QB stats symbol: Wins, not ratings
By Larry Weisman, USA TODAY
Some NFL teams win because of their quarterbacks. Some win in spite of them.
Two weeks into the season, a bunch of clubs have put up victories as their quarterbacks struggled to complete even minimal numbers of passes.

Carolina won at Tampa Bay with Jake Delhomme completing only eight passes for 96 yards. Baltimore rookie Kyle Boller completed seven for 78 yards in the Ravens' victory against Cleveland.

Even Rich Gannon, the NFL's reigning MVP, struggled in Oakland's win against Cincinnati, completing 13 passes for a paltry 103 yards.

"It's just been a weird week," Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson says. "These things come and go."

The NFL's passer rating system assigns values to four performance categories (completion percentage, average yards gained per attempt, touchdown percentage, interception percentage) and creates a standard based on 100.

Delhomme's performance earned him a single-game rating of 15.9, and Boller came in at 31.0. Minnesota's Daunte Culpepper is the current league leader at 114.4. (Related story: How the NFL's QB rating system works)

But as Delhomme says, "All that matters is the wins and the losses."

With Delhomme still growing into the starter's job, the Panthers rely on Stephen Davis, who ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards, a strong defense and special teams that have blocked a league-high five kicks.

Denver and Baltimore, also with new starters at quarterback, likewise look to their running backs to bail them out.

The aberrations in the quarterback stats indicate only the up-and-down nature of the season's early weeks, says Johnson, who adds: "Look at the Super Bowl and tell me who's been playing in that."

The last one matched Gannon and Johnson, who ranked second and third, respectively, in passer rating. A year earlier, Tom Brady (sixth) led New England past St. Louis and Kurt Warner (first).