Tim Tebow Outperforms Aaron Rodgers in Week 5, According to ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating Stat

Many football purists love to dismiss the quarterback rating stat as a tool for judging quarterbacks' performances. Those same purists will surely have a field day with what ESPN's new interpretation of the statistic is claiming after Week 5.

The guys over at ProFootballTalk.com point out that Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow outperformed Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers this weekend, at least according to ESPN's "total quarterback rating." The "stat," which is measured on a scale from 0-100, takes into account three separate criteria to come up with the score. Win probability, dividing credit and clutch index all make up a quarterback's score.

What do all of those mean? Who knows, but you can click here for a detailed explanation. What it meant on Sunday, though, is that Tebow was better than Rodgers, as the Denver quarterback had a Total QBR of 83.2 while Rodgers put up an 83.1.

It's obviously not a huge discrepancy, but the difference looms pretty large when you take into account the passing numbers of each on Sunday. Tebow — who didn't enter the game until the second half — was just 4-for-10 passing for 79 yards and a touchdown. He also had six rushes for 38 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos lost to the Chargers.

Rodgers, on the other hand, led the Packers to a 25-14 win in Atlanta on Sunday night. He was 26-for-39 for 296 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He had 39 fewer rushing yards than Tebow, as Rodgers officially had one carry for -1 yard. 

To put it in perspective, Rodgers had a quarterback rating (NFL rating, according to ESPN) of 117.0 while Tebow checked in at 101.7. Of course, that 101.7 seems high as well, so as always, take any sort of passer rating for what it's worth.

Oh, and for those wondering, the top-rated Week 5 passer entering Monday night in the eyes of Total QBR? That would be the 49ers' Alex Smith, who put up a 98.2 this week.