Caleb Williams kicked off the 2026 NFL season doing what a No. 1 pick is supposed to do. After a breakout 2025 season where he led his team to the playoffs with 27 touchdown passes, Williams opened the new year with arguably his best performance in 34 career games, leading Chicago to a dominant 59-37 victory over Carolina. He threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two more, finding the end zone four times. So, naturally, Pro Football Focus slapped him with a bewildering 64.0 passing grade. Are you kidding me?!
The Grade That Left Everyone Scratching Their Heads
You read that right: a 64.0 passing grade. For a quarterback who scored four touchdowns and helped his team put up 59 points! PFF’s assessment left NFL fans completely baffled. That 64.0 mark ranked Williams a pathetic 16th among the 30 quarterbacks who threw at least 13 passes before Monday night’s matchups. Think about that for a second. The dude was balling out, yet PFF somehow decided 15 other QBs had a better Week 1. Even Nick Wright had to call it out on social media, noting PFF ranked Williams as the 20th best quarterback overall for the week with a 62.5 grade. The numbers just don’t add up when you watch the game.
PFF’s Explanation Just Makes It More Confusing
PFF’s managing editor, Mark Chichester, actually tried to explain this head-scratcher on Tuesday. He wrote that PFF grades are “box-score agnostic” and are built to capture what the stat line misses. Basically, they’re grading what a player *controlled* on a play, not necessarily the result. Chichester argued a quarterback could have a terrible stat line and still grade well if their reads and throws were on point, or they could have a pristine stat line and get a modest grade if their receivers did all the heavy lifting.
So, according to PFF, out of Williams’ 40 dropbacks against the Panthers, only 11 earned positive grades, 23 were “expected” 0.0 grades, and six were graded negatively. Get this: that included a negative -1.5 individual grade on an interception that was CALLED BACK due to a penalty! PFF says traditional stats record results, but their grading process evaluates execution, regardless of what a penalty or teammate changes. It’s an interesting philosophy, sure, but when your quarterback just put up four scores and nearly 60 points, and he’s ranked in the middle of the pack, it definitely makes you question what they’re *really* watching.
This PFF grading system continues to spark debate, especially when incredible performances like Williams’ get a seemingly low score. It’ll be fascinating to see how his grades trend moving forward this season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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