There’s a healthy debate in football circles regarding whether or not quarterback wins is a legitimate statistic. Baseball has always considered wins and losses to be a pitching statistic and one could argue that quarterbacks have just as much effect on their games as pitchers do. In the ultimate team sport, however, it does feel a little odd to single out one player.
Good quarterbacks tend to win more games but there are plenty of other metrics to determine what’s good quarterback play and what’s bad quarterback play. It’s also possible to throw for five touchdowns and win or throw five interceptions and lose, making quarterback wins — like all statistics, in a way — potentially misleading.
I’ll say this, however: the more contact I’ve had with football coaches and personnel staff over the years, the more I’ve noticed they talk about quarterback wins. They’ll sometimes downplay a passer’s mediocre numbers with a caveat like, “But he wins!” They’ll also do the opposite for some players whose statistics are better, saying something like, “Sure, but he doesn’t win enough.”
This might be because, at the end of the day, coaches get paid to win. With few exceptions, they don’t care how pretty the performance is — whatever the scoreboard says at the end of the game, they just want to have more points than the opposition.
We’ll let you, our readers, decide whether or not these numbers have merit. Do quarterback wins matter or not? Let us know on social media.
The results below have been listed twice: once by win total and once by winning percentage. Ties are broken by number of games played. In the instance that quarterbacks have identical records or winning percentages, they have been listed in alphabetical order.
Win total
Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers — 10-7 (.588)
Dru Brown, Ottawa Redblacks — 8-6-1 (.567)
Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan Roughriders — 7-4 (.636)
Cody Fajardo, Montreal Alouettes — 7-5-1 (.577)
Bo Levi Mitchell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats — 7-10 (.412)
Vernon Adams Jr., B.C. Lions — 6-3 (.667)
Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts — 5-3 (.625)
Jake Maier, Calgary Stampeders — 5-9-1 (.368)
Davis Alexander, Montreal Alouettes — 4-0 (1.000)
Tre Ford, Edmonton Elks — 4-1 (.800)
Cameron Dukes, Toronto Argonauts — 4-5 (.444)
Nathan Rourke, B.C. Lions 3-5 (.375)
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Edmonton Elks — 3-10 (.231)
Shea Patterson, Saskatchewan Roughriders — 2-4-1 (.357)
Nick Arbuckle, Toronto Argonauts — 1-0 (1.000)
Caleb Evans, Montreal Alouettes — 1-0 (1.000)
Chris Streveler, Winnipeg Blue Bombers — 1-0 (1.000)
Jeremiah Masoli, Ottawa Redblacks — 1-2 (.333)
Logan Bonner, Calgary Stampeders — 0-1 (.000)
Jake Dolegala, B.C. Lions/Winnipeg Blue Bombers — 0-1 (.000)
Taylor Powell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats — 0-1 (.000)
Matthew Shiltz, Calgary Stampeders — 0-2 (.000)
Winning percentage
Davis Alexander, Montreal Alouettes — 4-0 (1.000)
Nick Arbuckle, Toronto Argonauts — 1-0 (1.000)
Caleb Evans, Montreal Alouettes — 1-0 (1.000)
Chris Streveler, Winnipeg Blue Bombers — 1-0 (1.000)
Tre Ford, Edmonton Elks — 4-1 (.800)
Vernon Adams Jr., B.C. Lions — 6-3 (.667)
Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan Roughriders — 7-4 (.636)
Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts — 5-3 (.625)
Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers — 10-7 (.588)
Cody Fajardo, Montreal Alouettes — 7-5-1 (.577)
Dru Brown, Ottawa Redblacks — 8-6-1 (.567)
Cameron Dukes, Toronto Argonauts — 4-5 (.444)
Bo Levi Mitchell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats — 7-10 (.412)
Nathan Rourke, B.C. Lions 3-5 (.375)
Jake Maier, Calgary Stampeders — 5-9-1 (.368)
Shea Patterson, Saskatchewan Roughriders — 2-4-1 (.357)
Jeremiah Masoli, Ottawa Redblacks — 1-2 (.333)
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Edmonton Elks — 3-10 (.231)
Logan Bonner, Calgary Stampeders — 0-1 (.000)
Jake Dolegala, B.C. Lions/Winnipeg Blue Bombers — 0-1 (.000)
Taylor Powell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats — 0-1 (.000)
Matthew Shiltz, Calgary Stampeders — 0-2 (.000)
