NFL Quarterback Power Rankings After Week 2

Welcome to the second week of the quarterback power rankings series. If you haven’t already looked, checked out the power rankings from Week 1to get a better understanding of how the rankings have changed this week.

You’ll notice that a lot of the rankings have changed for quarterbacks toward the bottom of the top ten and in the middle grouping. A lot of this movement was facilitated by injuries. However, some unexpected quarterbacks have come out and played above their expected standing for the first two weeks. These rankings reflect that early success while also taking into account the general understanding of their skill. For that reason, a quarterback might have two bad games under his belt but still be above a quarterback who had two decent games.

1. Patrick Mahomes 30/44 443 yards, four touchdowns, one fumble lost

Last week’s ranking: 1

Another week, another ridiculous performance from Mahomes. He’s just about the only thing saving my fantasy team right now. The reigning MVP completed 68.18% of his passes and recorded a 131.2 passer rating in a win against the division doorstep, Oakland Raiders.

2. Tom Brady 20/28 264 yards, two touchdowns

Last week’s ranking: 2

The Miami Dolphins weren’t even a bump in the road for the New England Patriots. Brady completed 71.43% of his passes and finished with a 124.7 passer rating. We also got to see him connect with his new star receiver, Antonio Brown for a touchdown.

3. Russell Wilson 29/35 300 yards, three touchdowns, one fumble lost

Last week’s ranking: 4

The Seattle Seahawks picked apart the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Wilson topped his opening week performance by completing 82.86% of his passes and posting a 131.0 passer rating. Seattle is 2-0 but has won both games by a combined three points.

4. Aaron Rodgers 22/34 209 yards, two touchdowns, one fumble lost

Last week’s ranking: 5

After a disappointing 2018 season, the Green Bay Packers have come out firing. Rodgers has his team at 2-0, and both wins are against division opponents. Matt LaFleur’s reign in Green Bay should continue without blemish against the Denver Broncos in Week 3.

5. Philip Rivers 21/36 293 yards, one interception

Last week’s ranking: 6

Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t look themselves in a surprising 13-10 loss to the Detroit Lions. Rivers only completed 58.33% of his passes and finished with a disappointing 73.0 quarterback rating. The team will try to rebound against the Houston Texans in Week 3.

6. Carson Wentz 25/43 231 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, one rushing touchdown

Last week’s ranking: 7

Week 2 was an up and down performance for Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles that ultimately culminated in a 24-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. It was a sloppy night for both quarterbacks, and Wentz completed just 58.14% of his passes for a 61.3 passer rating.

7. Matt Ryan 27/43 320 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions

Last week’s ranking: 9

Just like with Wentz, Sunday night’s matchup was a mixed bag for Ryan. On one hand, he threw three touchdowns, but he tossed just as many interceptions. Thanks to the herculean efforts of Julio Jones, the Falcons pulled off the win.

8. Deshaun Watson 16/29 159 yards, four carries, five yards, one touchdown

Last week’s ranking: 8

The Texans were unable to pick apart a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that Mahomes diced to pieces in Week 1. Watson was largely ineffective and only completed 55.17% of his passes. At least he avoided turning the ball over, and the Texans ultimately prevailed.

9. Dak Prescott 26/30 269 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, five carries, 69 yards

Last week’s ranking: 11

After a stellar game in Week 1, Prescott put on another lofty performance. He completed 86.67% of his pass attempts and finished the beat down of the Washington Redskins with a 123.5 passer rating. I wonder how much the Dallas Cowboys will have to pay him after this.

10. Lamar Jackson 24/37 272 yards, two touchdowns, 16 carries, 120 yards

Last week’s ranking: 14

Jackson looks like an entirely new player this season. Again, he showed his much-improved passing skills, and he decided to stretch his legs after only rushing the ball three times in Week 1. Mark Andrews, Jackson, and Marquise Brown look like the future in Baltimore.

11. Jared Goff 19/28 283 yards, one touchdown, one rushing touchdown, one fumble lost

Last week’s ranking: 12

The game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints was fairly disappointing.  Goff rebounded after a mediocre outing in Week 1, but the injury to Drew Brees ended up dominating the game. The Rams won 27-9 and advanced to 2-0.

12. Andy Dalton 26/42 311 yards, two touchdowns, one interception

Last week’s ranking: 15

So far, Dalton is having a career year. After many people were calling for his head at the end of last season and Marvin Lewis was fired, Zac Taylor seems to have taken Dalton’s game to another level. He’s averaging 364.5 passing yards per game through two weeks.

13. Baker Mayfield 19/35 325 yards, one touchdown, one interception

Last week’s ranking: 18

After a tough Week 1 loss, the Cleveland Browns were given an easy matchup against the New York Jets. An 89-yard touchdown by Odell Beckham Jr. ballooned Mayfield’s numbers for the night. It was just a decent night for the second-year quarterback.

14. Derek Carr 23/38 198 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions

Last week’s ranking: 17

After getting a much-needed win in Week 1, the Raiders fell back into old habits against the Chiefs. Carr completed just 60.53% of his pass attempts and posted a 61.1 passer rating. We’ve seen Carr play at a Pro Bowl level in the past, but it just wasn’t there on Sunday.

15. Matthew Stafford 22/30 245 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions

Last week’s ranking: 19

After one of the worst seasons of his career in 2018, Stafford’s campaign has started off well in 2019. Even though he threw two interceptions, Stafford completed 73.33% of his passes against the Chargers and the Lions upset the Chargers.

16. Kyler Murray 25/40 349 yards

Last week’s ranking: 24

The rookie quarterback improved his completion percentage in Week 2 and even threw for more yards despite not going to overtime like in Week 1. Unfortunately, Murray never found the endzone and the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

17. Jacoby Brissett 17/28 146 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, one fumble lost

Last week’s ranking: 26

So far, Brissett has done a decent job standing in for Andrew Luck. While he doesn’t generate as many yards, Brissett created enough offense to lift the Indianapolis Colts over the Tennessee Titans in a 19-17 win. The Colts improved to 1-1.

18. Kirk Cousins 14/32 230 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, one fumble lost

Last week’s ranking: 16

It’s been a weird two weeks of football for Cousins. After completing eight of ten passes for 98 yards last week, he only completed 43.75% of his passes against the Green Bay Packers and finished with a horrendous 52.9 passer rating.

19. Marcus Mariota 19/28 154 yards, one touchdown, five carries, 32 yards

Last week’s ranking: 22

After crushing the Cleveland Browns last week, the Titans returned to earth in Week 2. While Mariota’s completion percentage spiked, he failed to reach the endzone as often and the offense was stagnant. The Titans fell to 1-1 in a 19-17 loss to the Colts.

20. Cam Newton 25/51 333 yards, one fumble lost

Last week’s ranking: 13

The speculation is that something is wrong with Newton. On Thursday night he was struggling to just heave the ball downfield. He had no explosiveness in his legs either. The Carolina Panthers fell 20-14 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and are 0-2 on the season.

21. Jimmy Garoppolo 17/25 297 yards, three touchdowns, one interception

Last week’s ranking: 29

Garoppolo is something of an enigma at this point. One week after looking lost on the field, he posted a 131.2 passer rating and routed the Bengals. It’s still hard to determine just how good Garoppolo is. Some more time will make things clearer.

22. Josh Allen 19/30 253 yards, one touchdown, seven carries, 21 yards, one touchdown

Last week’s ranking: 27

Allen basically repeated his performance from Week 1, except without the two interceptions. While I don’t know about how high his ceiling as a passer is, Allen has shown signs of being able to make plays and win games at the NFL level.

23. Case Keenum 26/37, 221 yards, two touchdowns

Last week’s ranking: 20

Despite the 0-2 start, Keenum has been solid for the Redskins. Against the Cowboys, he completed 70.27% of his passes and recorded a 103.5 passer rating. Unfortunately, the Redskins weren’t able to run the ball effectively and eventually fell behind.

24. Joe Flacco 35/50 292 yards, one touchdown, one interception

Last week’s ranking: 25

The Denver Broncos are 0-2 this season. While Flacco hasn’t been great, he hasn’t been terrible either. The veteran completed 70% of his passes against the Chicago Bears, but that wasn’t enough to survive a crazy finish in Mile High.

25. Eli Manning 26/45 250 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions

Last week’s ranking: 21

You can’t blame Manning for all of New York’s shortcomings. While he isn’t playing great football, plenty of other quarterbacks are doing worse right now. That being said, I can already hear the calls for Daniel Jones to start in Week 3.

26. Jameis Winston 16/25 208 yards, one touchdown

Last week’s ranking: 30

After tossing three interceptions in Week 1, Winston was more precise in Tampa’s Week 2 upset over the Panthers. He completed 64% of his passes and posted a 103.4 passer rating. No one denies that Winston has natural talent, he just can’t seem to put it all together.

27. Mitchell Trubisky 16/27 120 yards

Last week’s ranking: 28

My faith in Chicago’s third-year quarterback is quickly fading. Although the Bears won in Week 2, Chicago has only scored 19 points through the first two weeks of the season. Tribisky hasn’t even thrown a touchdown pass yet, and he’s completed below 60% of his pass attempts.

28. Teddy Bridgewater 17/30 165 yards

Last week’s ranking: Unranked

The former Pro Bowler is the highest-paid backup quarterback in the NFL, but he was unable to replace Brees on Sunday. Bridgewater completed 56.67% of his passes, a far drop off from Brees’ lofty numbers. Hopefully, Bridgewater will shape up in the coming weeks.

29. Gardner Minshew 23/33 213 yards, one touchdown, six carries, 56 yards, one fumble lost

Last week’s ranking: 31

While Minshew needs to work on his ball security, he put the ball on the ground three times, he looks exceptionally good for a rookie sixth round pick. He almost led the Jaguars to overtime against the Texans, but a late-game decision by Doug Marrone prevented that from happening.

30. Mason Rudolph 12/19 112 yards, two touchdowns, one interception

Last week’s ranking: Unranked

Despite being in his second season, Sunday’s matchup was Rudolph’s first meaningful action in a regular season game. He completed 63.2% of his passes, and his 92.4 passer rating would have been much higher if not for a silly deflection by Donte Moncrief.

31. Luke Falk 20/25 198 yards

Last week’s ranking: Unranked

When Trevor Siemian was injured, the 2018 sixth round pick was forced into action. The Jets are already Falk’s third team in the NFL, but he held his own, completing 80% of his passes and finishing the night with a 99.7 passer rating.

32. Josh Rosen 7/18 97 yards, one interception

Last week’s ranking: Played sparingly

Rosen entered late in the game for the Dolphins, and he proceeded to continue the general theme of the game by throwing an interception. I know that Miami doesn’t have a lot of offensive weapons, but their total lack of success is just mindboggling.

33. Ryan Fitzpatrick 11/21 89 yards, three interceptions

I don’t even know what to say on behalf of Miami at this point. It’s early, but the Dolphins have looked irredeemable through the first two weeks of the season. Fitzpatrick can’t keep his starting job for much longer if this mess continues.

Last week’s ranking: 32

Injured

1. Drew Brees 3/5 38 yards, one interception

Last week’s ranking: 3

Brees will miss six weeks as he recovers from surgery meant to repair a torn ligament in his throwing thumb. Since the start of the 2004 season, Brees has only missed four starts. This is the league’s all-time leading passer’s age 41 season.

2. Ben Roethlisberger 8/15 75 yards

Last week’s ranking: 10

Big Ben, who led the NFL in passing yards last season, is out for the rest of the year. He will have surgery on his throwing elbow, which forced Roethlisberger from the Week 2 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter.

3. Sam Darnold

Last week’s ranking: 23

Darnold has mononucleosis, which can cause the spleen to enlarge. Contact, like being hammered by a 300 lbs. defensive lineman, can cause the spleen to rupture, which would be deadly. Darnold will miss multiple weeks.

4. Trevor Siemian 3/6 3 yards

Last week’s ranking: Unranked

Siemian’s foray back into the world of starting quarterbacks didn’t go so well. He was terrorized by Cleveland’s defensive front before being taken down awkwardly on his ankle. He was seen walking around later, but he was knocked out of the game.

Played sparingly

1. Josh McCown 3/5 24 yards

Last week’s ranking: Unranked

The veteran had to fill in for Wentz on a few snaps as Philly’s star quarterback recovered from a harsh hit. In his limited play, McCown tied Fitzpatrick for the most completions with different teams at eight.