Week 2 Quarterback Rankings:

Overtime Heroics Editorial

258 days ago

Now that the NFL is back and QB Power Rankings Week Two is in the past, we can now critique every quarterback. In our weekly QB power rankings, we look at each quarterback’s performance, analyzing the stats but also taking anecdotal notes. We have reviewed:

Completion Percentage
Number of throws
Yards
Touchdowns
Long Drives (40+ yards)
Long completions (20+ yards)
Interceptions and fumbles
Running Yards

Statistics are crucial, but they tell only some of the story. Late drives, scrambling in the pocket to buy time, or a timely third-down completion tight coverage to extend a drive are some anecdotal notes worthy of impacting QB power rankings.

This Week	Last Week	NFL QB Rankings – September 20, 2022
32	32	Jacoby Brissett Despite having better stats than other quarterbacks, Brissett was once again bailed out by the run game. However, the Browns still ended up losing 31-30 to the Jets.
31	NA	Jimmy Garoppolo (NA) When star rookie Trey Lance got injured in the first quarter, Garoppolo had to step up to the plate. He managed to lead the 49ers to a 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Let’s see if he can keep this rolling.
29	13	Ryan Tannehill (⇩16 spots) Tannehill played abysmally on Monday. With Henry being locked down, he had to throw it. He did, but to the other team, twice. Two interceptions in a blowout loss to the Bills 41-7.
29	13	Jameis Winston (⇩16 spots) Winston struggled against a stout Buccaneers defense, throwing 3 interceptions. With star running back Alvin Kamara injured, Winston lost another target. The Saints lost to the Buccaneers 20-10.
28	29	Justin Fields (⇧1 spot) The oldest rivalry in football put Fields under expectations which did him no favors. He underperformed. His mobility shined, which was his only positive out of that divisional game. The Bears ended up losing to the Packers 27-10.
27	27	Matt Ryan Ryan didn’t have a good day to say the least. He threw 195 yards but had 3 interceptions in a blowout loss to the Jaguars 24-0. Ryan is regressing and showing his age. Can he bounce back?
26	NA	Cooper Rush (NA) In the absence of Dak Prescott, Cooper has done a great job leading the Cowboys. Rush had 235 yards, 1 touchdown, and a quarterback rating of 78.2. They upset the Bengals, winning 20-17.
25	19	Geno Smith (⇩6 spots) Coaches and fans alike didn’t expect Geno to put up those sort of numbers again. They thought correctly. Geno didn’t get close enough for the win over the 49ers, losing 27-7.
24	25	Mitchell Trubisky (⇧1 spot) The Steelers couldn’t protect Mitch in the pocket, as he was sacked 3 times. With the increased pressure and hurries, that lowered his quarterback rating to 35.4. The Steelers ended up losing to the Patriots 17-14.
23	26	Marcus Mariota (⇧3 spots) Mariota showed off his duality by dancing around in the pocket, avoiding defenders and tacklers. He threw for 196 yards 2 touchdowns, and having a quarterback rating of 61. Ultimately he still couldn’t get it done against the Rams losing 31-27.
22	18	Baker Mayfield (⇩4 spots) Mayfield started off with a good opener against his former team. This last week however, he didn’t do quite as well. With his quarterback rating being 15.9, and throwing for under 150 yards, he regressed this past week.
21	23	Daniel Jones (⇧2 spot) The Giants were inefficient offensively this week. The Giants can’t trust Jones as a QB1 to lean on, so they trust Barkley to lead the offense. Even he couldn’t top 100 yards on the ground. Luckily they won because of veteran kicker Graham Gano. They beat the Panthers 19-16.
20	15	Davis Mills (⇩5 spots) This last week, Mills had a quarterback rating of 19.9 and a not-so-great stat line. He was sacked 3 times, and he was greatly pressured. Mills had no time to find any open receivers, and the Texans lost to the Broncos 16-9.
19	22	Jared Goff (⇧3) Goff has developed a special connection with new breakout star Amon-Ra St. Brown. Goff threw for 4 touchdowns, and 256 yards in the 36-27 win over the Commanders
18	6	Kirk Cousins (⇩11) Cousins did not play like in the past. Throwing 3 Interceptions and having a quarterback rating of 17.5 should tell you quite a bit about his game. The Vikings lost to the Eagles 24-7 on Monday night.
17	16	Russell Wilson(⇩1 spot) Wilson didn’t have a bad game, he had a mediocre one. The top ten quarterbacks are in the top ten for a reason; they’ve played well. Usually, I would lock Wilson in the top power rankings, but he isn’t playing well enough. He threw for 219 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 and interception in the 16-9 win over the Texans.
16	20	Joe Flacco (⇧4 spots) Joe Flacco continues to impress with his stats after 2 weeks, putting up 300 yards, 4 touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 65.1. It came down to overtime and the team came together to pull through.
15	17	Jalen Hurts (⇧2) In the win over the Vikings 24-7, Jalen shined as he threw for 333 yards, 1 touchdown, 83.9 completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 78.3. Hurts flashed his running abilities; he ran for 57 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Hurts seems to be relying more and more on the ground game than his arm.
14	21	Mac Jones (⇧7 spots) The young Patriot QB flashed more of his potential, but only some of it. He posted 252 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and quarterback rating of 56.5. Mac needs to break out like he did last year, and needs to put up those Pro Bowl-type numbers (like Herbert, Burrow, Tua). Regardless, the Patriots still won 17-14.
13	24	Kyler Murray(⇧11 spots) The Raiders vs. The Cardinals game might just be the best of the season. Murray showcased all of his athleticism to keep the Cardinals alive, and they did. They won in overtime 29-23. Murray posted 193 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 66.8.
12	30	Matthew Stafford (⇧17 spots) Matt Stafford jumped back into action this week, and so did the Rams. Stafford put up great numbers: 272 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 79.3 He and Cooper Kupp got back to work and got the win over the Falcons 31-27.
11	11	Derek Carr The Raiders built Carr a dream offense over the offseason by getting him a star wide receiver in Davante Adams; and that is to complement an already stud Pro Bowl receiver Hunter Renfrow, and pro bowl tight end Darren Waller. Carr capitalized on those assets in week 2, throwing for 252 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 53.5. The Raiders still came up short however, losing 23-29 to the Cardinals in overtime.
10	10	Trevor Lawrence Lawrence shined as he tossed for 235 yards, 2 touchdowns, 83.3 completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 95.3 en route to the Jaguars shutting out the Colts 24-0. Lawrence has the pressure of proving he’s worth the first round pick (regardless if it’s in his second year). With James Robinson and Travis Etienne Jr. at the running back spot, he has options. Lawrence had a great week; he’s young, he’s talented, he was great in college, and now he has to keep this up.
9	7	Joe Burrow Joe Burrow has been struggling because of his offensive line. He’s been throwing interceptions, had bad looks, and is reading the defense wrong. He has just not looked like Joe Burrow. If the Bengals have any chance of making it past the AFC Conference again, they need to improve their O-line play immediately. They need, they desperately need, to protect Burrow in the pocket for his life. That’s why the Bengals lost 20-17 to the Cowboys, and why Burrow is the most sacked quarterback in the NFL.
8	8	Carson Wentz Wentz once again proved he still has some left in the tank from his days in Philly. In the loss to Lions, he passed for 337 yards, 3 touchdowns, 65.2 completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 53.5. Curtis Samuel and Terry McLaurin have assisted Wentz to achieve some of his former glory. Antonio Gibson has also become a threat out of the backfield. The run game has also taken some of the pressure off of Wentz. Carson is tied for 7th in the league for passing yards–hopefully he can remain healthy to see himself to be in the top ten.
7	9	Lamar Jackson The Dolphins-Ravens was one of the most competitive games in some time. Both teams had lots of fireworks on both sides, and Lamar boomed big time this week. He had 318 yards, ran for 119 yards, with 3 touchdowns. Lamar is without a big-name receiver (like Davante Adams, or Deandre Hopkins), which makes it all the more impressive that he can put up those kind of numbers. He has always been labeled a “running back”. If this is what a running back can do with these numbers, then he can become a real MVP threat.
6	12	Tua Tagovailoa (⇧6 spots) Now this is a performance that breaks you into a top ten. He put up 6 touchdowns, 469 yards, 90.0 quarterback rating, and a 72.0 completion percentage. He led the Dolphins to a win over the high-powered Ravens led by Lamar Jackson (see above) in a nail biter 42-38. Tua broke out big, finally showing off his accuracy improvements during the offseason. He used Waddle and Hill to boom for the win. Tua is in the conversation.
5	5	Justin Herbert Facing Patrick Mahomes is never an easy task, regardless who you are. But Herbert took on the challenge and absolutely excelled at it. He threw for 344 yards, 3 touchdowns, completion percentage of 68.8, and a quarterback rating of 62.7. Even with the Chargers losing to the Chiefs, this win is proving more and more that Herbert is the “real deal”. Watch Herbert. Just watch him.
4	4	Tom Brady The 45-year-old had a decent, but efficient performance yesterday in the Buccaneers 20-10 win over the Saints. He still very much has an arm to throw downfield. The Buccaneers offense won’t let him throw it often, and his stats seem boring because of it–190 yards, 52.9 completion percentage, 1 touchdown, and just 30.9 quarterback rating. His stats aren’t the usual Brady stats. The Tampa stats are now through Fournette who’s getting more and more carries and volume. Brady has to throw it more to show more of himself again. Still, he did what was needed which seems a common theme.
3	3	Aaron Rodgers Aaron Rodgers got back to normal, beating up the Chicago Bears 27-10. He threw for 234 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a quarterback ranking of 60.6. Even at age 38, Rodgers can still find a way to move around in the pocket like a 20-year-old. In the coming weeks, time will tell if the departure of Adams really does drag him down. Was this just a fluke game or is this just proof that he’s still got it. Can he work with Watkins, St. Brown, (old team veteran) Cobb, and Lazard to try and make the playoffs?
2	1	Patrick Mahomes ( ⇩1 spot) Mahomes played a great game against Los Angeles. He tossed two touchdowns, 235 yards, 68.8 completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 65.7. He led the Chiefs over the Chargers 27-24, Mahomes looked to be in prime form. The Chiefs offense caters to his style of play, and he can bend it to his liking and his tempo of pace. From the side-arm passes, scrambling around the pocket, or the deep throws, Mahomes will continue to dominate no matter the situation. Moving down one spot is only due to how superlative Josh Allen is playing right now.
1	2	Josh Allen (⇧1 spot) Allen absolutely destroyed the Tennessee Titans 41-7 on Monday night. He threw for 317 yards, 4 touchdowns, 68.4 completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 87.7. He torched the Titans left, right, up, down, backwards and forwards. He easily took over the number 1 spot on the power rankings due to this great game. Allen continues to show why he’s the frontrunner for MVP. Trust Allen throughout the season as a top-5 QB week in-week out.

Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs went OFF tonight:

Allen: 26-38, 317 YDs, 4 TDs
Diggs: 12 rec, 148 YDs, 3 TDs

Special duo 🔥 @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/lUy3yzBfWE

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 20, 2022