The opening round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs saw some sterling performances. Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford went to battle in a duel between two players traded for each other and still capable of leading Super Bowl contenders. Baker Mayfield looked great against the defending NFC champions.
Jordan Love had the most efficient postseason debut in history, just barely edging out rookie CJ Stroud. Both led blowout, upset wins to advance to the Divisional Round of the postseason.
These stellar performances were balanced out by some season-ending clunkers. Dak Prescott’s Dallas Cowboys fell to earth en route to a 1-3 playoff record under head coach Mike McCarthy. Joe Flacco’s unexpected supernova came to a firey climax with a pair of pick-sixes while getting outdueled by Stroud. Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t good enough to keep the Miami Dolphins’ postseason win drought from aging into its third decade.
But who was truly the most disappointing among the worst quarterbacks this Super Wild Card weekend? We’ve got tools to better understand just how damaging each underwhelming performances was. Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player.
By comparing each passer’s Wild Card EPA against their 2023 adjusted average, we get a better picture of just how frustrating their days were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com. So let’s take a look at who disappointed the most in the first weekend of the 2024 postseason.