Everyone has their own opinion and method for ranking quarterbacks, but at Pro Football Network, we’ve developed a new stats-based approach, the PFN Insights QB+ Metric. Using our metric, we’ve evaluated all quarterbacks with more than 100 pass attempts through the first 14 weeks of the season to see how they compare to one another across a range of statistics, including situational statistics.
Our metric uses numbers that are fully available through 2019, so that’s where the historical context comes from. All data referenced is relative to either the current season or in comparison to stats dating back to 2000 for most or 2019 for pressure-related data.
So, what is PFN’s QB+ metric?
We’ve created a formula for assigning a letter grade to every quarterback’s performance.
Is it perfect? No. Nothing is.
We’re molding stats that include success rates when pressured, third-down conversion rate, and pocket production. The added wrinkle in this PFN Insight is quantifying “clutch.”
Defining “clutch” performance is an imperfect science. In this case, we’ve used timeliness-based stats to account for score and situation.
1) Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Grade: A+
It’s been an up-and-down stretch for Lamar Jackson in the last month. Coming off back-to-back A- or better performances entering Week 11, his individual game grades have gone D, B+, and C. His impressive run through the middle of the season ensures he is still atop these rankings and the only player this season with an A+ to date.
Despite some struggles in recent weeks, Jackson is still a top-five quarterback in that time period.
Jackson is inside the top 10 in every metric we look at and inside the top three for most. He leads the league in EPA per dropback, nYPA, and performance from clean pockets. He’s been excellent in clutch situations and good when making plays under pressure.
Jackson’s MVP credentials have taken a hit in recent weeks, but the losses in the past few weeks could arguably strengthen his case in some ways. When he plays badly, the Baltimore Ravens have tended to lose this season. Whereas, when he plays well, it’s been in games they’ve won.
2) Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Grade: A
It was not Tua Tagovailoa’s best game in Green Bay, but it was also not his worst of the season or of the last four weeks. There were some concerns about Tua’s ability to play in cold weather, and while he did not dispel them completely on Thanksgiving, there were some good improvements over previous cold-weather outings.
Tua doesn’t have any A-graded games this season, but his consistency across multiple weeks compares favorably to historical seasons in our database.
Tua’s numbers are also very much an all-or-nothing proposition. He’s a top-five quarterback when it comes to clutch situations, throwing under pressure, EPA per dropback, and third-down conversions. However, he’s closer to the league average in other elements of his game this year.
In the last four weeks, Tua has also ranked second in the NFL with an A grade over that timespan. That is despite two slightly below-par performances by his own high standards.
Tagovailoa is putting together a fantastic run of games since his return, and despite the Miami Dolphins likely to miss the playoffs, there should be little blame placed on the shoulders of their quarterback.
3) Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Grade: A-
Joe Burrow has had two tough games in a row on either side of his bye week, which has ranked him eighth over the last four weeks. Nothing in Burrow’s game was particularly excellent over the last two games, which has been somewhat unusual for the Cincinnati Bengals’ QB this season.
He’s put together a solid résumé of games despite his team’s 4-8 record. He’s been good both when pressured and when throwing from a clean pocket and ranks third in converting third downs.
With the Bengals trailing in several games, Burrow has also racked up some nice volume stats, leading the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns per game.
4) Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Grade: B+
When he’s most needed to, Josh Allen has stepped up for the Buffalo Bills over their last two games. The games with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers were viewed as critical ones for both the Bills and Allen to prove themselves, and he did so excellently.
In the metrics, Allen hasn’t had many “wow” performances this year; he has just one individual game inside the top 15 on the season and just two inside the top 20, both of those coming in the first three weeks. However, the last two games have been impressive for different reasons.
The clutch moment at the end of the Chiefs game will be an abiding memory of this season, and then his calm and controlled nature in the potential chaos of Sunday Night Football in Week 13 was excellent. Those two games have demonstrated the very best of Allen; a smart reader of the game who can make clutch plays with his arms and legs and a player with a strong arm who can still perform in brutal conditions.
This is set to be the third-best season of Allen’s career, but it’s hard to find too many faults in his play. He ranks inside the top 10 in several metrics but just doesn’t rank at the elite level for any particular metrics this year.
Allen is inside the top 10 in clutch situations, as well as when pressured and in nYPA. Meanwhile, he ranks just outside that threshold on third downs, and his performances from a clean pocket.
5) Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Grade: B+
Jalen Hurts has been the sixth-best quarterback in the NFL over the last four weeks, putting him on pace for the best season of his career. Despite a big victory over the Ravens, Week 13 was not one of Hurts’ best individual performances, ranking outside the top 10 for the first time since Week 4.
When throwing from a clean pocket, Hurts is the third-best QB in the league, but when asked to throw under pressure, he ranks 28th.
Nevertheless, Hurts’ clutch numbers are inside the top five, and he’s inside the top 10 for nYPA and third-down conversion rate. The other big element of Hurts’ game is the ability to execute the Tush Push in short-yardage situations, as well as using his legs out in space to make plays when things break down or on designed runs.
6) Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Grade: B+
Russell Wilson has been very good since taking over the starting role in Week 7. In that time, he has four games graded as B- or better and only one graded below a C.
This season is pacing to be even better than some of his latter years with Seattle and significantly better than his time in Denver proved to be.
Wilson has been good when able to operate from a clean pocket this season (ranking fifth), but he ranks 14th when having to make plays under pressure. He’s also excellent in terms of nYPA and has been very impressive in the fourth quarter of games this year.
Wilson’s high ranking in QB+, along with his impressive 0.13 EPA per dropback, demonstrates that Mike Tomlin made the right call turning the offense over to him.
7) Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Grade: B+
Jared Goff slid a few spots in these rankings over the last two weeks with two league-average performances. He still ranks as the third-best quarterback over the past four weeks, but it very much revolves around that incredible Week 11 performance. The other three weeks have been either a C or C+.
Goff may have the two best individual game performances of the season, but his general play has lacked the consistency of Jackson or even a player like Tua. This is why he is bouncing around the top 10 while they’ve remained fairly stable in the top three.
Goff ranks inside the top five in nYPA, EPA per dropback, yards after the catch per completion (YAC/Cp), and when playing from a clean pocket. This is still currently on pace to be his best season in Detroit, but with some tough games coming up, he’ll need to be back to his very best if the Lions want to hold onto the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
8) Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Grade: B+
It was a really tough week for Brock Purdy in Buffalo. Coming back from an injury, and likely still at less than 100%, was always going to be tough. However, when you throw snowy conditions into the mix as well, that makes things much harder.
This was Purdy’s second D+ performance of the season, and both of them have come in big spots against good AFC teams. In Week 13, he struggled when under pressure, which is something he’s generally been good at throughout the season (ranks third).
Purdy was better in Week 13 than Week 11 from a clean pocket, but still not what you would describe as good, and that is a trend we’ve seen throughout the season, as he ranks 22nd.
The injuries that are stacking up on this offense are tough on the young quarterback. He’s lost a No. 1 receiver, played most of the season without his No. 1 RB, and has now lost his No. 2 RB as well.
With all of this turmoil, to still be inside the top 10 in nYPA, third-down conversion rate, and EPA per dropback says a lot about Purdy’s quality.
9) Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Grade: B
This was a much-needed bounce back for Jayden Daniels, who had been tumbling down rankings in the last three weeks. He’s halted that decline somewhat, and the Washington Commanders now have a bye to regroup and get their offense clicking again. Over the last four weeks, Daniels ranks 26th among qualified quarterbacks, which is the lowest of the four rookies in that stretch.
What has been impressive about Daniels’ performances to this point has been his ability to make plays when pressured. But in recent weeks, even that has been falling away. He ranks 11th in the league when pressured. His play from a clean pocket has also been impressive this season, but it often goes unnoticed compared to the impact of plays made when under pressure.
It feels like teams have figured out Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. It will be intriguing to see if Washington can make an adjustment during its Week 14 bye and if Daniels can come close to his early-season form for the last four games.
10) Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Grade: B
Week 13 was one of Derek Carr’s worst performances of the season, as the New Orleans Saints offense struggled against the Los Angeles Rams. This season is no longer trending to be the best of Carr’s career, but it remains inside the top three, and it’s still by far his best performance over the last four years.
The arrival of Klint Kubiak appears to have been a positive development. His overall numbers are still heavily driven by his superb start to the season, but he’s maintained a top-10 level for the most part. Injuries to this offense have decimated the receiving group, and Carr’s struggles could be indicative of the talent depletion around him.
Carr has impressed whether he’s had a clean pocket to work from or when throwing under pressure. He’s sixth in nYPA and ninth in EPA per dropback. He’s converting on 42.1% of his third-down conversions (10th), but his performance in clutch situations leaves plenty to be desired, ranking outside the top 15.
11) Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Grade: B
Week 13 was the worst level we’ve seen Patrick Mahomes play at since Week 3. Those struggles showed in the box score, with the Chiefs nearly being overhauled by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, it proved to be enough, but this wasn’t one of those games where it felt like Mahomes produced a game-winning moment of magic.
The overall consistency of Mahomes’ results across the entire season is greater than the sum of the individual games. What we deem to be elite performance in an individual game is very different from the level you look for a quarterback to perform at across an entire season.
Mahomes has impressed this year by converting on third down (49.6%; first), but his nYPA ranks 24th (6.5), while his play from a clean pocket ranks 20th in the league this year.
Despite those mixed results, he’s still 10th in EPA per dropback (0.12). Mahomes’ third-down numbers have been dropping off in recent weeks, and that has shown up throughout the year as an issue in games they’ve lost or won by a narrow margin.
The receivers around him are a big part of those nYPA and clean pocket struggles. Travis Kelce has lost a step, and his WR1 is DeAndre Hopkins, who is well past his prime. Mahomes remains solid in most clutch situations but has lapses earlier in games that have impacted his numbers.
12) Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Grade: B-
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ win over the Carolina Panthers was about as ugly as it has been all season from Baker Mayfield. He really struggled when put under pressure, which has been an issue at times throughout the season, ranking 18th.
Getting Mike Evans back has proven to be a huge element, and if they can get Tristan Wirfs fully healthy, Mayfield and this offense will be in a good spot.
Mayfield has some impressive headline-grabbing numbers, including ranking third in passing touchdowns per game (2.08). He’s backed that up with a 44.5% third-down conversion rate (fifth) and an EPA per dropback of 0.11 (11th).
The Buccaneers’ remaining schedule is incredibly soft. Mayfield could easily finish the season as a top-10 quarterback and potentially push for a spot inside the top five. However, he’ll need to play much better than he did against the Panthers.
13) Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Grade: C+
Kyler Murray has shown some flashes of brilliance this year, but the rest of his performances have tended towards the lower end of the spectrum. He has four games ranked inside the top 10 for that week, two of which are inside the top five for the season. However, there are seven games graded as a C- or below and six that ranked 20th or lower on the week.
Murray has been impressive this season in making plays when under pressure, ranking eighth after a couple of tough outings. Unfortunately, his performances around that have been merely league average, which likely helps to explain the inconsistencies we’ve seen from game to game.
14) Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Grade: C
Jordan Love appears to be a second-half-of-the-season type of quarterback. We saw him play well down the stretch last year, and he’s doing so once again this year.
Over the last four weeks, Love has led the position with an A+ grade. He’s climbed up from outside the top 20 at his bye to 14th this week and could be inside the top 10 by the end of the season.
A big part of Love’s situation has been health. He got hurt in Week 1, missing the next two weeks and then perhaps rushing back for Week 4. He finally looked healthy in Weeks 6 and 7 but got hurt again in Week 8. He played through the second injury and had some poor performances in those final two weeks before the bye.
Love’s statistics have somewhat of a reverse split. He ranks just inside the top 10 when under pressure but outside it when playing from a clean pocket. He also has mixed efficiency stats, ranking fifth in nYPA (7.9) but 33rd converting on third downs (31.8%).
The combination of Love’s injury issues and the fact that he’s playing without a true No. 1 is likely leading to some of his relative underperformance. Every week, we seem to see incredible throws hitting the ground because of his receivers’ inconsistent play. It would be intriguing to see how Love performed in 2025 with a true No. 1 option on this offense.
15) Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
Grade: C+
It was a brave call from the Pittsburgh Steelers to bench Justin Fields after a 4-2 start to the season. Fields was having his career-best season in Pittsburgh, but the bar was low, and the numbers do not suggest he should have unquestioningly remained the starter.
There was a lot of promise about what Fields was doing, including ranking 10th when throwing under pressure and converting on third down. He wasn’t particularly performing badly at anything other than nYPA (ranks 28th at 6.1).
Fields did not hurt the Steelers and is a fine fill-in starter, but Wilson still offers Pittsburgh more upside in the passing game.
16) Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
Grade: C+
Sam Darnold’s spot in these rankings is very similar to where he’s been the last four weeks (19th). The last month has been a microcosm of Darnold’s season. A mix of high-efficiency plays and bizarre mistakes that have put the Minnesota Vikings in tough spots.
The last two weeks have emphasized that perfectly, with Darnold bouncing from third-best in the NFL against a good Chicago Bears defense to the 28th-best quarterback against a less-proven Cardinals’ defense.
Darnold has struggled when playing inside the opponent’s half, where the field becomes more condensed. However, his ability to make big plays has him ranked seventh in nYPA (7.6) and fifth in touchdowns per game (1.92). The majority of the rest of Darnold’s metrics would be considered league average, which matches his ranking here.
17) Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns
Grade: C
It was nearly so good from Jameis Winston in Week 13, throwing for close to 500 yards and adding four touchdowns for good measure. However, he also threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Winston finished the game accounting for over 600 yards and six touchdowns in the game, just with over 150 yards and two touchdowns counting towards the wrong team.
This was an electric version of the Cleveland Browns’ offense against Denver, and it changed the feel of watching this team play. If Winston could play at even 75% of this level while eliminating mistakes, he would potentially be a starting option going forward. Unfortunately, there are just too many mistakes still being made.
One area Winston has generally elevated Cleveland’s offense has been on third down. He’s converting 42.5% of third-down opportunities (ranks ninth), compared to just 19.7% for Watson. Winston’s other numbers are nothing special, but they still beat Watson’s across the board.
There should be little doubt at this point that Winston should have been starting earlier this season.
18) Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Grade: C
Geno Smith has fallen a couple of spots in our overall rankings over the last couple of weeks, ranking 21st over the last four weeks. Week 13 was particularly bad, with his first-week grading as a D+ or below and his overall ranking all the way down to 25th.
Smith struggled on third down this week, which isn’t a huge surprise given he ranks 20th this season on that down and 31st if we combine third- and fourth-down numbers. There were also issues in clutch situations, although he kept a calm head in the fourth quarter to take them down the field for the lead.
Average is really the only way to describe Smith. His play rarely hurts the Seahawks, but he rarely elevates them, either.
It’s hard to say the Seahawks need to go and find another quarterback when there are other holes on this roster, but it’s hard to envision Smith taking them to a Super Bowl playing the way he is right now.
19) Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Grade: C
As we might have expected from a rookie quarterback, Drake Maye’s performances are a little all over the place in recent weeks. He went from his worst performance as a professional in Week 12 to his best a week later. The biggest improvements this week came on third down, in clutch situations, and in nYPA.
The nYPA improvement is particularly nice to see, given that Maye ranks 33rd on the season in that metric. It was also good to see his clutch performance bounce back, as that has been one of Maye’s strengths this season.
Maye is playing behind a less-than-stellar offensive line and with one of the least impressive wide receiver groups arguably ever assembled. We saw Bo Nix get off to a similarly mediocre start at the beginning of 2024 before he started improving week over week in the second half of the season.
When he returns to the field in Week 15, Maye should hopefully be able to continue playing at a similar level as in Week 13.
20) Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
Grade: C+
Kirk Cousins has largely been a league-average QB throughout the year. We’ve seen some slight fluctuations up and down the rankings, but he’s rarely been inside the top 10 or outside the top 20. This ranking is the lowest we’ve seen him fall since the first month of the season.
In the last four weeks, Cousins ranks 30th and was last among all qualified starters in Week 13. The last two games have been particularly troublesome, and Cousins’ play has been trending down over his last five.
This is the opposite of what we expected, as the thought process was Cousins would only improve throughout the year coming off the Achilles injury.
There’s not a lot of good to point to in his overall metrics for the season. His highest ranking is a volume one in terms of yards per game, where he ranks fifth at 254.3, but he’s down at 12th when it comes to nYPA and YAC/Cp.
Cousins ranks just inside the top 20 when playing from a clean pocket and in EPA per dropback but is outside the top 20 for all other metrics that we look for.
21) Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Grade: C-
It’s been a rough month for Justin Herbert. Just when it looked like he had gotten his season back on track, he has steadily declined ever since.
That has seen Herbert fall back outside the top 20, as he ranks 22nd over the last four weeks. His play under pressure against the Falcons was among the worst we’ve seen from him this year, and he was below average in all of our main metrics.
The early-season issues were easy to attribute to Herbert’s injury situation, but the last four weeks are a little more confusing. Herbert hasn’t seemed to be playing through injury and has faced three below-average defenses, but his play has fallen off in that time.
It hasn’t hurt the Chargers too much recently in terms of results, but there are more tough games to come, including against the Chiefs in Kansas City this week.
Herbert is another one who has looked good when operating within a clean pocket but has struggled when making plays under pressure. One area of concern for the Chargers will be that Herbert hasn’t been very good in clutch spots this year, ranking well below average when all clutch elements are considered.
22) Aidan O’Connell, Los Angeles Chargers
Grade: C-
Aidan O’Connell has had a very disjointed season. He played in four games earlier in the season and then started the most recent game in Kansas City on Black Friday. So far, it has been a solid, if unspectacular, set of performances, but the way he played in Kansas City was impressive.
Things got off to a slow start in Week 13, but O’Connell showed flashes in the first half. In the second half, things started to click, and he put his team in a position to win before an offensive mix-up cost them the game.
O’Connell finished the week ranked 13th, with above-average performances when throwing from a clean pocket or when under pressure. On the season, he’s been good when playing under pressure (ranking fifth) but has struggled in a clean pocket (36th) and on third down (37th).
Outside of the chaos at the end of the Black Friday game, O’Connell has generally been very collected when inside the opponent’s half and in fourth-quarter clutch situations.
23) Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Grade: C-
This ranking is somewhat tough on Bo Nix because, after the last four weeks, he’s the fourth-best quarterback in the NFL, with an A- grade. The trouble is that his early-season performances were so bad that the numbers have a long way to go up to get him inside the top 15.
It’s also worth noting that the last four weeks have been good relative to others in the same time period, as opposed to historically good performances. Our last four-week rankings only compare Nix to the other qualified QBs in the same time period.
Meanwhile, his individual game performances are compared to our entire database of single-game performances since 2019. In that stretch, he has two C grades, a C+ and a B, showing that while it has been a good stretch, it hasn’t been elite on an individual game level.
Nevertheless, Nix’s consistency has been a real asset to the Denver Broncos. If he continues this over the remaining five games, he could finish the season as the highest-ranked rookie for 2024 if Daniels continues to struggle.
Early in the season, the biggest concern about Nix was that he ranked 29th when under pressure. Yet, we’ve seen some sporadic improvement in this element of his game, especially in the last three weeks.
Nix’s play from a clean pocket has shown steady improvement, and he’s gotten much more comfortable on third down. He currently ranks 17th, having been near the bottom after the first five or six weeks.
24) Joe Flacco, Indianapolis Colts
Grade: D+
The decision to bench Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco was bold and probably a little desperate for the Indianapolis Colts. This team isn’t good enough that a game-manager-style QB like Flacco at this stage of his career could marshall them on a deep run. The fact he struggled through his first two weeks as the full-time starter should hopefully end any discussion of him starting again this season.
Flacco’s overall performance this year is significantly below last year’s, and his last two starts were very poor in terms of making plays and protecting the ball. He currently ranks as the second-to-worst quarterback in the NFL when throwing under pressure and is also last in YAC/Cp.
Flacco had been doing well on third downs, but his overall play was simply not good enough to justify his continued starting.
25) C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Grade: D+
C.J. Stroud’s sophomore struggles continue, and things are arguably getting worse. He ranks 27th in the last four weeks. He has now had a string of C, C-, and D performances in the last seven weeks, and it feels like a long time since he really put together an impressive performance.
Stroud hasn’t been bad at anything in particular. He’s had some struggles when playing inside the opponent’s half but nothing majorly disastrous. The problem is that Stroud hasn’t been particularly good at anything, either. His best trait is his No. 19 ranking in EPA when pressured.
The issue is that when the defense has a less-than-stellar day, Stroud’s not able to elevate the offense to carry Houston to a win. We saw that against the Tennessee Titans, where the defense wasn’t at its usual top-tier level, and the offense couldn’t get them over the line.
26) Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
Grade: D+
The Aaron Rodgers experiment appears to be failing badly. The New York Jets have now fired both the head coach and the general manager, and Rodgers’ play is a big part of what has cost both men their jobs.
The most worrying thing is that nothing in the underlying metrics or on tape looks positive right now. The weirdest element for Rodgers is that he is among the bottom 12 quarterbacks when playing from a clean pocket, something he’s generally been good at in his career.
For other QBs, we can point toward concerns with their playmakers, but with Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams, there should be no such concerns for Rodgers.
Two of Rodgers’ worst career seasons have come in the last three years, so this may just be Father Time starting to catch up with him. However, we thought that back in 2019 and then he ripped off back-to-back MVP seasons the next two years.
This week was particularly odd, with Rodgers and the offense clicking nicely in the first half only to fall away in the second half. He finished the week ranked 27th with a D+ grade. He ranked below average in our individual game database across the board, and it contained a worrying trend for the veteran QB.
27) Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Grade: D+
Matthew Stafford’s performances in 2024 have been quite the ride, and the last four weeks emphasize that perfectly. After posting a D+ against the Dolphins in Week 10, he had a B- grade and nearly matched his best score of the season against the Patriots in Week 11 before falling back to a D+ in Week 12 against the Eagles. He settled in with a C against the Saints in Week 13.
Stafford has ranked outside the top 20 quarterbacks in six of 12 games he’s played but has only been inside the top 12 on four occasions.
Stafford has really struggled when operating under pressure (37th) and is third-worst among qualified quarterbacks this season in converting third downs. Not having Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp for an extended period didn’t help. However, in the last four weeks, most of which have been with them, Stafford only ranks 20th. He’s been better with both Kupp and Nacua, but not by much.
28) Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Grade: D
Based on Dak Prescott’s performances this year, you have to ask if there has been an underlying health issue all season. He will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery, which may be a blessing in disguise.
This has been Prescott’s worst season since 2019 by a considerable distance. He’s struggled in all aspects, sitting just outside the bottom 10 in passing from a clean pocket and when pressured. He’s also struggled on third downs this year, which is unusual for Prescott and this offense.
Overall, this is such an odd year. It’s hard to know if it’s meaningful or just an aberration.
29) Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Grade: D
Trevor Lawrence’s 2024 season is officially over after he was placed on IR ahead of Week 14 following a brutal hit from Azeez Al-Shaair in Week 13. Given he is also dealing with a non-throwing shoulder injury, this seems a smart decision, with the Jaguars officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Lawrence didn’t qualify for a grade in Week 13 before leaving the field, but things didn’t look overly pretty with the offense. It was a brave decision to try and come back with the Jaguars’ season having slim hopes of producing something worthwhile.
Lawrence has really struggled when under pressure this season (34th) and ranks 35th converting on third downs. His other numbers aren’t that bad, but the cumulative impact is that this is on track to the second-worst season of his career, ahead of just his rookie season.
30) Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers
Grade: D
It may have been controversial, but it’s hard not to believe that the Carolina Panthers made the right decision at the time to go to Andy Dalton. They had to see whether their team had any chance of being competitive with a more calming influence under center. But once that answer obviously became a no, the logical decision had to be to give Bryce Young an extended time in Dave Canales’ system.
Dalton started off strongly with a B grade in that first week, but his highest grade after that was a C+. He struggled when passing from a clean pocket and when under pressure.
Dalton did well in some clutch situations but ultimately could not deliver on the rare occasions when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter.
31) Mason Rudolph, Tennessee Titans
Grade: D
In his final start in Week 9, we saw Mason Rudolph’s best game of the year, grading as a B-. But it was never likely to be enough to earn him an extended stretch starting for the Titans when Will Levis returned.
Rudolph has been better than Levis when throwing under pressure (25th vs. 36th), but Levis is now leading him in most other statistics.
Ultimately, Rudolph did not grasp his opportunity as well as he would have hoped. The numbers do not suggest the Titans should have stuck with him over giving Levis more of a run as the starter. The team is not a playoff-caliber group, so there’s more to be gained by developing and evaluating Levis at this point.
32) Daniel Jones, Minnesota Vikings
Grade: D
Daniel Jones’ time with the New York Giants came to a strange, but inevitable end, and he is now in Minnesota, backing up Darnold from the practice squad.
Jones has been pretty much bad at everything this season, and at this stage in his career, there’s not much positive that we can seek. The sad part is that this won’t even be Jones’ worst season as a starter in his career, with his 2021 season still having a lower QB+ score.
It’s hard to imagine Jones getting much opportunity in Minnesota unless we see an injury to Darnold. Even then, we may see Nick Mullens get the first shot at a starting role, at least until Jones is up to speed with the system.
33) Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Grade: D
Levis is on the path to proving that he should not be written off as a starting quarterback quite yet. In the last four weeks, he ranks 13th and has been inside the top 12 three times in that stretch. He’s managed to climb out of an F-grade for the season and is showing there is definitely some developmental potential.
The overall numbers still aren’t great, and there is plenty for Levis to improve on. But he’s posted better numbers in recent weeks when playing under pressure and in terms of nYPA. If we can see this level of play continue over the remaining weeks, just maybe the Titans might be willing to give him another season as the starter.
34) Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Grade: D-
We continue to see some improvement from Caleb Williams overall, but Week 13 was a slight step back from the previous two. It was still better than the first three games out of the bye, which all ranked as a D or below. However, Williams is still just 25th in the last four weeks and is well entrenched in the bottom quarter of these rankings.
His biggest struggles this season have come when under pressure (33rd), on third downs (34th), and in nYPA (36th). He’s been slightly better out of clean pockets (27th), but the overall results are pretty bad so far. The clutch numbers are also not great, especially in the fourth quarter, and on Thanksgiving, we saw what appeared to be some lack of composure.
There’s a lot to unpack in Williams’ performances. His offensive coordinator was removed, and now his head coach is gone. He’ll now continue to work with Thomas Brown, who will function as both the offensive coordinator and head coach. However, that won’t fix what has been a bad offensive line, so they need to work on making Williams better when facing pressure.
We talked all offseason about the quality surrounding Williams on this offense in terms of the skill-position options. Now, they have to find a way to utilize this to get the ball out of his hands quicker and cleaner in the face of pressure.
35) Gardner Minshew II, Las Vegas Raiders
Grade: D-
Gardner Minshew II’s season is over due to a collarbone injury, and in some ways, this prevents a QB controversy in Las Vegas. O’Connell deserved to start and be fully evaluated in the final six games to decide how they should proceed at the position.
Minshew had his best performance of the season in Week 11 but struggled in Week 12. He graded 24th over his last four weeks, so there’s not a lot of room for a drop-off in production with O’Connell taking over. Minshew was a below-average QB in all metrics during his time as the starter and was benched multiple times this season.
36) Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
Grade: D
The Anthony Richardson roller-coaster continues. After his best performance of the year in Week 11, he backed it up with his fourth and fifth D+ or worse grade in eight qualifying games this season.
We expected Richardson to struggle against a good Detroit defense, but the performance against New England’s poor defense is a major concern. The final drive was nice to see and matches the fact that Richardson has been relatively good down the stretch this season.
He’s been around league average this season when under pressure (24th). A big part of it has been his ability to escape and make plays with his legs, whether that be to set up a pass on a broken play or to run the ball himself.
However, he’s yet to show he is comfortable as an NFL quarterback when he has time to process plays and make reads, which has to be the next area of development. He’s last in the NFL when throwing from a clean pocket and is 36th on third down, an area we thought his natural abilities as a runner would help him succeed.
37) Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Grade: F
Young continues to string together a better run of games since returning as a starter. Four of his last five games have been graded as a C or above, and he led Carolina down the field for a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter in Week 13.
Young has four games graded as a C or better in the last five. The overall numbers are still bad, but something to be positive about. Young ranks 12th in making plays when under pressure. Unfortunately, that’s really all there is to be positive about, other than a semi-decent number in some clutch spots.
Young needs to get his numbers up into the league-average region for it to be realistic that he should start again next year. The Panthers have said they won’t be looking to draft a quarterback in Round 1 this year, but that could just be smoke and mirrors. However, it would make some sense to give Young one more year in the system to see, especially if they aren’t sold on the 2025 QB class.
Some of Young’s numbers are really concerning, including ranking second-from-last when playing from a clean pocket and on third downs. He then ranks 37th in nYPA and 34th in EPA per dropback.
38) Cooper Rush, Dallas Cowboys
Grade: F
Cooper Rush has put together a couple of solid performances in the last two weeks, but they are still far from exciting. Two wins over division rivals is a nice feather in the cap, but we’ll see if it translates to more wins.
Rush is a limited-upside starter thrown into the fire in Dallas. We don’t expect him to prove he is an NFL-caliber starter, but performances like this will reinforce his spot as a solid backup.
39) Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots
Grade: F
It’s easy to see why the decision was made to bench Jacoby Brissett. He hadn’t posted a grade above a C this year. Overall, for the year, he ranks in the bottom 10 when throwing under pressure (34th) and from a clean pocket (34th).
Brissett’s nYPA of 4.5 is in the bottom five, and his clutch performances rank in the bottom 10. Even his 32.9% third-down conversion rate is only just outside the bottom 10 and well inside the bottom half.
Brissett was meant to be the bridge to Maye, but he’s now slotted into a backup role that he’ll be familiar with. He may still get the odd opportunity, but there won’t be much excitement.
40) Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Grade: F
Watson’s on-field troubles are officially over for 2024 after tearing his Achilles. But if Cousins’ timeline is anything to go by, it will be intriguing to see how things shake out over the offseason, as Watson could be ready to start the 2025 season.
Watson ranks in the bottom five for nearly all of the metrics we look at, including third-down conversion rate, nYPA, passing from a clean pocket, and passing when under pressure. It’s hard to imagine how he will start again in 2025.