NFL QB rankings, Week 11: Aaron Rodgers plummets; Caleb Williams enters top 15

NOTE: Up/down arrows illustrate movement from the Week 10 QB Index.

TIER 1

• Matthew Stafford is the hottest quarterback in the NFL right now. He's making the sharpest passes look effortless. Even when a play appears to be doomed -- such as when the Rams ran a play-action bootleg on second-and-goal early in the second quarter last week -- he still finds a way, lobbing a pass to Davis Allen for a touchdown that almost appeared to be an accident. I just watched that play again and cackled. It's absurd how well Stafford is playing right now. How about this note from NFL Research: 60.6 percent of Stafford's completions have been for a first down or a touchdown, the highest mark in the NFL. He ranks first in passing yards per game, passing touchdowns and completions of 20-plus yards. He's thrown four or more passing touchdowns in three straight games. If you need an MVP favorite, it's the man wearing No. 9 in Royal Blue and Sol.
• Check out the highlights from last week's Patriots-Buccaneers game and pay close attention to Drake Maye's two touchdown passes. Watch how he throws while being hit and still puts perfect placement on a pass to rookie Kyle Williams, who took it for a 72-yard touchdown. Then, pay close attention to the ice Maye has in his veins when he drops a dime on Stefon Diggs for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal. This guy is special, folks.
• Josh Allen followed up arguably his best showing of 2025 by delivering a haphazard performance in Miami. An apparent miscommunication with Dawson Knox resulted in a red-zone interception, and an extended sneak saw Allen fumble away possession. He still threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, but the mistakes were crushing.
• It's telling that the Seahawks can cruise to a 44-22 win without needing Sam Darnold to do much. He threw a majestic touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba but also accounted for three turnovers in the game, a strange contest in which the Seahawks were never truly challenged (thanks to their stellar defense).

TIER 2

• Lamar Jackson didn't deliver an electrifying performance in what was a rock fight of a win over the Vikings, but that shouldn't concern folks. It seems as if the Ravens are gradually ramping up Jackson after his extended absence due to a hamstring injury.
• Justin Herbert didn't need to be Superman in Week 10 to earn another win for the Chargers, which was just fine. Sometimes, it's perfectly OK to let your receiver (in this case, Ladd McConkey) shake the defender with a sharp route and then hit him for a touchdown.
• Dan Campbell's decision to take on play-calling duties produced a vintage Jared Goff game: 25 of 33, 320 yards and three touchdowns in a generous distribution of passes among his many targets. Yes, it came against Washington's sieve-like defense, but it excited me when considering the Lions' offensive potential going forward.
• Monday night's defensive battle saw Jalen Hurts launch a handful of accurate passes to his most trustworthy target, DeVonta Smith, for key completions, including the Eagles' only touchdown. Getting the job done describes Hurts' showings in most games. This one was a step down from how he'd played in recent weeks, yet we were still reminded of how he can keep the offense moving.
• Week 10 gave us the type of game I expected to see from Daniel Jones on a weekly basis when 2025 began. He accounted for two turnovers but also threw a gorgeous touchdown pass to Alec Pierce and made some key plays while bleeding from the mouth (talk about a grisly visual) in crunch time. Ultimately, we were reminded of the Colts' offensive firepower and how Jonathan Taylor (32 carries, 244 yards, three touchdowns) can make everything easier for his teammates.

TIER 3

• Jordan Love's numbers look better than his tape right now. Something -- consistency, perhaps -- has been missing throughout 2025 and it was once again apparent in a defensive battle on Monday night. Love fumbled the ball away just before halftime, inexplicably trying to throw away a pass while being sacked. Also, he failed to push the Packers into scoring range on their final possession, which came moments after he'd finally found some success through the air on Green Bay's lone scoring drive of the night. The Packers need to find some stability for Love.
• Caleb Williams is wildly entertaining when the Bears' backs are against the wall and they need their quarterback to push them to victory. He did it again in a frantic fourth-quarter comeback against the Giants, scrambling for 29 yards to set up a touchdown pass to Rome Odunze and later ripping off a game-winning rushing score. The next goal for Williams: Do the same thing consistently for four quarters.
• As I've mentioned before, I love watching Jaxson Dart play football. Unfortunately, he departed in Week 10 after suffering a concussion and remained in the protocol as of Wednesday, with Jameis Winston starting this week. Prior to the injury, Dart accounted for his team's only two visits to the end zone against the Bears. I'm not sure what the plan is for the Giants long-term after firing head coach Brian Daboll, but I know they have their quarterback.
• Mac Jones played really well in a Week 10 loss. His interception was the result of him hesitating before firing a pass into a closing window. Otherwise, he did everything in his power to keep San Francisco in a high-scoring fight against the Rams, completing 33-of-39 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The 49ers' dropback success rate cleared 60 percent; they just happened to face one of the hottest offenses in the NFL.
• Aaron Rodgers looked old on Sunday night (please, keep your age/bedtime jokes to yourself). He looked slow and incapable of overcoming challenges presented by the Chargers' defense. His 51.6 completion percentage was his lowest in years. We can pin a lot of this on a lack of weapons available to him (and the Steelers' inability to consistently move the ball outside of 13 personnel), but Rodgers certainly wasn't without fault in Week 10.
• Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins continue to alternate between looking like a team destined for a full housecleaning and a squad that could threaten to make the playoffs. I'm not expecting a postseason run, but they certainly took the fight to the Bills in Week 10. Tagovailoa played a part in that effort. Now, his interceptions were the products of two entirely unnecessary risks, but he was largely sharp, especially on his touchdown pass to Malik Washington.

TIER 4

• Trevor Lawrence has shown he can keep the offense moving with his arm and legs, giving the Jaguars real chances to win games. Sometimes (like in Week 9), he comes through in the clutch. In others, he might melt down in the biggest moments. He did a little bit of both in Week 10, propelling the Jaguars to a 29-10 lead before Jacksonville's offense retreated into its shell in the fourth quarter. The duality of Lawrence was visible in the final moments against the Texans. He completed an excellent pass to move the Jaguars well into kicker Cam Little's range but a penalty on Chuma Edoga wiped out the gain. On the very next (and final) snap, he held onto the ball too long in a situation where he needed to find a target quickly and then fumbled to complete a shocking collapse.
• Davis Mills unlocked his clutch gene in the fourth quarter against the Jaguars, fearlessly slinging the football all over the yard to power an incredible Texans comeback. His touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz was outrageously precise. When the pressure mounted in the final minute, Mills calmly connected with targets before using his legs to run for a 14-yard touchdown to push Houston ahead of Jacksonville. Respect the neck!
• Marcus Mariota faced a daunting challenge in Week 10: Find a way to keep up with Detroit's high-powered offense. He continued to be a valuable, steady backup, but he was also throwing passes to a receiving corps headlined by Deebo Samuel and supported by castoffs like Treylon Burks and Robbie Chosen. It's rough in Washington right now.
• Tyler Shough played very well in his second career start, looking the part of a first-string quarterback and making plenty of throws with conviction against the Panthers. The game wasn't too fast for him and he showed both composure and remarkable precision. That should have Saints fans eager to see what else he can do going forward.
• We saw more inconsistency from Bo Nix, who had a very rough night in a win over the Raiders. A better opponent would have made him pay for the interception he threw in the fourth quarter, but as has been the case for these Broncos, they once again managed to escape victorious.
• Week 10 certainly was not great for J.J. McCarthy, who was consistently inaccurate against the Ravens. He threw two interceptions on deep shots intended for Justin Jefferson that seemed to come out of desperation. McCarthy deserves credit for the gorgeous touchdown pass he threw to Jalen Nailor, but the total product was incredibly underwhelming.

TIER 5

• It's rough down here, folks. For the first time this season, I entered the bottom fifth of this ranking and found myself at a loss.
• Denver erased Brock Bowers' viability last week and Geno Smith rarely had time to find another target before the Broncos closed in on him, making for a difficult evaluation of his performance. The veteran continues to play with a hand tied behind his back, and it's his own offense doing the restraining.
• Michael Penix Jr. continues to be one of the more frustratingly inconsistent quarterbacks from week to week. He sailed some throws but also fired a few excellent passes while on the run against the Colts in Berlin. I don't lean on numbers, but his stat line does a decent job of telling his Week 10 story: 177 passing yards and a touchdown on just 12 completions. Talk about boom or bust.
• No matter how long Kevin Stefanski sticks with him, Dillon Gabriel's long-term ceiling is clearly below starting-quarterback range. Gabriel did have a few bright spots against the Jets. He led an impressive touchdown drive in the first quarter that required a few clutch completions. He also capitalized on a takeaway by lofting a pass to Jerry Jeudy for a score. That is about the most we can expect from Gabriel, though.
• Bryce Young is struggling mightily to find a rhythm right now. He threw an ugly interception that was wiped out by a penalty in the first quarter against the Saints, but it seemed as if that mistake stuck with him for the rest of another disappointing day. The Panthers' passing game is stuck in a deep rut and Young hasn't proven he can lift them out of it.
• Justin Fields' Jets beat the Browns despite finishing with 42 net passing yards, their lowest total in a win since the final year of the Nixon administration. He also threw a ghastly interception, one of the worst we'll see in the NFL all season, which set up a Cleveland touchdown.