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2025 NFL Quarterback Rankings Week 4: Lamar Jackson Sacked, Baker Mayfield’s Wild Run, and Is This the End for Russell Wilson?

Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar24/09/2025 - 11:30 am
(Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

In the battle of offense vs. defense in the NFL, the defenses are winning through Week 3. Offenses are only averaging 318.6 yards per game, which ranks 40th all time and is basically where things were in 1999 (318.8) when Kurt Warner was the hottest thing in the game with the Rams.

Today, we have Daniel Jones chasing the very best seasons from Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the Colts have the most improbable 3-0 start. But it’s not just a matter of a handful of backup quarterbacks starting. It’s not like Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Justin Fields, and J.J. McCarthy were off to hot starts for their teams.

Yards may not be the best way to judge offenses either as we’re seeing over 70% of kickoffs getting returned now with the new rules, so special teams are having a much bigger impact on this 2025 season. Sunday was an especially crazy day with four blocked field goals in the fourth quarter alone with two returned for touchdowns.

We’re also seeing a league with huge weekly variance. One week Russell Wilson is throwing for 450 yards in Dallas, the next week he’s benched for Jaxson Dart after an ugly performance. We’ll talk about that and more with our rankings after Week 3.

had one of the highest-scoring days in league history for Sunday’s Week 2 slate. However, I would argue the overall quarterback play wasn’t very good despite the points scored, d

Each week at 365Scores, we are going to rank all 32 NFL quarterbacks from top to bottom. The methodology is to start with our preseason quarterback rankings from July, which were based on a mixture of career value and recent play. Then each week, we will adjust the rankings to account for the latest game to get a sense of which quarterbacks are performing the best in the 2025 season.

1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Week 2 rank: 1 (0)

Patrick Mahomes turned 30 last week as we detailed on here with a special piece. In his first game in his thirties, he ended his first 3-game losing streak after a wild night filled with deep throws to Tyquan Thornton, who looks like their best wideout, and backwards passes that exposed some of the Isiah Pacheco misadventures in the backfield:

The first backwards pass just looked like Mahomes trying to ground a ball on a play he saw wasn’t going to work after Pacheco ran into the left tackle, and Pacheco acted very foolishly by slapping the ball away instead of getting up and running with it as a live ball. The second one looked more egregious by Mahomes until you see the angle Pacheco took before the throw as he was running towards his own end zone instead of going forward:

Cris Collinsworth may have went a little far in his praise of Mahomes for making the forced fumble tackle on the play, but it was a great defensive play by a quarterback:

But even after that sloppy first half, the Chiefs came out of the locker room and were very close to Mahomes finding Thornton on a touchdown pass on three straight drives. The first one he threaded the needle for a score, the second was a deep miss on a 3rd-and-1 that had good design, and the third drive saw Thornton drop a 34-yard touchdown before instantly redeeming himself with a 33-yard catch down to the 1 where Kareem Hunt took it in for the score.

At the end of the night, the Chiefs won 22-9 and that’s even with Harrison Butker whiffing on 4 easy points on two kicks. Through Week 3, this shorthanded, sloppy, broken Kansas City offense is still top 8 in both yards and points per drive, fifth in rate of scoring drives, Mahomes is fifth in QBR (73.3) and he’s 10th in EPA/play according to NFL Pro.

That shouldn’t be possible, but with the state of offense around the NFL, what the Chiefs are doing is not that bad. On a bright note, they found some running game for Mahomes, who didn’t have to outrush his teammates for the third-straight week.

If they ever decide to find a better running back than Pacheco and bench the penalty machine at right tackle (Jawaan Taylor), then if you get Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice back, this offense just might have something elite once again.

Right now, it’s discombobulated, but it’s strangely working. We’ll see if the Ravens bring out some more sharpness and attention to detail on Sunday.

2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Week 2 rank: 3 (+1)

Josh Allen did what he does best on Thursday night: Beat Miami. He’s owned that team his whole career and this was no exception. But it was a different kind of game for Allen, who only averaged 3.2 air yards per attempt, the second-lowest game in Week 3. In fact, the game between Allen and Tua Tagovailoa was the worst game for air yards since 2016 according to Next Gen Stats, which turned the stomach of Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.

That was effective enough for the Bills, who did something in the neighborhood of that last year against Miami too, so it may just be how they view the matchup. But it should be noted the Bills were stopped for another drive in the second half and were going to punt the ball back to Miami in a tied game before a stupid roughing the punter penalty helped the Bills to a game-winning drive.

Allen’s 62.5 QBR ranked No. 12 for Week 3, and all I can say about the absurdity of Tua (62.7) ranking higher in the game is that it’s opponent adjustments that will sort themselves out later. Miami was so bad in Weeks 1-2 against Daniel Jones and Drake Maye that Allen’s game looks mediocre in comparison.

But that’s all to say we’ve seen Josh Allen have much more impressive games against Miami teams that didn’t look like they were getting ready to fire their coach next week and send Tua upstate to tend the rabbits at season’s end.

Yet, that still didn’t stop some in the media on Friday from making the absurd claim that Allen is playing the quarterback position better than anyone ever has:

Bart Scott’s reaction is my reaction, and it’s takes like this that motivate me to do a weekly column like this on quarterback play around the league. We still have 14 games to go and the playoffs. Maybe it is Buffalo’s year given the most favorable schedule you could ask for, the Chiefs’ receiver situation, the Joe Burrow injury, the way the Ravens have tanked on defense, etc.

Maybe Allen gets it done in January and February, but you have got to be kidding me that we’re watching the peak of quarterback play here in Buffalo. We’re watching a team that’s on the greatest run of managing the turnover battle in 25 games in NFL history. That’s true as Buffalo’s only giveaway in the last 12 games is the Allen interception against the Patriots last December that CBS tried to call an “arm punt” even though he could have set up a field goal attempt while trailing by a touchdown on third down.

One giveaway in 12 games. That’s incredible, but if you know about turnovers in the NFL, you know that’s also incredibly lucky as we have seen Allen get away with numerous fumbles that weren’t lost or picks that were dropped. Hell, even in Thursday’s night game, he botched this simple kneeldown and recovered it before Miami could:

I don’t think the 2024-25 Bills have solved how to never lose fumbles or turn the ball over again, but they’re on a great run, they may only end up playing 10 games in the last two years (2024-25) against playoff teams while other contenders are not so fortunate with the schedule.

It’s going great right now for Allen and the Bills, but don’t gaslight me into thinking I’m witnessing the best quarterback play in NFL history. We’re not even close to that here.

3. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Week 2 rank: 2 (-1)

Lamar Jackson is having the best 3-game start to a season for a quarterback with a losing record (1-2) in NFL history. It shouldn’t even be possible to have a 141.8 passer rating with 9 touchdowns and no interceptions and have a 1-2 record, but the Ravens have been terrible on defense, and some of those numbers leave out other bad numbers.

While Derrick Henry needs to stop fumbling the ball in the fourth quarter, it was the 7 sacks that Jackson took in this game that were costly, especially since the Lions got so many of them in the fourth quarter while doing a good job of containing Jackson as a runner all night.  The seven sacks tie Jackson’s career high for a game.

The Lions had Jackson looking indecisive in a way I’m not sure I’ve seen from him since the 2023 AFC Championship Game against Kansas City, his next opponent.

I wouldn’t hit the panic button yet in Baltimore, but things are going to have to get better here on defense and at closing games out. Jackson technically finished the game with the third-highest passer rating (148.1) in a loss in NFL history (min. 25 passes). It’s his third game (second this season) that was a loss with a 140+ passer rating, joining Matt Ryan and Tony Romo for the most in NFL history.

That’s not a Baltimore stat, but that’s what Baltimore is right now and it’s been stunning to watch as this defense was supposed to be better this year. Still, I’d have some qualms about the offense too as I’m not sure why Zay Flowers had such a quiet night, and the running game again was largely contained outside of the 28-yard touchdown run Henry had on the opening drive.

Should be quite the game on Sunday in Kansas City, a defense Jackson has struggled with in his career, though he’s only faced them once since 2022.

4. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Week 2 rank: 4 (0)

Last year it was Ladd McConkey or bust for Justin Herbert in this passing game. This year, he’s getting weekly contributions from Quentin Johnston and Keenan Allen too. Even Oronde Gadsden II stepped up with 46 yards on Sunday in a big 23-20 comeback win over Denver to take a nice lead in the AFC West.

That depth at receiver made the Denver matchup much more winnable for the Chargers, who got a 300-yard game out of Herbert as they continue to have some struggles with running the ball. It won’t help that Najee Harris tore his Achilles, but Herbert is no stranger to having to overcome his running game’s deficiencies.

If he keeps playing like this, the Chargers will probably win the AFC West for the first time since 2009 and he’ll be right in that MVP mix.

5. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Week 2 rank: 7 (+2)

I’m not going to say forget Week 1 in Green Bay since that game could very well decide who wins the NFC North in the end. But after 90 points the last two weeks, I think we can say the Detroit offense is going to be fine without Ben Johnson, and Jared Goff deserves a bit more trust in Year 10.

He’s in his prime, he’s in a loaded offense, and he was accurate and on the money for much of Monday night’s 38-30 win in Baltimore. These aren’t the Ray Lewis-era Ravens on defense anymore, but Goff made some big throws to Amon-Ra St. Brown, a gamer who always gets it done.

You have to like the killshot on fourth down late in the game with Goff having the trust to lay that one out there for Amon-Ra to get it. That’s why the Lions keep winning games under Dan Campbell, and if Goff keeps playing like this, they’ll have a shot to make this their year in the end.

Huge win in Week 3 for him and his team.

6. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts

Week 2 rank: 15 (+9)

Once (Dolphins) is an accident. Twice (Broncos) is a coincidence. Three times (Titans) is a pattern, and the pattern is looking quite good for Daniel Jones and this offense that hasn’t been this sort of efficient machine in Indy since the days of Peyton Manning in the 2000s.

If you look at ESPN’s QBR, Jones’ 85.8 would rank as the third-best season since 2006 behind only Tom Brady’s 2007 (87.0) and Peyton’s 2006 (86.4). That’s how absurd the numbers are for Jones right now, who has led the Colts to scores on 76.9% of their drives.

We saw Daniel Jones so many times in prime time since 2019, losing games with the Giants. You tell me how he’s doing this in 2025. That’s a sack for him with the Giants.

I think we’re on that 2024 Sam Darnold in Minnesota trajectory here, meaning people will wait all season long for the shoe to drop and Jones to turn into a pumpkin again. It’s fitting that he faces the Rams this week as the Rams were the team that handed Darnold half of his four losses last year, including the playoff game where they kept sacking him.

But if Jones can pass that road test this week too? We might need to take the Colts very seriously as contenders, especially on a day where the Chiefs and Ravens are battling it out to not start 1-3.

7. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 2 rank: 12 (+5)

I think you can trace back to the moment that saved Baker Mayfield’s NFL career. It was December 6, 2022. He was just claimed off waivers by the Rams after the Panthers didn’t want him, and he only had two days to learn Sean McVay’s playbook for the team’s Thursday night game against the Raiders.

McVay ended up putting Mayfield in the game after one series with starter John Wolford, and he pulled out one of the most improbable 16-3 comebacks you’ll ever see with a 98-yard touchdown drive that started in the final 1:45.

Mayfield was never very good at game-winning drives before that one, but that seemed to revitalize his career and he took the job in Tampa Bay after Tom Brady retired in 2023. He’s been very good for the Bucs, and he only seems to be getting better even as the injuries pile up to his offensive line and receivers.

But even coming into 2025, Mayfield was only 10-31 (.244) at fourth-quarter comeback opportunities. Yet he’s 3-0 this season after the 2025 Bucs became the first team to score the game-winning points in the final minute of their first three games in a season.

This one really didn’t need to be so dramatic either. The Bucs were up 23-6 in the fourth quarter before the Jets rallied. Mayfield’s 33-yard scramble should have been enough to lead to a field goal and to ice the game at 29-20, but it was blocked and returned for a touchdown to give the Jets a 27-26 lead. The only problem was they left Mayfield 1:41 on the clock, which feels like an eternity this season for him.

He completed a great 28-yard pass to rookie Emeka Egbuka, who continues to make big plays every week. Then the only question was if Chase McLaughlin would make the 36-yard field goal or if he’d fall victim to another blocked kick like what happened to the Rams in Philadelphia on the wildest Sunday in NFL history for blocked kicks. It happened to the Packers too of course in Cleveland.

But the kick was good and Tampa Bay escaped 29-27. These late-game heroics have Mayfield in the MVP conversation already. His numbers should get better if they can get players like Tristan Wirfs and Chris Godwin back soon, hopefully this weekend when they host the Eagles in a battle of 3-0 teams. If he shreds them like he did last year and in the 2023 playoffs, look for Mayfield to climb even higher in the MVP race.

Might as well get some shares on him now while he’s +1600 at FanDuel.

8. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Week 2 rank: 11 (+3)

Last week, I said Jalen Hurts was the Tom Brady to Patrick Mahomes’ Peyton Manning. On Sunday, Hurts backed it up with some very Brady-like results in the big win over the Rams:

  • Philadelphia’s opening touchdown drive set up on a short field by a Stafford interception was controversial after the Eagles weren’t called for a false start on a 4th-and-1 Tush Push that Hurts converted in a week where the NFL said it would call this tighter.
  • The Eagles did nothing on their next five drives with the offense looking broken and Hurts getting strip-sacked to start the third quarter.
  • Down 26-7, the Eagles finally threw the ball down the field and Hurts answered with touchdown drives.
  • Hurts led a 91-yard game-winning touchdown march to take a 27-26 lead, but he missed the crucial 2-point conversion with 1:48 left.
  • But Hurts willed the special teams to block their second field goal of the quarter, returning the Rams’ 44-yard attempt for a walk-off touchdown to win 33-26 and even cover the 3.5-point spread.

That was a wild comeback with Hurts completing four passes of 23-plus yards in the second half and converting several third downs along the way. It finally looked like a real offense again, and we’ll see if that wakes this team up because they were playing terrible football into the third quarter of this one.

9. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Week 2 rank: 8 (-1)

The Rams had bigger issues than Matthew Stafford on Sunday in blowing a 26-7 lead in Philadelphia. But I think it was an issue that Stafford wasn’t a huge factor in building that 26-7 lead as the running game was fantastic, Davante Adams made a nice play on a 44-yard touchdown, and the defense had the Eagles looking broken.

But it makes sense why the Rams didn’t score in the final 29 minutes when you consider the passing game wasn’t firing on all cylinders. However, just make a field goal in the fourth quarter and we’re probably talking about a Rams win here, or at least a game that went to overtime.

Stafford did enough on the last drive to give the Rams a shot at a 44-yard field goal to win the game. The Eagles just blocked it again and returned it for a touchdown to boot.

But it was Stafford’s weakest game of the season with 196 yards and a pick. They need to find another receiver to build up besides Nacua (333) and Adams (213) as no other player on the Rams even has 50 receiving yards right now. Denver is the only other offense in 2025 that only has two players with 50 receiving yards.

Spread the wealth a bit more, Matthew.

10. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Week 2 rank: 10 (0)

Bad loss for the Cowboys as a slight road favorite in Chicago. We talked about how bad the Chicago defense was coming into this one but then came out of it laughing at the Dallas defense without Micah Parsons.

But Dallas certainly could have scored more than 14 points in a game where Prescott threw as much as he did. Yes, they lost CeeDee Lamb early, but they have more talent to negate that loss this season. They just didn’t score on their last few drives much like the Week 1 loss in Philly. Prescott had a bad interception in the red zone too.

We’ll see what he can do against Green Bay this Sunday night in a game he likely won’t have Lamb at all. At least he’ll know that going into the week instead of a bad Sunday surprise.

11. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Week 2 rank: 9 (-2)

Definitely have to respect the Cleveland defense so far. The Browns sacked Love five times and totally took away the running game with Josh Jacobs as expected. One of Love’s best traits has been avoiding sacks, especially on the road. But he tied a career high with five sacks in this one, and it’s only the second game in his career where he took more than three sacks on the road.

But it’s not sacks that lost the game for Green Bay. It’s the interception Love threw with just over 3:00 left that set up the Browns on a 4-yard field for their tying touchdown. In fact, had Love just taken his sixth sack, the Packers probably win this game 10-3 with the way the Cleveland offense couldn’t move it.

That’s something he’ll have to live with. He could have made up for it with a game-winning field goal drive, and he did his part. It was Jacobs who nearly fumbled the ball away before the field goal was blocked anyway. Ball don’t lie, I guess.

But that’s a really brutal loss for the Packers on a day where they could have gained some momentum as the team to beat in the NFC. Turns out they have some issues still.

12. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

Week 2 rank: 17 (+5)

It was only the Saints, and the game was basically over in 11 minutes, but Sam Darnold is throwing the ball very well for the Seahawks. He was 14-of-18 for 218 yards and two touchdowns, making short work of New Orleans here.

His passing success rate (48.1%) this season is a career high and right on par with where he was in Minnesota last year (47.7%), so hopefully he can sustain this efficiency. In fact, his numbers basically mirror 2024 through three games, and this is with the downgrade from Justin Jefferson to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But JSN is playing great too and embracing his new role as the undisputed WR1 in Seattle.

Just need to see Darnold do it against the better teams as he coughed up the ball in a loss against the best defense (49ers) he’s played so far. But we might just be at that point where we have to accept Darnold is a solid NFL quarterback now.

13. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 2 rank: 13 (0)

The Steelers were able to get the win in New England with Rodgers throwing a nice game-winning touchdown pass to Calvin Austin in the fourth quarter. But I think the game showed the same problems that could really show up against a tougher defense like the Vikings in Ireland this week.

Rodgers only threw for 139 yards in this game, the fewest he’s ever had in a win he started and finished in his career. The Steelers don’t run the ball well, they don’t pass protect well, and Rodgers hasn’t really established any identity with these receivers as they don’t know if they want to use the tight ends in more creative ways, or if they’re just hoping to get by with the occasional dart to DK Metcalf or Austin. At least Austin made up for the interception he caused last week.

But I think it’s worrisome that the Steelers needed five takeaways on defense to steal this one against an undisciplined New England team. There are tougher games to come, and they don’t seem any closer to establishing what the identity of this offense is with Rodgers leading it.

14. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Week 2 rank: 14 (0)

See, I think once you get to No. 14, things are shaky at the quarterback position right now. We’re on to people who are just doing mediocre things or struggling to elevate the situation around them.

The Cardinals have far too much offensive talent to not have a game with 300 yards of offense yet. But Murray did have some bad breaks on Sunday with James Conner suffering a season-ending injury, and Marvin Harrison Jr. had some horrible drops on big plays.

But Murray also caught a big break when he nearly gave up a go-ahead safety by getting called for grounding just outside of the end zone in the fourth quarter. Murray was successful on just 1-of-5 dropbacks over the last two drives, and that led to a 16-15 loss after the 49ers were able to get the ball back and drive for the winning points.

It’s similar to the low-scoring games the Cardinals had last year too. You just expect more out of this offense and more from that Murray-to-Harrison connection in Year 2.

15. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders

Week 2 rank: 16 (+1)

Geno Smith somehow finished No. 3 in QBR for the week (78.6) despite the 41-24 loss in Washington. I know his stats weren’t bad early when they were getting blown out, and he added to them late with two more touchdowns to Tre Tucker.

But the Raiders don’t have a good line to block for Ashton Jeanty, and Smith also took five sacks in this game. At least he didn’t throw any picks this week.

16. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Week 2 rank: 24 (+8)

Welcome to the bottom half of the rankings where anything goes. You could practically go from 16th to 32nd (or vice versa) in one week with the way things are this season. Not a lot of concrete, consistent play to be seen here.

But while the Dallas defense looks poor, I’ll give Caleb Williams credit for throwing for 298 yards and 4 touchdowns while not taking a sack for the first time in his 20th NFL game. The flea-flicker touchdown was especially nice with how long and on point he threw the ball.

Let’s see if he can start to stack games under Ben Johnson, but they won’t all be against defenses like Dallas.

17. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

Week 2 rank: 18 (+1)

Sometimes you have to remember Michael Penix Jr. was only making his sixth start on Sunday. But it was by far the worst one yet as he lost 30-0 in Carolina. Sure, the kicker missed two field goals, but there’s no excuse for the pick six in the third quarter that made any comeback feel impossible.

The Falcons will have their offensive coordinator come down to the field to coach instead of up in the box, which I’m not sure has ever been a good sign for the long-term viability of an offense having success.

18. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 2 rank: 21 (+3)

You want to know how I know the Jaguas were fortunate to win on Sunday? Trevor Lawrence is now 3-26 when he doesn’t complete better than 60% of his passes in a game. He was only 20-of-40 with some big incompletions too in the fourth quarter, but the defense had his back and the Jaguars pulled it out 17-10 over Houston.

That completion percentage stat has been a major trend for Lawrence, who needs to get in a rhythm to do well in a game. His only other wins in this split are the 9-6 game over Buffalo in 2021 and the playoff comeback win against the Chargers.

19. Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders

Week 2 rank: N/A (Jayden Daniels was No. 5)

The Commanders have an ideal backup in Marcus Mariota, someone who is mobile and can lean on years of experience in this league to beat a bad defense like the Raiders with no issue. We’ll hopefully see Jayden Daniels back soon, but it was hard to tell he was missing Sunday with how Mariota fared.

20. Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Week 2 rank: 25 (+5)

Again, this wasn’t a great game but Drake Maye is moving up with so many other quarterbacks falling down around the league. Maye made some plays, had some turnovers in big spots he’d like to have back, but he still probably wins the game if Rhamondre Stevenson wasn’t just the worst big-moment fumbler at the running back position.

I also can’t fault Maye on the final drive when he put the ball where he needed to on fourth down and the receiver’s momentum took him backwards and gave up the first down to end the game.

21. Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers

Week 2 rank: 26 (+5)

Mac Jones is No. 11 in QBR (66.0), which is going to give fuel to the people who say anyone can get it done in a Kyle Shanahan system. But one thing that the system has usually failed to do was get anyone to pull out a close game. Jones did that Sunday against Arizona despite coming into the game with a 3-17 record at 4QC/GWD opportunities.

It also helps when you’re no longer asking Jake Moody to make your clutch field goals. Brock Purdy should be back soon, but Jones has held his own here.

22. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Week 2 rank: 19 (-3)

Said in the summer that the Texans were playing with fire in having so many new pieces on offense, and most of them are either washed up or no experience. All C.J. Stroud can really rely on is Nico Collins, and while he had 100 yards and a big touchdown, he also fumbled in scoring territory late in the game.

The Texans are now 0-3 and have scored just 38 points, the worst in the NFL. Stroud showed so much promise in carrying the Texans as a rookie in 2023, but things just haven’t been the same since.

23. Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings

Week 2 rank: N/A (J.J. McCarthy was No. 32)

It’s hard to believe Carson Wentz has started a game for six teams in the last six years (2020 Eagles, 2021 Colts, 2022 Commanders, 2023 Rams, 2024 Chiefs, and now 2025 Vikings). But his first Minnesota start went quite well (14-of-20 for 173 yards, 2 touchdowns) even if his defense outscored the Bengals with return touchdowns.

But he’s going to do better than J.J. McCarthy can right now because of his experience, so let’s see what he can do in Ireland against a Pittsburgh defense that has struggled.

24. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Week 2 rank: 20 (-4)

There’s been a lot of negativity about the start of the season for Bo Nix, and I get it. He’s not doing well despite great protection, and he’s not doing well on early downs. But the Broncos have blown the lead in consecutive fourth quarters while never giving Nix the ball with a one-score deficit, which is hard to do.

But he’s definitely playing more like the rookie from last September than the quarterback who was much more successful down the stretch of 2024. Maybe the Cincinnati defense will help him perk up.

25. Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns

Week 2 rank: 23 (-2)

The Browns got the upset win against Green Bay, but it was not a banner day for Joe Flacco, who averaged just 3.9 yards per attempt against that tough defense. We might even be talking about another quarterback change here if Jordan Love didn’t throw that late pick to help set up Cleveland’s only touchdown drive, or if the blocked field goal didn’t happen.

They’ll need to find more explosive plays for Flacco and these receivers as he’s only averaging 5.0 yards per attempt in three games. That’s not good enough to win games in the NFL.

26. Russell Wilson, New York Giants

Week 2 rank: 22 (-4)

Not surprisingly, the Giants are benching Russell Wilson after an 0-3 start for rookie Jaxson Dart. The Giants could only score 15 points in the losses to the Commanders and Chiefs, and even in the high-scoring loss in Dallas, Wilson still threw an interception in overtime. In Sunday night’s game, he forced two interceptions on deep ball in a game that was there for the taking, and he had a terrible red-zone sequence late that led to a ton of boos from the home crowd.

At this point, you really have to wonder if this is Wilson’s last starting job in the NFL. The Seahawks traded him to Denver where he lasted two years before they got rid of him despite having to take on $85 million in dead cap. The Steelers gave him 12 starts and said that’s enough, we’ll go get Aaron Rodgers instead.

Now he lasts just three games with the Giants and is going on 37 years old. Statistically, his last four years haven’t been as putrid as some quarterbacks near the end of their careers. But it’s not winning football anymore, he can’t elevate an offense the way he could in his prime, and his leadership just doesn’t seem to resonate anymore in the locker rooms with the guys after so many teams keep casting him aside.

It makes for a very difficult Hall of Fame case for what was a slam-dunk choice for Canton. But he’s doing damage to that case the way Donovan McNabb did after he was traded from Philadelphia and flamed out with the Redskins and Vikings before retiring.

I think Wilson had a better case than McNabb before their respective trades, and I think he’s played better than McNabb with his other teams. But it’s still a sad final chapter to what was a great career for a third-round pick.

27. Tyrod Taylor, New York Jets

Week 2 rank: N/A (Justin Fields was No. 27)

Compared to Justin Fields, you get more flexibility in the passing game with Tyrod Taylor in there. He mostly dinked and dunked against Tampa Bay with 26 completions for 197 yards while leading the team with 48 rushing yards. But he put together some touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to at least get the team in position for a comeback before the blocked field goal return gave them a lead. Then they never got the ball back.

The Jets will probably go back to Fields (concussion) when they can, but Taylor is the better quarterback in my view.

28. Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

Week 2 rank: N/A (Joe Burrow was No. 6)

The 48-10 final in Minnesota makes the rest of the year look bleak for the Bengals without Joe Burrow. But let’s not pretend this was some quarterback-only disaster. The Bengals just played a horrific game in every facet with Browning contributing a pick six, which was bad, but his skill players also lost three fumbles. Chase Brown had 10 carries for 3 yards. The defense was poor too.

Trying to solve that Brian Flores defense is tough to begin with. But when you have no running game and everyone’s fumbling the ball, it’s impossible to get anything done. We’ll see how things look in Denver on Monday night.

29. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

Week 2 rank: 29 (0)

The Panthers got their first win of the season with a surprising 30-0 rout of the Falcons. It wasn’t much to do about Young though, who threw for 121 yards, averaged 5.0 yards per attempt, and scored a rushing touchdown on the opening drive that was his best drive of the game.

30. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Week 2 rank: 28 (-2)

I think I’m out on Tua Tagovailoa. Watching him is such a pain anymore as he’s forgotten how to attack past the line of scrimmage despite having one of the fastest wide receiver duos in NFL history.

In Buffalo last Thursday night, Tua averaged 1.3 air yards per completion, his career low for a game. His previous career low was a year ago against Buffalo on a Thursday night when he averaged 1.8 air yards per completion. That was the night he got his fourth concussion since 2022. His play, including his decision making, sure it starting to show like someone who has had way too many concussions.

P.S. The NFL needs to stop showing us Bills vs. Dolphins in prime time every year.

31. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints

Week 2 rank: 30 (-1)

It’s hard to put much of Sunday’s 44-13 loss in Seattle on Spencer Rattler. His success rate was 2-of-4 by the time it was 14-0 midway through the opening quarter. By the time it was 21-0, he had only thrown two incomplete passes. That’s just an uphill battle against a good defense on the road.

32. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

Week 2 rank: 31 (-1)

It’s not a good sign when your head coach (Brian Callahan) is giving up play-calling duties after Week 3. Honestly, head coaches probably shouldn’t have that job to begin with as they need to focus on the whole game at hand, and that’s why hiring a good offensive coordinator is important.

But the Titans are struggling right now, and Cam Ward didn’t do his team any favors right away on Sunday when he was late on a pass and gave up an easy pick six to start the rout against the Colts.

Better days ahead, I hope.

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Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar24/09/2025 - 11:30 am