Math With Jerome

So WTF is the NFL's passer rating, really? It's one of those stats announcers and talking heads on TV like to use to make a point when it's mentioned only when it's very high or very low. I knew  only a few things  (and I think is the case for most people)  about passer ratings: Greater values are "better", it ranges from 0 to 158.3, and sometimes a quarterback would be better off throwing all their attempts into the ground, or so the announcer would say.  This prompted several questions. How is this rating calculated? Are greater values always better? Why is the max 158.3? And what is with that weird scenario I hear about where a QB would be better off with all incompletions?  I'll hit on a few of the key concepts and background of passer ratings, but if you want to read more on this the NFL has goes into more detail here . Quick Background of Passer Ratings The point of this passer rating system is to compare passers' performances from season t...