Eight players (
Arnie Herber,
Parker Hall,
Hugh McCullough,
Babe Parilli,
Ralph Guglielmi,
Lamar McHan,
Al Dorow, and
Rick Norton) posted a zero rating on a record three occasions throughout their career.
Red Kirkman, Hugh McCullough, Lamar McHan, and
Gary Keithley are the only players ever to post zero ratings in two straight weeks (in
1933,
1940,
1958, and
1973, respectively). The
1939 season saw a record ten games with a zero rating: Ray Carnelly (
Brooklyn Dodgers), Parker Hall (
Cleveland Rams), Arnie Herber (
Green Bay Packers),
Bert Johnson (
Chicago Cardinals), Hugh McCullough (
Pittsburgh Pirates),
Coley McDonough (Pittsburgh Pirates),
Frank Patrick (Chicago Cardinals, twice), and
Darrell Tully (
Detroit Lions, twice). The season with the second most (9) was 1948 (with both
NFL and
AAFC players included). 13 players have posted two zero passer ratings in the same season: Red Kirkman (1933),
Johnny Gildea (
1935), Frank Patrick (1939), Darnell Tully (1939), Hugh McCullough (
1940), Al Dorow (
1954), Lamar McHan (
1958), Ralph Guglielmi (
1959),
Cotton Davidson (
1962),
Steve Tensi (
1967), Rick Norton (
1969), Gary Keithley (
1973), and
Randy Hedberg (
1977). All four postseason zero ratings happened in a Championship Game:
George Ratterman of the
Buffalo Bills in the
1948 AAFC Championship Game;
Tommy Thompson of the
Philadelphia Eagles in the
1948 NFL Championship Game;
Otto Graham of the
Cleveland Browns in the
1953 NFL Championship Game; and
Craig Morton of the
Denver Broncos in
Super Bowl XII. Out of the four, Thompson is the only one whose team won. There have been three occasions where a starting quarterback and his mid-game replacement have both earned a zero rating in the same game: starter
Joe Namath and replacement
Richard Todd with the New York Jets (1976), starter
Vince Evans and replacement
Bob Avellini with the Chicago Bears (1981), and starter Terry Bradshaw and replacement
Cliff Stoudt with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1982). The most zero ratings on a single day in league history happened on November 19, 1939, when Ray Carnelly (
Brooklyn Dodgers), Hugh McCullough (
Pittsburgh Pirates), and Frank Patrick (
Chicago Cardinals) all posted zero ratings. The longest period between NFL games with a zero passer rating is 7 years, 10 months, and 30 days, spanning from
Chris Redman of the
Atlanta Falcons on December 16, 2007, to
Peyton Manning of the
Denver Broncos on November 15, 2015. Manning was 39 years and 236 days old in the 2015 game, the oldest age of any player to record a zero rating. In the
1939 season,
Darrell Tully of the
Detroit Lions posted a zero rating at the youngest age, 21 years and 319 days old. The most recent NFL zero passer rating game came on January 3, 2021, when
Brandon Allen of the
Cincinnati Bengals went 6-21 with 48 yards and two interceptions against the
Baltimore Ravens. The Bengals lost 3–38. On one occasion, players on opposing teams both posted a zero rating: Gary Keithley and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated
Bob Lee and the Atlanta Falcons (1973). Of the 187 zero rating games, the team of a player who posted a zero rating has won 15 times (); 14 times in the regular season and once in the postseason (the aforementioned 1948 NFL Championship Game). The most recent example of a team winning a game with a zero rating quarterback is when
Brent Pease did so with the in
Houston Oilers in
1988. Four zero rating games have ended in a
tie (); the most recent example of this is
Len Dawson in
1970. Due to the
NFL playoffs not allowing ties, all four such games have been in the regular season. There have been 22 total zero passer rating games recorded by 14
Hall-of-Famers. The first was by Herber in 1933, and the most recent was by Peyton Manning in the
2015 season. 16 players who had a zero passer rating also
earned a perfect (158.3) passer rating during their careers: Otto Graham,
Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw,
Len Dawson,
Bob Griese,
James Harris,
Bob Lee,
Scott Hunter,
Dan Fouts, Craig Morton,
Vince Evans,
Rich Gannon,
Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, and
Geno Smith. The
Arizona Cardinals franchise has had more zero rating games than any other franchise, with 18. The
Chicago Bears have held opposing players to a zero passer rating more than any other franchise, having accomplished the feat 16 times. ==List==