QB Index

NFL QB Index, Week 7: Jordan Love, Caleb Williams make big leaps; Dak Prescott slides

Published: Oct 17, 2024 at 02:40 PM

Nick Shook

Around The NFL Writer

NOTE: Up/down arrows illustrate movement from the Week 6 QB Index.

Rank

Lamar Jackson

Baltimore Ravens · Year 7

I had a moment of realization during this game that will undoubtedly attract discourse: Jackson is becoming an elite passer. Sure, he can run, like he did on a designed carry around the right end for a big chunk of positive yards, but it's remarkable to see him survey the field and fire accurate throws as often as he did against the Commanders on Sunday. Derrick Henry's place in this offense certainly helps, as it forces defenses to honor the run and the play-action, which bought Jackson a ton of time to pick Washington apart. But if we're looking for a total package at quarterback, well, Jackson is it. He's sharper than ever with his arm, he's incredibly elusive and he seems very comfortable in Todd Monken's offense. We might be in line to see him win his third MVP, folks.

Rank

Patrick Mahomes

Kansas City Chiefs · Year 8

Mahomes' numbers aren't astronomical through six weeks, but don't let anyone sell you any nonsense about him having a bad year. Those who have watched the Chiefs know Mahomes is still the same playmaking, drive-extending quarterback with a cannon arm that he can unleash when the time is right. Sure, the Chiefs aren't lighting up the scoreboard, but Mahomes is playing winning football, even if he's not impressing to the degree that most are accustomed to. Kansas City is undefeated despite losing its starting running back and two receivers and playing through instability at left tackle. That’s because Mahomes is piloting this vessel.

Rank

Joe Burrow

Cincinnati Bengals · Year 5

Week 6 produced an unusually quiet night for Burrow and the Bengals, who came into the game against the Giants with quite a reputation for putting loads of points on the board -- and finished with just 17. Burrow did his part, completing 19 of 28 passes for 208 yards, but for perhaps the first time this season, much of that was difficult to accomplish. Burrow deserves credit for his career-long 47-yard touchdown run, when he decided to sprint through the wide-open half of field in front of him. He should also be commended for avoiding any crushing mistakes against a sneaky good Giants front. I expect him to be more prolific statistically in Week 7, even against a Browns defense that is still stingy enough to make things tough on opposing quarterbacks.

Rank

Josh Allen

Buffalo Bills · Year 7

Allen couldn't do much worse than his 9-for-30 clunker in a Week 5 loss to Houston. Still, the effort against the Jets -- when a backup running back led the Bills in receiving yards -- showed how clearly he needed the pass-catching help provided by Buffalo's subsequent trade with the Browns for Amari Cooper. To secure the prime-time divisional win, Allen extended plays and pulled off magical feats, including a 42-yard completion to Ray Davis to extend a drive that ended in a great pass down the seam to Mack Hollins for a touchdown. Allen was masterful in the red zone, accounting for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). His best play came when he rolled to his left and found Dawson Knox on the run for a score to make it 20-10. There were ebbs and flows, no doubt, but Allen got the job done -- and he's about to welcome a new teammate who could make the whole operation that much better.

Rank

C.J. Stroud

Houston Texans · Year 2

Yes, they were facing the lowly Patriots, but it was clear from the start that the Texans flew to New England with intent. Stroud was dialed in early, leaning on his connection with Stefon Diggs -- which is really starting to blossom, by the way -- for a couple of excellent completions along the sideline, capping an impressive first drive with a great throw on the run to Tank Dell for a touchdown. It's remarkably pleasing to watch Stroud drop back and whip accurate passes to keep this offense moving, which is what he did for most of the day, turning to Diggs and Dell in their first game played without usual favorite target Nico Collins. Stroud was excellent for the vast majority of their Week 6 win, producing at a rate that we've come to expect from last year's Offensive Rookie of the Year. If he can sustain this over the next month, the Texans are going to soar.

Rank

Jayden Daniels

Washington Commanders · Rookie

The Commanders lost to the Ravens, but Daniels made only one noticeable mistake in the passing game (he overthrew his target for an incompletion), and it didn't end up playing a big part in the outcome. Otherwise, Daniels looked as good as he has for most of his nascent NFL career. He's poised beyond his years, appears to already have a high-level understanding of how to manipulate defenses with his eyes (SEE: his touchdown pass over Marcus Williams to Terry McLaurin) and continues to execute Kliff Kingsbury's offense at a high level. The scrambling opportunities weren't nearly as frequent against Baltimore as they'd been against other opponents, but Daniels was surgical with the football, dotting all areas of the field nearly perfectly with confidence and precision. The designed run game was a little bumpier than usual, due to the way the Ravens defended it, but overall, he played quite well once again.

Rank

Jared Goff

Detroit Lions · Year 9

When you protect well and run the ball effectively, there's little a defense can do to stop Goff and the Lions. Week 6 provided a perfect example. Given all day to throw, Goff carved up Dallas' defense, picking apart the Cowboys' coverages for massive gains. The addition of Tim Patrick has been sneaky good (he caught three passes for 68 yards) and we know what Amon-Ra St. Brown brings to the table. But I was most impressed by the way Goff didn't ice out Jameson Williams after the receiver dropped a pass that would've gone for a huge gain. Instead, Goff went right back to Williams on the next play for a gain of 15, demonstrating confidence and trust in his young teammate. He later found Williams for a beautiful pass on a fade in which Williams outran Trevon Diggs to the end zone. And because they're the Lions, they had time for fun, too, dialing up a double reverse flea flicker that naturally went for a 52-yard touchdown. When the circumstances are right, these Lions are a well-oiled machine, and Goff excels behind the wheel.

Rank

Baker Mayfield

Tampa Bay Buccaneers · Year 7

Mayfield engineered a great opening scoring drive in Week 6 and the offense put three more points on the board before the end of the first quarter. He followed that up by throwing an interception to Saints CB Paulson Adebo, the first of Mayfield’s three second quarter INTs. The last two picks were the result of unfortunate deflections, but they allowed the Saints to quickly climb back into the game. The beauty of the Bucs is in their ability to fight through adversity and keep the pedal to the floor. A Mayfield dump-off to Sean Tucker produced a touchdown, and Chris Godwin's 55-yard catch-and-run put them in the end zone again. By the time Mayfield stepped up in the pocket and ripped a bullet to Cade Otton for a touchdown, the Bucs had put themselves in position to secure another win powered by their shockingly explosive offense and a quarterback who never gives up.

Rank

Brock Purdy

San Francisco 49ers · Year 3

Purdy was cooking last Thursday night. He danced around in the pocket, buying time to dice up the Seahawks defense for 139 first-half yards. After halftime, Purdy picked up where he left off, leading a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that ended with a fantastic throw to George Kittle, who made a toe-tapping grab inside the front pylon for a score. When the Seahawks tightened things up, Purdy capitalized on a turnover by finding Kittle for their second scoring connection of the half, calmly faking to his right before stepping up in the pocket and firing a bullet over the middle. The scoring onslaught ultimately proved to be too much for the Seahawks to overcome, and by the end of it, all Purdy had to do was hand off to Isaac Guerendo and Kyle Juszczyk to seal the win.

Rank

Geno Smith

Seattle Seahawks · Year 12

The Seahawks were one-dimensional last week, asking Smith to carry them to victory. Like all humans, he isn't perfect, but he still gives it his all, including when he attempted to find Tyler Lockett and overthrew him as a defender drilled Smith in the chest, resulting in an interception. Smith did a highly commendable job of leading an up-tempo attack that saw the Seahawks jump back into the game, but his fourth-quarter pick -- thrown toward DK Metcalf, who was drifting upfield -- killed their hopes of a comeback. Everything continues to be difficult for this Seahawks offense, which is struggling without a reliable running game. Until they fix that, Smith is going to continue to be asked to play hero ball.

Rank

Jordan Love

Green Bay Packers · Year 5

After recovering from an MCL sprain earlier this season, Love appears to be getting more comfortable with each week. His rapport with his receivers elevates the offense's potential and was visible in Week 6 on his 44-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson, who broke away from a defender's outside leverage toward open space for a score. Romeo Doubs did his part for Love, running a great route before breaking a tackle near the pylon to score, and adjusting to a desperation heave from a pressured Love to catch his second TD pass of the day. Love placed a sharp pass to Jayden Reed, throwing away from former Packer Krys Barnes, who never had a chance of keeping up with the speedy wideout as he sprinted past him for a score. Love did throw an interception, but only because Doubs slipped on his route, leaving an open window for Sean Murphy-Bunting to make a play. Otherwise, it was a stellar day for Love, who is starting to get on a roll.

Rank

Dak Prescott

Dallas Cowboys · Year 9

The Cowboys offense has a lot of problems. While Prescott is not atop that list, his turnovers have become an issue in recent weeks. His interception thrown late in the first quarter against the Lions wasn't necessarily a bad decision as much as it was a great read and play by Brian Branch, who tracked Prescott's eyes and drifted back from his assignment to make a play on a ball tossed toward CeeDee Lamb in the end zone. That play, however, tells the story of the struggling Cowboys, who are having a hard time capitalizing on scoring opportunities, have zero run game to speak of and are constantly asking Prescott to bail them out. He tries to do so and makes mistakes, which digs them deeper into a hole. Their play design is uninspired, they lack weapons outside of Lamb and even when Prescott drops a dime on a receiver, they often fail to hold up their end of the bargain (SEE: Jalen Tolbert's drop of a pass he lost in the sun). Folks will pin most of this on Prescott, but it feels like he's playing with less than a full deck right now. Unfortunately, it's dragging him down, too.

Rank

Kirk Cousins

Atlanta Falcons · Year 13

Cousins made a couple of spectacular throws in key situations against the Panthers, including a tight-window toss to Drake London along the goal line that showed off Cousins' arm strength. He also narrowly missed a few (including another goal-line throw to London that was on the wrong shoulder) but because Atlanta's ground game accounted for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns between Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson, it didn't matter much. Cousins operated this attack efficiently, got Kyle Pitts involved and didn't make any major mistakes. For the first time all season, the Falcons didn't have to sweat out the final few minutes, thanks in part to Cousins' steady day.

Rank

Joe Flacco

Indianapolis Colts · Year 17

Flacco started his Week 6 game on fire, dropping dimes and throwing a beauty of a pass to a wide-open Josh Downs -- clearly his favorite target -- for an early touchdown. Tennessee's underrated defense presented challenges, which made Flacco uncomfortable at times, but his experience won out, especially on a third-down TD pass in which Flacco identified a zero blitz, bought time by backpedaling and lofted a jump ball for Michael Pittman Jr. in the end zone. Plenty of quarterbacks freeze in that situation, but not a seasoned veteran like Flacco. He didn't connect with Alec Pierce like he did a week earlier, but still cooked enough against a good defense to earn a win. His rollout throw to Pittman for a game-sealing first down was just wonderful. It was a gutsy call executed by a true pro in Flacco, who still has a live arm and remains the best backup quarterback in football.

Rank

Kyler Murray

Arizona Cardinals · Year 6

Whenever the Cardinals are forced to become a pass-happy offense, it rarely bodes well for Murray. A quick 14-0 deficit pushed Arizona into such a situation in Week 6 and Murray wasn't able to lift them out of the early hole. He also lost Marvin Harrison Jr. to injury early in the game, which didn't help matters. From a top-down view, though, the Cardinals need to get more creative with their offensive approach. Murray's designed runs are too easily snuffed out, leaving him with fewer options at his disposal. He still ripped a few nice throws, including a touchdown pass between two defensive backs for a Michael Wilson touchdown, but the Cardinals aren't helping Murray enough right now.

Rank

Matthew Stafford

Los Angeles Rams · Year 16

The bye week came at the perfect time for Stafford, who has been forced to be a hero for a team plagued by injuries. He has seen his play suffer ever so slightly because of it. Stafford is still the same savvy veteran with a strong arm and determination to make a positive play on every down, but because he's been without his top two receivers for much of the season, his potential to produce has been somewhat limited. Occasionally, he's made grave mistakes, but for the most part, he's keeping the Rams competitive with his arm.

Rank

Sam Darnold

Minnesota Vikings · Year 7

Darnold's first four games with the Vikings were shocking to those of us who have watched him since his days at USC. For the first time in his NFL career, he looked like a seasoned veteran capable of handling the job for the long haul. That perception took a few blows in Week 5, though, when Darnold appeared more like his former self during the Vikings' win over the Jets in London. I'm hoping that was just an aberration, because it's really fun to watch a confident Darnold play to his potential.

Rank

Aaron Rodgers

New York Jets · Year 20

Rodgers got a bump from a change at play-caller, flirting with 300 passing yards in Week 6. However, many of the same issues still existed, even in a game in which Breece Hall finally got going, racking up 113 yards on 18 carries. The Jets don't finish drives well, and despite hitting Garrett Wilson on a great pass to the back of the end zone for a touchdown and completing the fourth Hail Mary of his career, Rodgers encountered the same disappointing finish. He threw an interception on a pass to Mike Williams to kill a late drive and doom the Jets' chances of a comeback. Rodgers got his wish when the Jets traded for his old pal Davante Adams this week, but I'm hesitant to believe that move alone will fix everything. Above all, the Jets need to be better in the details department. That will alleviate Rodgers' obvious frustration and perhaps unlock their potential in the passing game. Protecting him better would help, too (looking at you, Tyron Smith).

Rank

Caleb Williams

Chicago Bears · Rookie

Williams displayed incredible accuracy for much the Bears’ Week 6 win over the Jaguars, dropping a couple of absolute dimes to Keenan Allen for touchdowns. His play creation/extension is elite, which is so impressive considering his lack of NFL experience. Williams used his legs to keep drives going, too, and seems to be settling into the offense quite nicely. The best example of this was when he dropped back to pass, faked a bubble to his left, swiveled 180 degrees to fake a bubble to his right, then flipped his hips forward and found a wide-open Cole Kmet for Chicago's first touchdown. Williams was largely excellent against Jacksonville, which came at a great time on the international stage. I'm excited to see what awaits him.

Rank

Justin Herbert

Los Angeles Chargers · Year 5

It sure is nice to see what Herbert can do when he's not constantly under attack from opposing defenses. He had an unusually generous amount of time to throw for a decent portion of the Chargers’ win over the Broncos, completing 14 of 20 passes without pressure for 187 yards and a pretty touchdown to running back Kimani Vidal. Under pressure, Herbert wasn't terrible, completing half of his 14 passes for 50 yards. Overall, it wasn't the most explosive showing, but Herbert handled his duties well, kept Los Angeles' offense moving and avoided mistakes in a much-needed road win over a division rival.

Rank

Jalen Hurts

Philadelphia Eagles · Year 5

Lane Johnson summed it up best this week: The Eagles offense feels “constipated” right now. It was nice to see Hurts receive a bit of a break in the passing game thanks to the Week 6 return of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. The latter did a great job of catching a pass on a drag route and finishing it off with a trip to the end zone. Brown regained his place as Philadelphia's freak of a pass-catcher, hauling in a grab over tight coverage for a touchdown and doing the same thing late when the Eagles needed to put away the game. Hurts also executed a well-timed speed option to keep a late drive going and didn't make any major mistakes, doing his job well enough to push the Eagles to the winning side of the ledger. He's still far from the MVP candidate we saw two years ago, though.

Rank

Justin Fields

Pittsburgh Steelers · Year 4

It was nice to see the Steelers run the ball effectively for once, because it took a lot of pressure off Fields and opened up opportunities for him to make plays out of structure when needed. That's how he scored one of his two rushing touchdowns against the Raiders, dropping to pass before realizing his best option was to take off for pay dirt. The latter was a designed run, which Fields executed easily. He didn't throw for a ton of yards because he didn't need to in a runaway win, but I am curious to see how the Steelers operate if they choose to start Russell Wilson this week, because he lacks the running ability that has made Fields so difficult to defend. I'm also concerned his potential benching might hurt his confidence, because he certainly doesn't deserve to lose his job, even if their offensive ceiling isn't the highest.

Rank

Trevor Lawrence

Jacksonville Jaguars · Year 4

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, Week 6 might have been the perfect case study for where Lawrence is in his career right now. On the other side of the field, Caleb Williams was placing perfect passes for touchdowns. And when Lawrence had a similar opportunity, he put a pass on the wrong shoulder of his intended target, leaving it in a place that allowed Kevin Byard to bat it away. It's more of the same with Lawrence: missed opportunities because he's just not quite sharp enough. He's still quite good in the short passing game and at finding his tight ends, and he put a couple of really nice throws on target to Gabe Davis, who dropped both of them, but the total package isn't there. His teammates are dropping the good throws, and Lawrence isn't producing enough of them over four quarters to make up for the mistakes. He threw an interception in the fourth quarter that was downright ugly, nearly threw another on the ensuing drive, and only managed to push the Jaguars into the end zone late by paper-cutting Chicago's defense with short throws all the way down the field. It's frustrating, because the talent is clearly there, but something isn't clicking -- both with Lawrence and the entire offense -- to consistently produce desired results.

Rank

Andy Dalton

Carolina Panthers · Year 14

Dalton's impact on the Panthers, while not entirely steady through four quarters, could be found in one drive just before halftime in Week 6. Dalton engineered an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that included accurate passes over defenders, deliveries under duress and even a bit of magic, like when he escaped a sack and took off for a gain of 18. He managed to complete the scoring drive without any timeouts remaining in the final 30 seconds and threw a wonderful pass to Xavier Legette for six. That's what experience brings to a team in need of it. Unfortunately, Dalton wasn't quite able to sustain it over four quarters, and his fourth-quarter interception -- a throw he clearly never should have attempted -- doomed the Panthers' comeback attempt. Still, he kept the Panthers competitive, which is more than they could say about their team in the first two weeks.

Rank

Daniel Jones

New York Giants · Year 6

Just when I was starting to believe Jones was turning a corner permanently, the Bengals got some defensive reinforcements, stiffened up against the run (save for one drive) and forced Jones to make plays. Despite managing to convert three of five fourth downs on Sunday night, Jones ultimately came up short in the biggest moments, failing to sustain drives long enough to put more than seven points on the board. Their best chance ended when Jones was hit while throwing, resulting in a Germaine Pratt interception. And when Jones dropped to pass in other instances, he was often slow to make a decision, undercutting any progress they'd built as a unit. It was a far cry from the version of Jones we saw in the Giants' win over Seattle a week earlier, and I hope it was an aberration, not a sign of things to come.

Rank

Bo Nix

Denver Broncos · Rookie

We haven't quite yet seen Nix put together a full four-quarter showcase of his talents, and Week 6 followed that trend. Thanks in part to Nix sailing his first pass of the game beyond the reach of Marvin Mims Jr. -- resulting in an interception -- Denver's offense struggled to get going in the first half, with Nix completing just three of 10 passes for 22 yards as the Broncos fell behind 23-0 before Nix and Co. woke up in the final two quarters. To Nix's credit, he rebounded quite nicely, going 16-of-23 the rest of the way for 196 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton was a dime bested only by Sutton's incredible snag, and his scoring toss to former Oregon teammate Troy Franklin was a nice display of a young quarterback surveying and ripping an accurate pass for six points. As a rookie, he'll have these tumultuous outings; Denver just has to hope it doesn't fall too far behind before he works out the kinks.

THURSDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Nix put together an impressive night against the Saints, thriving when rolling out and using his legs to rack up 239 scrimmage yards in a runaway win at New Orleans.

Rank

Will Levis

Tennessee Titans · Year 2

Week 6 was another instance in which Levis showed reasons to feel encouraged about his potential, firing passes and scrambling to keep the chains moving, but also gave us fresh examples of how he's still not quite there yet. Levis made a really great decision amid a blitz on fourth down, taking just enough of the available time to find Treylon Burks for a first down. And yet, Levis also launched a pass that could only be defined as a prayer, patting the ball multiple times while staring at Calvin Ridley (and thus, giving Colts safety Julian Blackmon plenty of time to sprint over from the middle of the field) before heaving it off his back foot, leaving it up in the air for an easy Blackmon interception. The complete picture just isn't there yet and might never be, but because Levis has proven he's capable of moving the offense well enough to keep them competitive, the Titans will continue with him and hope he irons out the wrinkles. Oh, and speaking of Ridley: Levis needs to find a way to get on the same page with the receiver, regardless of what Ridley said after the game. Tennessee isn't capitalizing on the talents of Ridley or Tyler Boyd right now, which is holding this entire offense back and putting additional pressure on Levis to play the hero. The Titans don't need a hero; they just need a quarterback capable of avoiding turnovers and keeping them afloat.

Rank

Spencer Rattler

New Orleans Saints · Rookie

Rattler's NFL debut inspired legitimate optimism, because unlike most rookies, the speed of the game didn't overwhelm him in the first half. Rattler was confident and decisive, showing off a strong and accurate arm while completing 10 of his first 13 pass attempts for 137 yards and a touchdown. The downside to this Week 6 tale, though, is that the first half was the best part of the meal. The rest was underwhelming, primarily because Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles got tired of watching a rookie carve his team up and decided to send pressure, frazzling Rattler and leading to a two-interception second half that saw the Saints go scoreless in the final two quarters. Effectively, Rattler's star burned out in the second half, or at least dimmed. Still, I think he showed enough to earn another start.

THURSDAY NIGHT UPDATE: On a night in which Rattler was seemingly under constant pressure, the rookie completed 25 of his 35 passes for 172 yards but lost two fumbles in a frustrating home loss to the Broncos.

Rank

Drake Maye

New England Patriots · Rookie

I was worried when Jerod Mayo announced Maye would make his first NFL start in Week 6, not because I didn't think he was capable of handling the job, but because the Patriots' offensive line had proven it couldn't protect Jacoby Brissett consistently. Much to my surprise, New England produced a better operation with Maye under center. It wasn't pretty at first, of course, as Maye appeared nervous, threw an ugly interception by sailing a pass over Demario Douglas' head, and nearly fired beyond Antonio Gibson's reach in the first half. But Maye settled in eventually, launching a beautiful touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte just before halftime. His internal clock was a bit off overall, first appearing sped up before slowing down enough to allow the Texans to record a strip sack. However, Maye seemed to acclimate over time, improvising to find Hunter Henry for a third-down conversion before working through a well-designed play-action call along the goal line, resulting in a scoring toss to Henry. Sure, the game was out of hand in the fourth, but it was still full of important reps for Maye, who stood tall in the pocket before connecting with Douglas on an intermediate crosser for his third touchdown pass of the day. It wasn't a sparkling debut, but there was a lot to like -- which is more than the Patriots could say about Brissett.

Rank

Aidan O'Connell

Las Vegas Raiders · Year 2

Well, that went about how I expected. O’Connell was asked to throw 40 passes in his first start of 2024 against one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL. He completed 10 of his first 15 passes for 85 yards, finished with a touchdown pass (a generally inconsequential one, but a touchdown nonetheless), threw an awful interception that contributed to Pittsburgh's second-half runaway and did little to make anyone believe he's a better option than Gardner Minshew. The Raiders' experiment under center isn't working, no matter who takes the snaps, and after trading away Davante Adams, I don't expect this unit to get any better unless they can find a way to run the ball consistently. We'll see if O'Connell can separate himself from Minshew in the weeks ahead.

Rank

Tyler Huntley

Miami Dolphins · Year 5

Huntley played better in his start before the bye week, completing 18 of 31 passes, but Miami got back on the winning side of things because of its running game, not Huntley. The Dolphins offense is stuck in deep mud without Tua Tagovailoa, and as Huntley continues to gain a better grasp of Mike McDaniel's offense, his performance might improve. It still likely won't compare to the way this unit operates with Tagovailoa, though.

Rank

Deshaun Watson

Cleveland Browns · Year 8

Watson wasn't as dreadful in Week 6 as he was during Cleveland's blowout loss to Washington, but the rest of the story largely remains the same. He isn't elevating the offense, presents zero downfield threat to opposing defenses and fans can only hope he’ll get the ball out before the pass rush crushes him. He finished with a decent passing line in terms of completion percentage (69.6), but the ceiling remains incredibly low, as demonstrated by his 168 passing yards. When the Browns had a chance to score a game-tying touchdown late, they fell apart again, settling for a field goal. Watson is merely a passenger in an offense that needs him to drive them, yet he still owns the starting job. These are dark days for the Browns.