The core of ranking quarterbacks is a subjective exercise.
To do so, I choose to rely heavily on occupational sample size.
The first few weeks of the NFL season were exploratory and erratic. Our most striking vision of Aaron Rodgers from Sunday was a restless quarterback bent out of shape on the sideline. Waving hands. Use the language of sailors.
Not different from a year ago, when Rodgers and the Packers fell asleep looking at the steering wheel when they imploded 38-3 against the Saints. Ultimately, MVP voters weren’t swayed by that poor opener when they handed him the award for the second straight season.
That’s why Rogers – and some other tough start passers-by – don’t hang out in the basements of these rankings. If last Sunday’s signal caller to Green Bay’s ayahuasca lovers happened seven more times, I’d sing a different tune.
on the list!
2022 stats: 1 game | 83.9% | 297 yards | 9.6 years | 3-pass TD | 2 integers | 56 rush yds | 1 rush TD | 0 turnovers
I still remember that day Sports The Illustrated
Football heads from the late 80s explode into a billion pieces when they see Josh Allen. His stellar game against the Rams put his one-of-a-kind physical talent on full display on Earth: knocking back a doomed guard with his 6-foot-5, 237-pound alpha-pouring frame, putting his physical Throw in paydirt and look for gold patiently. Allen was built to overcome occasional missteps. Two of his picks — the first from Isaiah McKenzie, which ended up in the hands of a defender — disappeared throughout the course of the job.
Allen’s chemistry with live dance partner Stefon Diggs is special. While moving at 13.6 mph, Allen rushed past a defender and pitched at 13.6 mph for a 53-yard touchdown, the most 50-plus yards in next-gen stats history Fast record time. After running from our NFL offices to watch the game live at SoFi Stadium, it was clear: He was the most physically dominant quarterback I’ve ever seen.
Kansas City Chiefs
2022 Statistics:
Questions surrounding the Tyrek Mountain Chiefs offense disappeared for a few minutes on Sunday against the Cardinals. Mahomes turned into a roaring flame, leading three consecutive touchdown marches to start the game on a 360-yard, five-touchdown day. That’s what he did: get rid of the pace Hill lost and connect with nine players at different skill positions in a plan that relied on two — and sometimes three — tight ends. Travis Kelce’s signature tackles, perfect end zones and perfectly placed darts tell the story. Andy Reed was tasked with developing a new offensive plan. Mahomes succeeded. Together, they demoralized Arizona’s defense in just a few minutes and never looked back.
Los Angeles Chargers ·
Herbert is in good shape. His protection has improved. Brandon Staley’s defense — full of new pieces — made Derek Carr’s life hell while Herbert watched from a distance. Losing Keenan Allen to a hamstring injury didn’t help, but the Chargers quarterback found him just in time to accomplish one of Sunday’s more spectacular feats. Herbert went on to hit Allen’s backup, DeAndre Carter, for a 23-yard touchdown, showing off his hot-to-trot arm strength. The throws seemed to pass through defenders almost across dimensions, shattering their spirits in the process.
2022 Stats:
Did Brady look like the fourth-best quarterback in football on Sunday night? He didn’t. His heroics were downplayed and replaced by a ground game led by Leonard Fournette that devoured the Cowboys for 152 yards. Brady still played, though, showing off his arm to Julio Jones with a 48-yard burner. Brady’s worst performance — “My interception was terrible,” he said later — was a poor off-target jump from Donovan Wilson. However, his defense made it an irrelevant question, suffocating the “boys”. I’d love to lock Brady in the top five until we see something more poignant.
Green Bay Packers · 18 years
I apply my Brady logic to the league’s back-to-back MVPs. Rodgers was clearly frustrated by Sunday’s chaotic passing offense — which often boiled over — in the Vikings’ fiasco. Davante Adams isn’t going to drop the perfectly placed bomb that flew out of rookie Christian Watson. Green Bay’s primary catcher is runner AJ Dillon. Environment matters. Missing your two starting tackles is important. It’s also important how Aa-Rod bounces back from last year’s poor opener.
Cincinnati Bengals · third year
Los Angeles Rams ·
2022 Stats:
Burrow and Stafford at I’m Not Freaking Out Yet Part of this list. Like Burrow, the Rams quarterback was sacked seven times after a line that couldn’t match the Beal’s defense, leading to endless chaos with an organic four-man sprint. Stafford was coaxed off target and failed to take advantage of Alan Robinson, who was opposite Cooper Cooper. Interceptions and streaks are part of a quarterback, who is equally capable of reaching lofty heights.
Minnesota Vikings
2022 Stats:
Expect growing pains. That’s exactly what we get from Wilson’s first run on Nathaniel Hackett’s offense. With 16 points on 8 offenses, there are too many drives to stall in the red zone. The Broncos hit shots at Nos. 8, 12 and 22 in Seattle while missing a pair of goal-line turnovers. Hackett then selected Brandon McManus’ 64-yard field goal attempt with 20 ticks left — the result of inexplicable clock management — to hand the ball over in the fourth and fifth. to Wilson. Pete Carroll’s love life.
Arizona Cardinals
Murray jumped into the chainsaw on Sunday. Facing a rugged Chiefs defense, the diminutive passer was asked to keep up with Patrick Mahomes missing DeAndre Hopkins and Lawrence Moore on an offense. Murray found his friend Hollywood Brown a few times, but few others, as Arizona went down the hole 37-7. Cliff Kingsbury pointed out issues with the offensive line — he wasn’t wrong — but Keller struggled as a one-man band.
Philadelphia Eagles ·
2022 Stats: 1 game | 56.3% | 243 yards | 7.6 years | 0 passes TD | 0 integer | 90 rush yds | 1 rush TD | 0 turnovers
Not surprisingly, Hurts rushes for 90 yards and 17 carries for the Lions. This is – and
Las Vegas Raiders
Vegas is cooked when Carl turns into a fallible man on the run. It wasn’t a picnic behind an overwhelmed line of raiders, but the throw was dangerous. This one too. Rinse and repeat. Carr and Davant Adams created a bunch of positive drama, but the entire operation was mobbed behind a cobbled top five that used four different combinations of blockers in Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. The new offense is worth its time, but there is little room for error in the rough AFC West.
New Orleans Saints ·
2022 stats:
Winston used to be a bot at six and now has a TD-to-INT ratio of 16 over the past eight games: 3. He was hit three-quarters on the Falcons’ charge, piling up four sacks and sending James to the tent. Then Winston turned around, threw 11 of 12 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns in back-to-back fourth-quarter quarters to put the Saints within two points of Atlanta. He paired Jarvis Landry for a game-winning field goal from 40 yards in arguably the biggest game of his career. The chemistry between Winston and Michael Thomas heated up as the game got wilder. All this is happening in a post Sean Payton world!
Indianapolis Colts
2022 Stats: 1 Game | 64.0% | 352 Yards | 7.0 Years | 1 Pass TD | 1 Integer| 12 rush yds | 0 rush TD | 4 turnovers
Ryan’s debut against the Texans was predictable. He threw Ryan-esque pitches, threw a poor pick on a screen pass, and conceded. He was hurt by drops, including an eye roll from rookie perimeter Alec Pierce in the end zone. Coach Frank Reich relied more on rumble Jonathan Taylor to drag the game into overtime. I see a Colts team with a lot to clean up, and it starts at the front: Watching Indy’s 37-year-old quarterback soak up a punishing blow after the next makes me uncomfortable.
Tua beat the Patriots 4-0. That translates to Dolphin fans. The same goes for Mike McDaniel’s offense. The first-year coach infused Tagovailoa with plenty of bootleg and action styling tailored for third-year passers. His accuracy is still an advantage, but he’s lucky enough to get Tyreek Hill to win the occasional jump ball. Jaylen Waddle’s touchdown has given confidence in Tua’s future, but I’m happy to put under-pressed starters in the middle right now.
Commander Washington · Grade 7
2022 Stats: 1 Game | 65.9% | 313 Yards | 7.6 Years | 4-Way TD | 2 Integers | 12 rush yds | 0 rush TD | 0 turnovers
Washington fans on Sunday fully experienced Wentz’s style in the victory over the Jaguars . A touchdown pass built a 14-3 lead on his first two drives. Back-to-back picks opened the fourth quarter and ripped the Commanders down 22-14. Then came a pair of scoring goals, including a touchdown pass from rookie Jahan Dotson. He missed. Bow down
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Jacksonville Jaguars
2022 Stats:
Lawrence is growing. He will lose the ball. Then whip something special. Then watch Travis Etienne cast an open screen near the end zone. The Jaguars start a fight in Washington. Lawrence helped, but also opted to take a free shot late in the fourth quarter that fell into the enemy’s hands to end the game. Lawrence felt like his performance was close to a monster, but not too far away from a decision or two for his team to win.
2022 Stats: 1 game | 56.8% | 215 yards | 5.8 years | 2-pass TD | 1 int | 9 rush yds | 0 rush TD | 1 turnover
Goff showed resilience against the self-made Eagles defense. He started a terrifying 3-for-10 shooting for 6 yards, a frustrating six that buried Detroit in a 21-7 hole. At halftime, he was sitting for 53 yards. Goff dropped a few cents in the game, but his big early miss arguably cost the Lions the victory. Detroit knows what Goff is: a versatile one-dimensional player. His uglier turnover forced the Rams to make a decision. The Lions may make their own after this season.
Mariota in 72 yards piled on the ground and no options. Still, his three-and-a-point turnover in Saints territory with 1:40 left was a killer. It forced a punt and allowed New Orleans to tear up the field for a game-winning field goal. “It’s all up to me,” Mariota said. Aside from Atlanta’s poor performance against the Saints, one of the bigger developments on offense is proving that rookie Drake London will be a direct contributor. Mariota leaned on him for 74 yards after five steals — but where was Kyle Pitts?
Fields beat the Niners in a rainstorm, finishing just 8 times. Those elements clouded the assessment, but second-year passers showed growth. Facing a mighty San Francisco front, Fields miraculously escaped the charge, rolled left, unplugged on the other end of the field, and singled Dante Pettis for a 51-yard touchdown. He capitalized on another nine-man collapse in a scoring strike against calm St. Brown. Fields is noticeably more comfortable than he was a year ago. Some of his best plays are on the move. If he can avoid dangerous reactions to pressure, the Bears could have something interesting.
Seattle Seahawks
Geno owned Monday night. a wise decision. A crisp pass. A juicy instant finish to the burners of nervous Will Disley and Colby Parkinson. It all unfolded as Russell Wilson watched from the road side. Smith scored 17 points in Seattle’s first four games and looked more comfortable in Wilson’s old offense than Wilson’s in Denver. Geno passed the ball 28 times, but only 5 attempted turnovers without turning the ball over. As the last few seconds passed, the home crowd cheered in unison: “GENO! Geno! Geno!” It was a Gregg Rosenthal fever dream from Planet X.
Pittsburgh Steelers ·
“He didn’t blink,”
New England Patriots · the second year
Danny Dimes is fighting for his future in New York. His penultimate pitch against Tennessee was a 1-yard touchdown, which Chris Miarick pulled to within one point of the Titans. His next clever tackle went to Saquon Barkley to give the Blues a 21-20 lead. The forward’s two-point conversion call covered a number of sins, including Jones throwing a terrible pick in the end zone earlier in the quarter. New Giants head coach Brian Dabor was caught on camera chewing on his starter. This is exactly the same treatment he once gave Josh Allen.
San Francisco 49ers · the second year
2022 Stats:
Lance is a potential ball. On Sunday, he threw a big-boy pitch that darts through a swath of Bears defense and found Ray McLeod for 20 yards. He made a 11-yard 3-pointer against Ross Dwelley and the 10th mid, seeing the quarterback come up to his pitch with maturity. Lance also made a rough interception and he didn’t see Eddie Jackson’s dangerous pass. The rookie hit a 13/54 line on the ground, but also had just 3 points in the second half, struggling in the rain, and was eventually beaten by second-year passer Justin Fields. I doubt the now-winning Niners will tolerate a “developmental season” under the center for long, but how does Lance grow without going through ups and downs?
Carolina Panthers
Baker is Sunday Baker. Variety of games, moments of intrigue and few hints that he’s Carolina’s long-term answer. After the Panthers squeezed out a six-yard run in the first quarter, Mayfield had an interception in the second and had four at-bats before halftime. He also sent out four photos that day – luckily not misses – and almost still beat the Browns. The 75-yard bomb he threw at Robbie Anderson was worth the money. He strode a nice throw to tight end Ian Thomas for 50 yards, setting the stage for a touchdown. However, Carolina’s offensive line is a problem, which usually means the quarterback’s consistent play is doomed.
2022 Stats: 1 Game | 62.2% | 240 Yards | 6.5 Years | 2-Pass TD | 0 Integer| -1 rush yard | 0 rush TD | 1 fumble
You see a little bit from Mills…
OK: He looks great, throws at OJ Howard A power arrow, he scored a pair of touchdowns for the Colts in Sunday’s singular game.
The IFFY: Mills could add more juice to Brandin Cooks’ creative flea glitter.
Dating back to last September, though, he’s recording a bunch of funny passes every week. Under Pep Hamilton’s watch, Mills was in ideal low pressure to continue the game.
Cleveland Browns ·
Logging. Those are the words that come to mind when watching Brissett cycle through his workday. He found Kareem Hunter for Cleveland’s first score of the year just after missing the runner on an open shot. Across the entire map against the Panthers – where he hit a stand-up at one point – Brissett’s play was overshadowed by Hunter and Nick Chubb’s dominant 186-yard rumble on the ground .
With the mobility of the funnel cake, Flacco struggled in Sunday’s crushing loss to Baltimore. Gang Green’s pass-catcher had two turnovers, excessive drops and a tight end slid onto the turf on Flacco’s lone pick. Flacco’s main problem — complete inability to move in his pocket — is not something the 37-year-old can fix. Getting him to throw the ball 59 times didn’t help either. Why not wait for Zach Wilson to heal before calling Mike White?
2022 Stats:
Dak Prescott is sidelined after thumb surgery on Monday, and the Cowboys are now turning to Rush. For Jerry Jones, it was a dark dream.
Even before the injury, Prescott was uncharacteristically drifting with the Buccaneers on the Cowboys offense, getting battered on the perimeter and having depth issues. We knew there was something wrong with the offense, but it was worse than expected, with Dallas hitting seven straight attempts for 13 yards or fewer after an opening field goal. Adding Michael Gallup to CeeDee Lamb would help, but can Dallas play alongside Cooper?
