minds in the world, combining his statistical expertise with game film to add proper context to the data. Nania scrapes every corner, ensuring you know all there is to know about everyone from the QB to the long snapper. Nania's Numbers, Nania's QB Grades, and Nania's All-22 give fans a deeper and more well-rounded dive into the Jets than anyone else can offer. Email: michael.nania[at]jetsxfactor.com - Twitter: @Michael_Nania
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