Quarterback-fault sacks
A quarterback-fault sack is one a charter judged the passer caused rather than his protection. Quarterbacks took them on 2.3% of dropbacks in 2025; Geno Smith of the Raiders had the highest rate at 4.6%, 23 on 503 dropbacks.
FTN charts each sack for whose it was. One is marked the quarterback's fault when he held the ball past the point the play had to be over, drifted up into pressure that would otherwise have missed him, or missed an open receiver with time to throw. Quarterback-fault sack rate is those sacks divided by dropbacks.
Quarterback-Fault Sack Rate — 2025 rankings
| # | Player | Own Sk% | Own Sk | DB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geno Smith | 4.6% | 23 | 503 |
| 2 | Jaxson Dart | 4.0% | 15 | 375 |
| 3 | Josh Allen | 3.8% | 19 | 506 |
| 4 | Cam Ward | 3.5% | 21 | 592 |
| 5 | Aaron Rodgers | 3.2% | 17 | 527 |
| 6 | Justin Herbert | 3.0% | 17 | 566 |
| 7 | Sam Darnold | 2.8% | 14 | 502 |
| 8 | Tyler Shough | 2.8% | 10 | 356 |
| 9 | Dak Prescott | 2.7% | 17 | 630 |
| 10 | Lamar Jackson | 2.7% | 9 | 338 |
Why it matters
Sack totals get read as an offensive-line statistic and are only partly one. Splitting the quarterback's share off is what lets two passers behind comparable protection be told apart, and the spread is wide: Geno Smith of the Raiders was charted at 4.6% of dropbacks in 2025 against a league rate of 2.3%, while Mac Jones of the 49ers sat at 0.3%. Sacks kill drives more than they cost yardage, so this is a number about how often an offense loses a down to its own quarterback.
The counter
Fault is the most subjective call in the charting set: a sack where the pocket folded in two and a half seconds and the passer held for three can be scored either way. And low is not automatically good — a quarterback who throws the ball away early avoids the charge and gives up the down regardless.
More football stats explained
- EPA (expected points added)
- EPA per dropback
- Success rate
- CPOE (completion percentage over expected)
- ANY/A (adjusted net yards per attempt)
- RYOE (rushing yards over expected)
- Target share
- Air yards share
- WOPR (weighted opportunity rating)
- aDOT (average depth of target)
- YAC over expected
- Separation
- Pressure rate
- Blitz rate
- Man and zone coverage splits
- PROE (pass rate over expected)
- Stacked box rate
- Half-PPR (and how it differs from full PPR)
- The usage gap (snaps versus production)
- Pythagorean wins
- Stickiness (what repeats and what does not)
- Snap share
- Pass-snap share
- YPRR (yards per route run)
- Availability (the “stayed” rate)
- Handcuff
- Play-action rate
- Pre-snap motion rate
- Drop rate
- Contested catch rate
- Interception-worthy throws
- Intended air yards (IAY)
- Deep ball rate
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