List of NFL annual pass completion percentage leaders

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List of National Football League annual pass completion percentage leaders
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Sammy Baugh led the league an NFL record 8 times.

This is a list of National Football League (NFL) quarterbacks who have led the regular season in pass completion percentage each year. The record for completion percentage in a season is held by Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints who completed 74.4% of his passes in 2018. Five quarterbacks have led the NFL in completion percentage in four different seasons (Sammy Baugh, Bart Starr, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Drew Brees), and one player (Len Dawson) achieved the same feat in the AFL. Dawson holds the NFL record for most consecutive seasons leading the league with six.[1][2]

NFL annual completion percentage leaders

Drew Brees set the single-season completion percentage record five times and held the career record until the record was surpassed by Joe Burrow in the 2022–2023 season.
Key
Symbol Meaning
Leader The player who recorded the highest pass completion percentage in the NFL
Cmp% The player's completion percentage for the season
† Pro Football Hall of Fame member
^ The player is an active player
* Player set the single-season pass completion percentage
(#) Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list
NFL annual pass completion percentage leaders by season
Season Leader Cmp% Team Ref.
1933 Arnie Herber† 40.3%* Green Bay Packers [3][4]
1934 Arnie Herber† (2) 36.5% Green Bay Packers [3][4]
1936 Ed Matesic 46.4%* Pittsburgh Pirates [3][5]
1937 Ed Danowski 49.3%* New York Giants [3][6]
1938 Ed Danowski (2) 54.3%* New York Giants [3][6]
1939 Parker Hall 51.0% Cleveland Rams [3][7]
1940 Sammy Baugh† 62.7%* Washington Redskins [3][8]
1941 Sid Luckman† 57.1% Chicago Bears [3][9]
1942 Sammy Baugh† (2) 58.7% Washington Redskins [3][8]
1943 Sammy Baugh† (3) 55.6% Washington Redskins [3][8]
1944 Frank Filchock 57.1% Washington Redskins [3][10]
1945 Sammy Baugh† (4) 70.3%* Washington Redskins [3][8]
1946 Sammy Baugh† (5) 54.0% Washington Redskins [3][8]
1947 Sammy Baugh† (6) 59.3% Washington Redskins [3][8]
1948 Sammy Baugh† (7) 58.7% Washington Redskins [3][8]
1949 Sammy Baugh† (8) 56.9% Washington Redskins [3][8]
1950 Bob Waterfield† 57.3% Los Angeles Rams [3][11]
1951 Bobby Thomason 56.6% Green Bay Packers [3][12]
1952 Norm Van Brocklin† 55.1% Los Angeles Rams [3][13]
1953 Otto Graham† 64.7% Cleveland Browns [3][14]
1954 Otto Graham† (2) 59.2% Cleveland Browns [3][14]
1955 Otto Graham† (3) 53.0% Cleveland Browns [3][14]
Bobby Layne† Detroit Lions [3][15]
1956 Ed Brown 57.1% Chicago Bears [3][16]
1957 Y. A. Tittle† 63.1% San Francisco 49ers [3][17]
1958 John Brodie 59.9% San Francisco 49ers [3][18]
1959 Milt Plum 58.6% Cleveland Browns [3][19]
Bill Wade Los Angeles Rams [3][20]
1960 Milt Plum (2) 60.4% Cleveland Browns [3][19]
1961 Milt Plum (3) 58.6% Cleveland Browns [3][19]
1962 Bart Starr† 62.5% Green Bay Packers [3][21]
1963 Y. A. Tittle† (2) 60.2% New York Giants [3][17]
1964 Rudy Bukich 61.9% Chicago Bears [3][22]
1965 John Brodie (2) 61.9% San Francisco 49ers [3][18]
1966 Bart Starr† (2) 62.2% Green Bay Packers [3][21]
1967 Johnny Unitas† 58.5% Baltimore Colts [3][23]
1968 Bart Starr† (3) 63.7% Green Bay Packers [3][21]
1969 Bart Starr† (4) 62.2% Green Bay Packers [3][21]
1970 Sonny Jurgensen† 59.9% Washington Redskins [3][24]
1971 Virgil Carter 62.2% Cincinnati Bengals [3][25]
1972 Norm Snead 60.3% New York Giants [3][26]
1973 Ken Stabler† 62.7% Oakland Raiders [3][27]
1974 Ken Anderson 64.9% Cincinnati Bengals [3][28]
1975 Len Dawson† 66.4% Kansas City Chiefs [3][29]
1976 Ken Stabler† (2) 66.7% Oakland Raiders [3][27]
1977 Fran Tarkenton† 60.1% Minnesota Vikings [3][30]
1978 Bob Griese† 63.0% Miami Dolphins [3][31]
1979 Dan Fouts† 62.6% San Diego Chargers [3][32]
1980 Joe Montana† 64.5% San Francisco 49ers [3][33]
1981 Joe Montana† (2) 63.7% San Francisco 49ers [3][33]
1982 Ken Anderson (2) 70.6%* Cincinnati Bengals [3][28]
1983 Ken Anderson (3) 66.7% Cincinnati Bengals [3][28]
1984 Steve Bartkowski 67.3% Atlanta Falcons [3][34]
1985 Joe Montana† (3) 61.3% San Francisco 49ers [3][33]
1986 Eric Hipple 63.0% Detroit Lions [3][35]
1987 Joe Montana† (4) 66.8% San Francisco 49ers [3][33]
1988 Wade Wilson 61.4% Minnesota Vikings [3][36]
1989 Joe Montana† (5) 70.2% San Francisco 49ers [3][33]
1990 Jim Kelly† 63.3% Buffalo Bills [3][37]
1991 Dave Krieg 65.6% Seattle Seahawks [3][38]
1992 Steve Young† 66.7% San Francisco 49ers [3][39]
1993 Troy Aikman† 69.1% Dallas Cowboys [3][40]
1994 Steve Young† (2) 70.3% San Francisco 49ers [3][39]
1995 Steve Young† (3) 66.9% San Francisco 49ers [3][39]
1996 Steve Young† (4) 67.7% San Francisco 49ers [3][39]
1997 Steve Young† (5) 67.7% San Francisco 49ers [3][39]
1998 Brett Favre† 63.0% Green Bay Packers [3][41]
Steve Beuerlein Carolina Panthers [3][42]
1999 Kurt Warner† 65.1% St. Louis Rams [3][43]
2000 Kurt Warner† (2) 67.7% St. Louis Rams [3][43]
2001 Kurt Warner† (3) 68.7% St. Louis Rams [3][43]
2002 Chad Pennington 68.9% New York Jets [3][44]
2003 Peyton Manning† 67.0% Indianapolis Colts [3][45]
2004 Brian Griese 69.3% Tampa Bay Buccaneers [3][46]
2005 Carson Palmer 67.8% Cincinnati Bengals [3][47]
2006 David Carr 68.3% Houston Texans [3][48]
2007 Tom Brady 68.9% New England Patriots [3][49]
2008 Chad Pennington (2) 67.4% Miami Dolphins [3][44]
2009 Drew Brees 70.6%* New Orleans Saints [3][50]
2010 Drew Brees (2) 68.1% New Orleans Saints [3][50]
2011 Drew Brees (3) 71.2%* New Orleans Saints [3][50]
2012 Peyton Manning† (2) 68.6% Denver Broncos [3][45]
Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons [3][51]
2013 Philip Rivers 69.5% San Diego Chargers [3][52]
2014 Tony Romo 69.9% Dallas Cowboys [3][53]
2015 Kirk Cousins^ 69.8% Washington Redskins [3][54]
2016 Sam Bradford 71.6%* Minnesota Vikings [3][55]
2017 Drew Brees (4) 72.0%* New Orleans Saints [3][50]
2018 Drew Brees (5) 74.4%* New Orleans Saints [3][50]
2019 Drew Brees (6) 74.3% New Orleans Saints [3][50]
2020 Aaron Rodgers^ 70.7% Green Bay Packers [3][56]
2021 Joe Burrow^ 70.4% Cincinnati Bengals [3][57]
2022 Geno Smith^ 69.8% Seattle Seahawks [3][58]
2023 Jake Browning^ 70.4% Cincinnati Bengals [3][59]

AFL annual completion percentage leaders

Len Dawson led the AFL in pass completion percentage 7 times. He also led the NFL in 1975.
Key
Symbol Meaning
Leader The player who recorded the highest pass completion percentage in the AFL
Cmp% The player's completion percentage for the season
GP The number of games played by a player during the season
† Pro Football Hall of Fame member
* Player set the single-season pass completion percentage
(#) Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list
AFL annual pass completion percentage leaders by season
Season Leader Cmp% Team Ref.
1960 Tom Flores† 54.0%* Oakland Raiders [3][60]
1961 Babe Parilli 52.5% Boston Patriots [3][61]
1962 Len Dawson† 61.0%* Dallas Texans [3][29]
1963 Tobin Rote 59.4% San Diego Chargers [3][62]
1964 Len Dawson† (2) 56.2% Kansas City Chiefs [3][29]
1965 Len Dawson† (3) 53.4% Kansas City Chiefs [3][29]
1966 Len Dawson† (4) 56.0% Kansas City Chiefs [3][29]
1967 Len Dawson† (5) 57.7% Kansas City Chiefs [3][29]
1968 Len Dawson† (6) 58.5% Kansas City Chiefs [3][29]
1969 Len Dawson† (7) 59.0% Kansas City Chiefs [3][29]

Most seasons leading a league

Count Player Seasons Team(s) Ref.
8 Sammy Baugh 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945–1949
Washington Redskins
 [3][8]
Len Dawson 1962, 1964–1969, 1975 Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs [3][29]
6 Drew Brees 2009–2011, 2017–2019 New Orleans Saints [3][50]
5 Joe Montana 1980, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1989 San Francisco 49ers [3][33]
Steve Young 1992, 1994–1997 San Francisco 49ers [3][39]
4 Bart Starr 1962, 1966, 1968, 1969 Green Bay Packers [3][21]
3 Ken Anderson 1974, 1982, 1983 Cincinnati Bengals [3][28]
Otto Graham 1953–1955 Cleveland Browns [3][14]
Milt Plum 1959–1961 Cleveland Browns [3][19]
Kurt Warner 1999–2001 St. Louis Rams [3][43]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9781633196148. Archived
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  2. ^ 2022 Official National Football League Record & Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. 2022. p. 549. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
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  4. ^ a b "Arnie Herber Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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  19. ^ a b c d "Milt Plum Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  20. ^ "Billy Wade Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d e "Bart Starr Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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  30. ^ "Fran Tarkenton Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  31. ^ "Bob Griese Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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  40. ^ "Troy Aikman Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  41. ^ "Brett Favre Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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  45. ^ a b "Peyton Manning Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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  47. ^ "Carson Palmer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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  50. ^ a b c d e f g "Drew Brees Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  51. ^ "Matt Ryan Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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