One of phrases that I really don’t like is ‘numbers don’t lie’. Mostly because numbers do lie often and in many ways. They lie by omission. They lie by not telling the story of teller is claiming. They lie by not telling the whole story.
Such was the case in a tweet from a NFL Senior Researcher following the AFC Divisional playoff game between the Chiefs and Bills.
QB wins can not be a stat, but this list is pretty good:
Highest QB Win Percentage
Since 1970, Including Playoffs• Patrick Mahomes (.775)
• Tom Brady (.751)
• Lamar Jackson (.732)
• Roger Staubach (.731)
• Joe Montana (.711)
• Peyton Manning (.685)*Minimum 50 QB starts…
— Tony Holzman-Escareno (@FrontOfficeNFL) January 22, 2024
The minimum 50 starts is one of those details that makes some sense. But why make the cutoff 1970? The NFL and AFL have both existed since 1960. The merger was in 1966. Why 1970?
Well, because that would remove Raiders great Daryle ‘Mad Bomber’ Lamonica from the list, allowing for Mahomes, Brady, and Jackson to take the top three slots.
Lamonica had a 70-21-6 career regular season and playoff record including a record of 43-7-1 prior to 1970. His .753 winning percentage would land him second behind Mahomes, thus making the list not look as tidy and cool as Mahomes, Brady, Jackson going 1-2-3.
So, in the interest of that, an NFL Senior Researcher decided it best to just erase the accomplishments of three-time AFL champion, two-time AFL Player of the Year, and starting QB in Super Bowl II.
