Quarterback Rankings Heading Into Week 17

Taylor Heinicke is also returning to the bench. The Commanders are still the seventh seed in the NFC, and they are turning to Carson Wentz to see out the season. In a similar boat, the Colts are sticking with Nick Foles despite a disastrous Week 16. If the Colts were to move off Foles, they would likely return to Sam Ehlinger.

Mike White, Russell Wilson, and Colt McCoy are returning from injury. Wilson and McCoy do not have anything to play for in the final weeks, but White is in the heat of a playoff race with the Jets. Zach Wilson"s time is done. He is likely to be inactive for the rest of the season, and the Jets would turn to one of Chris Streveler or Joe Flacco if White were to sustain another injury.

On the injury front, both Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson are expected to miss Week 17. Both Gardner Minshew and Tyler Huntley had effective performances in Week 16, and either could do enough to preserve his team"s playoff standing. Additionally, Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion and will yield to Teddy Bridgewater for the Dolphins" all-important clash with the Patriots. His status for Week 18 is uncertain.

Let’s get to this week’s quarterback rankings:

Quarterback Rankings: Biggest Climbers

New York Jets

Usually, these spots are reserved for individual players, but the Jets make a special exception. Zach Wilson has been an outright disaster for the Jets. He has more interceptions than passing touchdowns, and his PFF passing grade is in the 40s. He has more than twice as many turnover-worthy plays as big-time throws. Wilson has almost certainly played his final down for the franchise, and they will return to Mike White.

Unlike most Jets quarterbacks, White is somewhat competent. He is far from perfect, but the Jets can move the football when White plays. He has an above-average 71.2 PFF passing grade, and he averages a healthy 7.4 yards per pass attempt. He can make a handful of high-level plays a game, and he takes better care of the ball than Wilson does. White is a middle-of-the-pack quarterback who gives the Jets a chance to win in any game.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals fall into a similar bucket as the Jets do. Trace McSorley has not been an NFL-caliber passer this season, and Colt McCoy is a gargantuan upgrade. He is not Kyler Murray – few quarterbacks are – but McCoy is a capable decision-maker who is usually safe with the football. He has three interceptions, but he only has two turnover-worthy plays on 154 dropbacks this season. For comparison, McSorley had seven in 81 dropbacks.

The Cardinals" season is past the point of no return, so they will look to close out the season with some momentum for 2023. Murray"s status at the beginning of the season will be up in the air, but McCoy should be the leader to be the backup or temporary starter moving forward. He has his limitations, but he knows the offense if Kliff Kingsbury is retained.

Dak Prescott

Prescott looked more like himself last week. He fired three big-time throws for the first time in 2022. He also had two turnover-worthy plays, but the good and bad balanced out unlike it had in most weeks. Prescott has now equalized his season"s tally of big-time throws and turnover-worthy plays. He threw for a season-best 347 yards and three touchdowns in a massive win over the Eagles.

Prescott does have 12 interceptions, including eight in five weeks, but he has also tossed multiple touchdowns in four of five games including three in three of the last four games. Prescott has given the Cowboys a chance to succeed more times than not, and he deserves to begin to move up the rankings.

Quarterback Rankings: Biggest Fallers

Las Vegas Raiders

In a baffling decision, the Raiders have benched Derek Carr for Jarrett Stidham. Carr did toss three interceptions in a heartbreaking loss to Pittsburgh, but the Raiders have not been eliminated from playoff contention yet. They could be eliminated as soon as Sunday, but this is a strange move. Last year, the Raiders were in a similar situation, needing to win their last two games to make the playoffs. The Raiders won those games (despite Carr), so it seems weird for the Raiders to openly punt.

Stidham has thrown just 61 NFL passes. He has two passing touchdowns and four interceptions. He threw 13 passes against the Saints earlier in 2022, but this will be his first NFL start. The last time he played more than once in a season, he was horrific in 2020 (44.9 passing grade on 50 dropbacks), so the Raiders are waving the surrender flag.

Nick Foles

Foles should be stripped of his NFL accomplishments after the pitiful performance he had on Monday Night Football. He tossed three interceptions and completed just 58.6% of his passes. He finished with a 44.1 passing grade and four turnover-worthy plays. When he was asked to push the ball down the field in any capacity, he was disastrous. On passes beyond 10 yards, Foles was 4-for-10 for 57 yards and three interceptions. On passes beyond 20 yards, Foles did not complete any and had a 27.1 passing grade.

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