The carousel of quarterbacks never stops spinning in the NFL. In Week 7, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Tannehill took over as the starters for their respective teams. Mason Rudolph cleared the concussion protocol and was restored as Pittsburgh’s starter.
However, this week will inevitably be remembered for Patrick Mahomes suffering a right patella dislocation. Matt Ryan was also forced to exit his team’s game this week. Now, two more of the NFL’s star quarterbacks will miss time this season, adding to what has already been a chaotic year.
Aside from those five shifts, the league’s starting quarterbacks maintained their spots in Week 7. Now, we will once again rank each quarterback based on their performances from the past week and their collective success this season. If you haven’t come across this series yet, I suggest looking at past issues to get a better understanding of how the rankings are compiled.
1. Tom Brady 31/45 249 yards, one touchdown, one interception
Last week’s ranking: 2
While many players have moved up and down in the top three, Brady has remained consistent. We know exactly what to expect from the future Hall of Famer every week. With New England’s dominant defense, the 7-0 Patriots are Super Bowl favorites.
2. Russell Wilson 20/41 241 yards, one touchdown, one interception
Last week’s ranking: 1
After posting several MVP-caliber performances, Baltimore’s defense stifled Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7. Wilson threw his first interception of the season and the Baltimore Ravens won the game in convincing fashion.
3. Aaron Rodgers 25/31 429 yards, five touchdowns, one rushing touchdown
Last week’s ranking: 5
We’ve been waiting to see this from Rodgers all year. The Green Bay Packers scored 42 points and advanced to 6-1 against the Oakland Raiders. Rodgers completed 80.65% of his pass attempts and recorded a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
4. Deshaun Watson 23/34 308 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, 32 rushing yards
Last week’s ranking: 3
After not facing much pressure in the last two weeks, Watson was sacked by the Indianapolis Colts three times. He committed several costly mistakes, including his first interception, which should have never been thrown. The Colts are now in control of the AFC South.
5. Matthew Stafford 30/45 364 yards, four touchdowns, one interception
Last week’s ranking: 17
The Detroit Lions lost Damon Harrison, Kerryon Johnson, and Darius Slay in their loss to the Minnesota Vikings. That out the team in a difficult situation. Stafford and Marvin Jones Jr. did all they could to keep the Lions in the game, but the team dropped to 2-3-1.
6. Kirk Cousins 24/34 337 yards, four touchdowns
Last week’s ranking: 15
After taking some heat early in the season, Cousins has caught fire these last three weeks. During that time, he has all three of his 300-yard passing games this season, ten touchdowns, a just one interception. Cousins posted a 141.4 passer rating on Sunday.
7. Jacoby Brissett 26/39 326 yards, four touchdowns, one fumble lost
Last week’s ranking: 9
After a mediocre performance last week, Brissett delivered against the Houston Texans. In the divisional game, Brissett completed 66.67% of his pass attempts and posted a 126.7 passer rating. He was sacked just one time.
8. Dak Prescott 21/27 239 yards, one touchdown, one interception, 30 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
Last week’s ranking: 10
The Dallas Cowboys jumped on the Philadelphia Eagles early and that was all she wrote. Dallas rolled to an easy 37-10 victory. Prescott posted a 100.5 passer rating and completed 77.78% of his pass attempts. His interception came when Dallas was already in control of the contest.
9. Derek Carr 22/28 293 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, one fumble lost
Last week’s ranking: 6
With the loss, the Raiders have fallen to 3-3. Carr had a decent day throwing the football but fumbling through the endzone is just inexplicable. It wasn’t the first time Carr turned the ball over in this manner either. Maybe, he’s learned his lesson this time.
10. Carson Wentz 16/26 191 yards, one touchdown, one interception, two fumbles lost
Last week’s ranking: 7
From the get-go, things went wrong for Philly on Sunday Night Football. Early turnovers put the team in a hole and Wentz’s up and down play didn’t help. Philadelphia’s defense is awful, but that doesn’t excuse Wentz’s mistakes.
11. Teddy Bridgewater 23/28 281 yards, two touchdowns
Last week’s ranking: 19
If Week 7 was Bridgewater’s last week starting this season, he performed his role perfectly. The New Orleans Saints are 5-0 with the former Viking at the helm. Against Chicago’s vaunted defense, Bridgewater posted a 100.9 passer rating.
12. Kyle Allen BYE WEEK
Last week’s ranking: 20
All things considered, Allen has been terrific for the Carolina Panthers. The team is 4-0 with Allen at the helm this season. He has thrown seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Allen’s strong play has led many to hypothesize Cam Newton won’t start again when he’s healthy.
13. Ryan Tannehill 23/29 312 yards, two touchdowns, one interception
Last week’s ranking: 31
In his first start as a member of the Titans, Tannehill led the team to a close win. The Titans won’t regret benching Marcus Mariota for Tannehill. Mariota will be a free agent this upcoming offseason, so the Titans should prepare to move on from him.
14. Philip Rivers 24/38 329 yards, two touchdowns
Last week’s ranking: 18
The Los Angeles Chargers came within inches of pulling ahead of the Tennessee Titans with seconds left in the game. They came up short, which describes Los Angeles’ season perfectly. The Chargers are now 2-5, something very few people predicted this past offseason.
15. Jimmy Garoppolo 12/21 151 yards, one interception
Last week’s ranking: 11
The weather hindered San Francisco’s pass attack, but Sunday’s win over the Washington Redskins was another example of Garoppolo being saved by the running game and defense. The team is 6-0, but Garoppolo doesn’t deserve much credit.
16. Lamar Jackson 9/20 143 yards, 116 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
Last week’s ranking: 13
If the Ravens are going to win games, Jackson will have to run the ball as he did on Sunday. When Jackson isn’t running well, the team struggles. The running also covers for Jackson’s questionable passing displays over the past several weeks.
17. Kyler Murray 14/21 104 yards
Last week’s ranking: 12
The Arizona Cardinals defeated the New York Giants 24-21 largely thanks to the efforts of Chase Edmonds. Edmonds scored three touchdowns on the ground. After starting 0-3-1, the Cardinals have won three straight games.
18. Andy Dalton 22/43 276 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, 33 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
Last week’s ranking: 14
The game was close for a while, but Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals collapsed late. Jacksonville scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and Dalton committed several turnovers, which put the game out of reach.
19. Jared Goff 22/37 268 yards, two touchdowns, one rushing touchdown
Last week’s ranking: 22
Sunday was Goff’s first game with a passing touchdown and no interceptions since Week 2. The Los Angeles Rams snapped their three-game losing streak against Atlanta’s woeful defense. Goff completed 59.46% of his pass attempts and posted a 99.8 passer rating.
20. Ryan Fitzpatrick 23/35 282 yards, one touchdown, one interception, one rushing touchdown
Last week’s ranking: 29
The veteran journeyman was re-installed as Miami’s starter after Josh Rosen floundered against the Washington Redskins last week. Give the man credit, he’s got guts and always finds a way to make games interesting.
21. Gardner Minshew II 15/32 255 yards, one touchdown, 48 rushing yards
Last week’s ranking: 21
The Jacksonville Jaguars suffered two consecutive seven-point losses when they traveled to Cincinnati on Sunday. Minshew completed less than 50% of his pass attempts, but there was no way he and Leonard Fournette would let Jacksonville lose to the winless Bengals.
22. Josh Allen 16/26 202 yards, two touchdowns, 32 rushing yards
Last week’s ranking: 23
The Miami Dolphins held the lead over the Buffalo Bills for three quarters, but Allen and the Bills scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. Allen posted a 111.4 passer rating didn’t throw an interception for the first time since Week 2.
23. Joe Flacco 21/34 213 yards, one fumble lost
Last week’s ranking: 24
Flacco fumbled three times but only one of them was recovered by the Kansas City Chiefs. However, it was returned for a touchdown. With the Denver Broncos unable to run the ball, Flacco was assaulted by Kansas City’s pass rushers all night. This loss isn’t on him.
24. Jameis Winston BYE WEEK
Last week’s ranking: 28
After throwing three interceptions, Winston was solid until he threw five interceptions in Week 6. The 2-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are below the Panthers and Saints in the NFC South. No matter how well Winston plays, Tampa’s season is trending downward.
25. Baker Mayfield BYE WEEK
Last week’s ranking: 25
The Cleveland Browns were the media’s offseason darlings. However, the Browns and their quarterback are 2-4 six weeks into the season. Mayfield has thrown 11 interceptions and only five touchdowns. He has a 66.0 passer rating and is completing 56.6% of his pass attempts.
26. Mitchell Trubisky 34/54 251 yards, two touchdowns
Last week’s ranking: 26
Imagine if the Chicago Bears had a quarterback to match their defensive potential. While he still has time to develop into Chicago’s savior, Trubisky is in the third year of a career that has been mediocre. He needs to take some big steps forward in the second half of the season.
27. Daniel Jones 22/35 223 yards, one touchdown, one interception, 35 rushing yards, two fumbles lost
Last week’s ranking: 27
After his heroic performance in Week 3, Jones turned into a turnover machine. He can’t be blamed entirely for poor play calling, injuries, and a lack of offensive talent. That being said, losing to Arizona at home has to hurt.
28. Matt Moore 10/19 117 yards, one touchdown
Last week’s ranking: Unranked (DNP)
The veteran backup was pushed into action when Patrick Mahomes suffered an injury in the first half of Thursday night’s game. Luckily for Kansas City, the team’s defense held Denver in check all night, so Moore didn’t have to do much.
29. Sam Darnold 11/32 86 yards, four interceptions, one fumble lost
Last week’s ranking: 16
The New York Jets might as well have brought Luke Falk back for a week considering how Darnold played. Granted, he was up against the NFL’s best defense, but the second-year quarterback played terribly. A pro quarterback should at least get to 100 passing yards.
30. Case Keenum 9/12 77 yards
Last week’s ranking: 30
The Redskins seem to have lost faith in all of their quarterbacks. While the weather made throwing the ball difficult, even Garoppolo recorded 21 pass attempts. Keenum did what he could with his limited opportunities.
31. Mason Rudolph BYE WEEK
Last week’s ranking: Unranked (DNP)
Rudolph cleared the concussion protocol and was reinstated as Pittsburgh’s starter late last week. Devlin Hodges moved back to his backup position. The Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-4, but the second half of their schedule is easy. The team could go 8-8.
32. Matt Schaub 6/6 65 yards, one touchdown
Last week’s ranking: Unranked (DNP)
The 38-year-old, 2004 draftee was forced into action when Matt Ryan exited Sunday’s game. Schaub led the Atlanta Falcons on their only touchdown drive of the game. Schaub is Houston’s all-time leader in passing yards, touchdowns, interceptions, and wins.
Played sparingly
Mike Glennon 2/3 36 yards, one touchdown
Last week’s ranking: Unranked (DNP)
Well, this isn’t a player I thought I’d have to write about this weekend. In Oakland’s blowout loss to the Packers, Glennon got into the game long enough to throw a touchdown pass. His last game-time action came in Arizona last year.
Injuries
Patrick Mahomes 10/11 76 yards, one touchdown
Last week’s ranking: 4
On a quarterback sneak play, the reigning MVP dislocated his right knee cap. He was able to walk off of the field, but he was clearly in pain. An MRI determined that Mahomes will miss about three weeks. In the worst-case scenario, he would have been out for the season.
Matt Ryan 16/27 159 yards, one interception, one fumble lost
Last week’s ranking: 8
Just when it appeared things couldn’t get worse for the Falcons, Ryan exited Sunday’s matchup with an ankle injury. Even against the struggling Rams defense, Ryan and the Falcons failed to establish anything offensively. The team had three measly points when Ryan exited the game.
