Pop quiz: which quarterback has the most career interceptions in NFL history? (Hint: It wasn't a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Yet.) If you’re a football fan, you probably know that it’s Brett Favre. Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. How is it that Brett Favre is in the Hall of Fame despite throwing 336 interceptions in 20 years? That number is more than 50 clear of second place.
It’s because Favre understood that, as bad as throwing interceptions is, it is not the worst thing a quarterback can do. The worst thing a quarterback can do is fail to throw touchdowns.
Favre may have thrown those 336 picks. But he also threw 508 touchdowns. That is a ratio that you can win with. As a starting QB, Farve won 186 games and lost 112. Despite seemingly throwing 336 interceptions.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has a bigger priority than simply throwing fewer interceptions
Seattle didn’t lose to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday because Sam Darnold threw four picks. OK, fine – that was a contributing factor. But they were still in the game, even after the fourth one.
They lost because Darnold couldn’t get them into the end zone. If he had done that, Seattle would have won, despite the mistakes made by Darnold.
And I fully understand Darnold made some very bad mistakes. The middle two interceptions were fairly normal, bad throws. The first and the last were more distressing because they were very poor decisions. Darnold panicked, and he obviously cannot do that going forward. Not if Seattle wants to compete at the highest level.
But here’s the most important thing. It’s the thing that Klint Kubiak and QBs coach Andrew Janocko need to remember. Sam Darnold cannot start playing tentatively. He cannot stop taking chances.
There have been some extraordinary performances by QBs in this era of passing. Aaron Rodgers has set a remarkable standard for interception percentage. But that, all by itself, does not lead to winning football.
If you glance at the greatest career interception percentages – the quarterbacks who did the best job a protecting the ball – you will note a couple of interesting things. First, they all have played in the 21st century. Passing is much easier than it used to be, and quarterbacks have taken advantage of that.
And you will find plenty of Hall of Famers – or future Hall of Famers. Rodgers, Brady, Mahomes. All are in the top ten. So are Tyrod Taylor and Colin Kaepernick. So is Jacoby Brissett. He is actually number one.
You read that right. Jacoby Brissett has been the best quarterback in the history of the NFL at not throwing interceptions. He also has a career record of 20-37 as a starting quarterback.
That’s because his touchdown percentage – 3.2% -- is mediocre by today’s standards. A lot of the greatest all time touchdown percentage QBs come from the early days of the NFL That’s because they threw a lot less. That drives percentage up.
But amongst the currently active QBs on that list, you will find Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen. They are all in the top 30.
Jacoby Brissett is not. No quarterbacks with losing career records are.
The upshot is that throwing a lot of touchdowns is more important than eliminating all interceptions. Of course, you want to cut down on those picks. Darnold should not be throwing four interceptions going forward.
But he cannot cut them down by becoming less aggressive. If he does, Seattle does not have a chance to beat the best teams in the league. Seahawks’ fans will be willing to live with a few picks if they come with a bunch of touchdowns. Because that means they come with a bunch of wins.