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PFF Stands By Low Caleb Williams Grade After Four-TD Performance

PFF counted an erased end-zone interception as a valid negative in its human grade, creating confusion about how subjective play evaluations relate to its statistical metrics.

Overview

  • Caleb Williams produced a four-touchdown, 334-yard performance in Chicago’s Week 1 win yet received an overall PFF grade that ranked him roughly 20th among quarterbacks based on human play-by-play evaluation.
  • PFF and Cris Collinsworth defended the grade by saying graders penalized a wiped-out end-zone interception as a -1.5 because the underlying decision was poor, and they also cited a sack with an open check-down, a delay-of-game and several overthrows.
  • PFF’s descriptive human grade conflicted with the company’s other measures, which rated Williams highly by showing 0.55 EPA per play and a quarterback-impact ranking near the top, highlighting a gap between subjective grades and box-score metrics.
  • Collinsworth acknowledged fans’ frustration and said he understands the reaction, while PFF removed on-screen player scores from Sunday Night Football introductions and provided on-air explanation of its process.
  • The debate spotlights how PFF’s consumer-facing product uses human judgment about ball placement and decision-making, a tension intensified after the company sold its B2B data business to Teamworks and cut portions of its content team.