Ryan Tannehill claimed the top spot. Drew Brees was on the list. Dak Prescott was on the list. Even Daniel Jones got on the list at No. 10.
But absent on NFL.com’s top 10 QBs under pressure list was none other than quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Other quarterbacks not on the list were Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson.
Perhaps it all depends on the definition of “under pressure.” If one is looking for a quarterback to thrive in tense late game situations, Watson would have to qualify given his five game-winning drives were tied with Wilson and Josh Allen for the most in the NFL last year. Furthermore, Watson engineered three fourth quarter comebacks, tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.
If you need to win a ballgame, saddle up Watson.
Part of why Watson failed to make the list was because he didn’t have a higher “completion rate above expectation,” which begs the question: exactly who is expecting? Is it a former quarterback, a scout, a commentator? Who is expecting?
Fun fact: only two quarterbacks on the list won playoff games last year, Tannehill and Kirk Cousins. Allen would have been the third, but Watson orchestrated a fourth quarter comeback and defeated the Buffalo Bills in overtime of last year’s AFC wild-card. Who was expecting that?
