- Geno Smith experienced one of the NFL's steepest declines under pressure: Smith's adjusted completion rate and decision-making fell dramatically despite relatively solid clean-pocket efficiency.
- Joe Flacco was good from a clean pocket, but he suffered one of the largest performance declines when pressured: Flacco's yards per attempt, EPA per dropback and turnover-worthy play rate all worsened significantly when he was forced off his spot.
- What the data says: Clean-pocket passing remains far more stable year to year than quarterback performance under pressure, making pressure splits an important context point rather than a standalone evaluation.
Pressure changes everything. The average NFL quarterback's passing grade drops by roughly 30 points when the pocket collapses, but some passers are far better equipped to handle chaos than others.
PFF's 2026 QB Annual drops later this week, featuring exclusive quarterback data and advanced metrics you won't find anywhere else. As a preview, we're using part of that dataset to identify the quarterbacks who experienced the largest drop-off under pressure.
Biggest Clean-to-Pressure Drops
Geno Smith’s 2025 season was shaped, in part, by poor interception luck. He threw nearly five more interceptions than expected due to factors outside of his control, which helps explain why his overall stat line looked worse than his actual performance.
That said, the clean-pocket/pressure split still paints a revealing picture. Smith was serviceable when kept clean, earning a 79.9 passing grade that ranked 24th among 41 qualified quarterbacks. He recorded an adjusted completion rate of 81.9% on a 5.8-yard average depth of target, producing nine big-time throws and eight turnover-worthy plays. Under pressure, though, things unraveled. His adjusted completion percentage dropped to 63.8%, and he generated just five big-time throws against 15 turnover-worthy plays. Only Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford matched that turnover-worthy play total under pressure, but Smith reached it on just 141 attempts, compared to 176 for Maye and 206 for Stafford.
When kept clean, Flacco earned an 82.5 passing grade and paired efficient decision-making with a low 1.6% turnover-worthy play rate. He consistently got the ball out on time and delivered accurate throws when operating within structure.
Pressure was a different story. Flacco's yards per attempt dropped from 6.8 to 4.1 when pressured, while his turnover-worthy play rate climbed to 6.3%. His EPA per dropback fell from +0.11 in clean pockets to -0.72 under pressure, nearly identical to the decline Geno Smith experienced.
Nix was one of the NFL's most effective quarterbacks when operating from a clean pocket in 2025. His 89.3 clean-pocket passing grade ranked seventh among qualified quarterbacks, while his 28 big-time throws trailed only Matthew Stafford. Nix paired that aggressiveness with strong ball security, posting a 5.8% big-time throw rate that ranked sixth at the position and a 1.9% turnover-worthy play rate that tied Josh Allen for 11th. When protected, Nix consistently generated explosive plays without exposing the offense to unnecessary risk.
That level of play did not carry over when pressure arrived. Nix's 44.3 passing grade under pressure ranked 27th among qualified quarterbacks, creating one of the largest clean-pocket-to-pressure gaps in the league. His big-time throw rate fell from 5.8% to 3.3%, his turnover-worthy play rate more than doubled and his yards per attempt dropped from 7.2 to 4.5.
Drake Maye's performance from a clean pocket was among the best in the NFL in 2025. His 90.1 passing grade ranked sixth among 41 qualified quarterbacks, supported by a +0.43 EPA per dropback and an impressive 8.6 yards per attempt.
The picture changed when pressure arrived. Maye's 46.5 passing grade under pressure ranked 23rd among qualified passers, though it's worth noting that Maye's 284 pressured dropbacks were the second-most in the NFL, trailing only Justin Herbert‘s 288. Interestingly, his aggressiveness remained intact under pressure. His yards-per-attempt average dipped only slightly from 8.6 to 8.4, and his big-time throw rate actually increased to 6.7%. The issue was ball security and decision-making, as his turnover-worthy play rate jumped from 2.2% in clean pockets to 4.9% under pressure.
C.J. Stroud‘s struggles under pressure stand out even more because his clean-pocket performance was relatively modest to begin with. His 79.0 passing grade from a clean pocket ranked 25th among 41 qualified quarterbacks, placing him closer to the middle of the pack than the league's elite passers.
Pressure amplified those issues. Stroud's passing grade fell to 35.5 under pressure, one of the lowest marks in the NFL, while his adjusted completion percentage dropped from 74.4% to 57.7%. That latter figure ranked 39th among 41 qualified quarterbacks. He also recorded 14 turnover-worthy plays under pressure, tied for the second most in the league.
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