Use this free NFL Completion Percentage Calculator to calculate a quarterback's completion percentage from completed passes and total passing attempts. Enter the number of completions and passing attempts to instantly see the completion percentage, incomplete passes, and incomplete percentage.
What Is Completion Percentage?
Completion percentage is a football statistic that shows the percentage of passing attempts completed by a quarterback. It is calculated by dividing completions by total passing attempts and multiplying the result by 100.
For example, if a quarterback completes 25 passes on 35 passing attempts, the completion percentage is 71.43%.
The NFL's passing statistics report completions, passing attempts, and completion percentage as separate passing statistics. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
NFL Completion Percentage Formula
The basic formula is:
Completion Percentage = (Completions ÷ Passing Attempts) × 100
For example:
(25 ÷ 35) × 100 = 71.43%
The result tells you what percentage of a quarterback's passing attempts became completed passes.
How to Calculate Completion Percentage
Follow these three steps:
- Find the quarterback's total number of completions.
- Find the quarterback's total number of passing attempts.
- Divide completions by passing attempts and multiply by 100.
Example:
A quarterback completes 28 passes on 40 passing attempts.
28 ÷ 40 = 0.70
0.70 × 100 = 70%
The quarterback's completion percentage is 70%.
Completion Percentage Examples
| Completions | Passing Attempts | Completion Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 35 | 71.43% |
| 28 | 40 | 70.00% |
| 20 | 40 | 50.00% |
| 30 | 40 | 75.00% |
| 40 | 40 | 100.00% |
| 0 | 20 | 0.00% |
What Does a 70% Completion Percentage Mean?
A 70% completion percentage means that the quarterback completed 70 out of every 100 passing attempts on average within the sample being measured.
For a specific game, the actual number of completions and attempts matters. A quarterback who completes 7 of 10 passes has a 70% completion percentage, while a quarterback who completes 28 of 40 passes also has a 70% completion percentage.
What Does a 50% Completion Percentage Mean?
A 50% completion percentage means that half of the quarterback's passing attempts were completed.
For example:
20 completions ÷ 40 passing attempts × 100 = 50%
What Does a 100% Completion Percentage Mean?
A 100% completion percentage means every recorded passing attempt was completed.
For example:
10 completions ÷ 10 passing attempts × 100 = 100%
A 100% completion percentage is possible when every passing attempt in the sample is completed.
What Does a 0% Completion Percentage Mean?
A 0% completion percentage means the quarterback recorded no completions among the passing attempts included in the calculation.
For example:
0 completions ÷ 10 passing attempts × 100 = 0%
Completion Percentage vs. Completion Rate
In basic football statistics, completion percentage and completion rate can refer to the same calculation: completions divided by passing attempts.
This calculator uses the standard percentage calculation:
Completions ÷ Passing Attempts × 100
For example, 30 completions on 40 attempts produces a 75% completion percentage.
Completion Percentage vs. Incomplete Percentage
Completion percentage measures completed passes, while incomplete percentage measures the passing attempts that were not completed.
The two percentages add up to 100% when calculated from the same passing attempts.
Completion Percentage + Incomplete Percentage = 100%
For example:
- 30 completions
- 40 passing attempts
- 10 incomplete passes
- 75% completion percentage
- 25% incomplete percentage
75% + 25% = 100%
How Are Incomplete Passes Calculated?
Incomplete passes are calculated by subtracting completions from total passing attempts.
Incomplete Passes = Passing Attempts − Completions
For example:
40 − 30 = 10 incomplete passes
The calculator automatically calculates the number of incomplete passes from the two values you enter.
Do Interceptions Affect Completion Percentage?
Interceptions do not require a separate input in this calculator. The calculator only needs completions and total passing attempts.
An intercepted forward pass is not a completed pass, so when it is included in the quarterback's passing-attempt total, it contributes to the denominator but not the number of completions.
For example, if a quarterback has 20 completions on 30 passing attempts, the completion percentage is:
20 ÷ 30 × 100 = 66.67%
Interceptions, touchdown passes, and passing yards are separate statistics and are not needed to calculate completion percentage.
Does Completion Percentage Include Passing Yards?
No. Passing yards are not part of the completion percentage formula.
A quarterback can have a high completion percentage with short passes or a lower completion percentage while completing longer passes. Completion percentage only measures completed passes relative to passing attempts.
NFL passing statistics separately report passing yards, yards per attempt, completions, completion percentage, touchdown passes, interceptions, and passer rating. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Does Completion Percentage Include Touchdowns?
No. Touchdown passes are not included in the completion percentage formula.
A touchdown pass can be a completed pass, but the touchdown itself does not change the formula. The calculation only uses the number of completions and passing attempts.
Completion Percentage and Passer Rating
Completion percentage is one basic passing statistic, while passer rating is a more comprehensive statistic that combines completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage.
Therefore, two quarterbacks can have similar completion percentages but different passer ratings because their yards, touchdowns, and interceptions can be different.
Use our NFL Passer Rating Calculator when you want to calculate traditional passer rating.
How to Calculate Season Completion Percentage
For a season or multi-game sample, use the total completions divided by total passing attempts.
Season Completion Percentage = Total Completions ÷ Total Passing Attempts × 100
For example, suppose a quarterback has:
- 350 total completions
- 525 total passing attempts
The season completion percentage is:
350 ÷ 525 × 100 = 66.67%
Why You Should Not Average Individual Game Percentages
Individual games can have different numbers of passing attempts. Because of this, simply averaging game-by-game percentages can produce an inaccurate season or multi-game completion percentage.
For example, imagine a quarterback has:
- 80% in Game 1
- 50% in Game 2
The simple average would be 65%, but that does not necessarily represent the quarterback's actual combined completion percentage because the two games may have different numbers of passing attempts.
The correct method is:
Total completions ÷ Total passing attempts × 100
Can Completion Percentage Be More Than 100%?
No. A valid completion percentage cannot exceed 100%.
The number of completions cannot be greater than the number of passing attempts. The calculator therefore prevents a value such as 40 completions with only 35 passing attempts.
Can Passing Attempts Be Zero?
The calculator does not allow zero passing attempts because dividing by zero would make the completion percentage undefined.
You need at least one passing attempt to calculate a completion percentage.
Why Use an NFL Completion Percentage Calculator?
This calculator makes it quick to calculate completion percentage without manually performing the division.
It can be useful for:
- Single-game NFL statistics
- Quarterback comparisons
- Season statistics
- Fantasy football research
- Football statistics projects
- Sports data analysis
- Checking manually calculated statistics
Using the Calculator for a Single NFL Game
For a single game, enter the quarterback's completions and passing attempts from the game statistics.
For example, if a quarterback completes 24 of 36 passing attempts:
24 ÷ 36 × 100 = 66.67%
The quarterback's completion percentage for that game is 66.67%.
Using the Calculator for a Season
For season calculations, enter the quarterback's total completions and total passing attempts for the season rather than averaging individual game percentages.
For example, if a quarterback finishes a season with 400 completions on 600 passing attempts:
400 ÷ 600 × 100 = 66.67%
The season completion percentage is 66.67%.
Completion Percentage in NFL Statistics
The NFL publishes passing statistics using fields such as passing attempts, completions, completion percentage, passing yards, touchdown passes, interceptions, and passer rating. Current NFL player statistics display these categories together in the passing statistics table. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
NFL.com also uses completion percentage when describing quarterback performance, such as reporting completions and attempts alongside a player's completion percentage. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Completion Percentage vs. Completion Probability
Completion percentage should not be confused with completion probability or expected completion percentage.
Traditional completion percentage is calculated from actual completions and passing attempts. NFL Next Gen Stats uses tracking data to estimate the probability that a pass will be completed based on factors surrounding the play. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
Therefore:
- Completion Percentage: What percentage of passes were actually completed.
- Completion Probability: An estimate of how likely a pass was to be completed based on contextual factors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are common questions about calculating NFL completion percentage.
What is the formula for completion percentage?
Completion Percentage = (Completions ÷ Passing Attempts) × 100.
What is a 70% completion percentage?
A 70% completion percentage means 70% of the quarterback's passing attempts were completed.
How do you calculate incomplete passes?
Subtract completions from passing attempts. For example, 40 attempts minus 30 completions equals 10 incomplete passes.
Can completion percentage be over 100%?
No. A valid completion percentage cannot exceed 100% because completions cannot be greater than passing attempts.
Can completion percentage be 0%?
Yes. A quarterback can have a 0% completion percentage if there are passing attempts but no completions.
Can completion percentage be 100%?
Yes. A quarterback has a 100% completion percentage when every recorded passing attempt is completed.
Do interceptions affect completion percentage?
Interceptions do not require a separate input. An intercepted pass is not a completion, so when it is included in the passing-attempt total, it affects the calculation through the inputs.
Do passing yards affect completion percentage?
No. Passing yards are not part of the completion percentage formula.
Do touchdown passes affect completion percentage?
No. Touchdown passes are not part of the formula. The calculation only uses completions and passing attempts.
How do you calculate season completion percentage?
Divide total season completions by total season passing attempts and multiply by 100. Do not simply average individual game percentages.
Is completion percentage the same as passer rating?
No. Completion percentage only measures completed passes relative to passing attempts. Passer rating uses additional passing statistics.
What is the difference between completion percentage and completion probability?
Completion percentage is based on actual completed passes. Completion probability is an estimate based on contextual factors surrounding a pass.
Related NFL Calculators
Explore more NFL statistics and football calculators:
- NFL Passer Rating Calculator
- NFL Quarterback Rating Calculator
- NFL Points Per Game Calculator
- NFL Point Differential Calculator
- NFL Win Percentage Calculator
- Fantasy Football Points Calculator
- NFL Standings Calculator
- NFL Pythagorean Wins Calculator
- NFL Strength of Schedule Calculator
Final Thoughts
NFL completion percentage is a straightforward statistic that measures the percentage of passing attempts completed by a quarterback. The calculation requires only two numbers: completions and passing attempts.
Use the calculator above for quick single-game calculations, season totals, football research, or to verify your own calculations.