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2024 NFL Quarterback Rankings Week 18: Sam Darnold or Jared Goff in Epic NFC Showdown?

Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar02/01/2025 - 08:58 am
Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings
(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The NFL news this season has been dominated by the quarterback position in the AFC, built around the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow. But we should be respecting the NFC too after career-best seasons from Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Jared Goff. Let’s also not forget about rookie Jayden Daniels, who delivered like an MVP once again on Sunday night in Washington.

But it should be a fantastic Sunday night to end the regular season when the 14-2 Vikings and the 14-2 Lions play for the NFC’s No. 1 seed in Detroit. Goff and Darnold have had incredible seasons to this point, and they already played an interesting game earlier this year. Don’t be surprised if they both put on a show in this one too.

We are getting very close to the playoffs, so this will be the final week where we rank the quarterbacks who started from the previous week of games. In the finale next week, it will be a final ranking of the 32 key starters for the 2024 NFL season. That means we’ll be ranking Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson instead of their backups next week.

Each Wednesday 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 was based on a mixture of career value and emphasis on 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 2024 season. Injured starters will be replaced.

Note: Many statistical references will be made to data from Next Gen Stats (NGS).

1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Week 17 rank: 1 (0)

Lamar Jackson has been very successful against the Houston Texans with a third-straight win against DeMeco Ryans’ team on Christmas. He rushed for 87 yards on just four attempts, including a 48-yard touchdown where he looked fast as ever. He also threw for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 15 passes in a 31-2 rout as the Ravens are in excellent shape to finish 12-5 and win the AFC North to be the No. 3 seed.

Has Jackson done enough for a third MVP? I think so, but he absolutely must deliver against the Browns on Saturday to close it out. No slip-ups there. His numbers have actually gotten stronger in the second half of the season compared to the first, and he has a chance to lead the league in yards per pass and yards per rush in the same season, a historic feat.

Jackson’s last tune-up for the playoffs is Saturday afternoon. We’ll see if the Ravens try to get him out of the game early since they’re a huge favorite and you don’t wat to risk anything chasing stats. But the final numbers for Jackson are likely to make this a historic dual-threat season.

2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Week 17 rank: 3 (+1)

It feels like this game in Pittsburgh that clinched the No. 1 seed for the Chiefs happened ages ago on Christmas since we just had New Year’s yesterday. But what if the Chiefs are showing their true form just before the playoffs? Mahomes got rid of the ball in the second-fastest time (2.35 seconds) in any game in his career, and the Steelers had no answers for it, a common theme for that defense over the years against such attacks.

The Chiefs getting the first-round bye is huge because they likely will get a lesser opponent in the divisional round like Pittsburgh or the Texans/Chargers. They can sit back and watch Baltimore and Buffalo potentially meet each other in the divisional round. It’s a good spot to be in.

As for Mahomes, he’s going to sit out this week along with other key starters in Denver with the top seed locked up. That’s the smart move, but it does get a little worrisome when that means it will be 24 or 25 days before snaps for the key players on the Chiefs. That’s a lot of rest, but after a bye in Week 6 and playing three games 10 days apart, this team needs some rest.

The three-peat is just three playoff wins away, and that’s what Mahomes’ goal always was this year. The addition of Hollywood Brown and improvement in the quick game by rookie Xavier Worthy looks to be opening up this offense at the right time.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes
(Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

3. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Week 17 rank: 2 (-1)

The Bills completed their season sweep of the Jets in a game where they led 33-0 before benching Josh Allen for Mitch Trubisky, who threw a touchdown to go up 40-0 before the Jets added some garbage time scores.

It was a dominant game in every facet for the Bills, but it’s hard to say this does any wonders for the Josh Allen MVP case as he was far more valuable in the first matchup when the team actually needed him to play well to get a win that Monday night. Here, he got two touchdown passes on great catches by Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman that looked like Hail Mary attempts in situations that didn’t even call for such throws.

I think some have completely lost the MVP plot if throwing up a Hail Mary for a 15-yard touchdown while leading 26-0 makes your MVP odds go up. But we’ll see what happens in that award chase. It does appear that Allen will start in Week 18 to keep his consecutive starts streak going, and it would be good to go a few passes without taking a sack to officially lead the league in lowest sack rate over Derek Carr.

But I would expect a quick pull from Allen against the Patriots as the Bills are locked into the No. 2 seed. No point in risking anything here.

4. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

Week 17 rank: 4 (0)

Going into his third prime-time start this year, Jayden Daniels had already shown us his best (Cincinnati game) and worst stuff (Philadelphia game) under the lights. But Sunday night was one of his more clutch performances this year as he directed a 10-point comeback against the Falcons and walked the team off in overtime with a touchdown pass to get the Commanders in the playoffs.

It also clinched the first 11-win season for the team since 1991. Every other NFL franchise had at least two such seasons in that time. Daniels also continues to be a historic dual threat after he threw for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns while also running the ball 16 times for 127 yards – the kind of numbers Michael Vick only ever had in an NFL game in 2010 against the Giants.

Daniels still leads the Commanders with 864 rushing yards, so he has a decent shot to finish the season as his team’s leading rusher while also throwing for over 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Can’t wait to see him in the playoffs.

5. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Week 17 rank: 5 (0)

How great was Jared Goff on Monday night in San Francisco? Excluding kneeldowns, the Lions had eight possessions and scored on seven of them. Their only misstep was when Goff threw an incompletion on fourth down in the red zone in the second quarter. Otherwise, they scored 40 points on five touchdowns and two field goals.

The Lions are 14-2 and will face the Vikings Sunday night for the No. 1 seed. Goff already has survived the pass rush of Minnesota this year in a win. But he’ll have to do it again and compensate for a worse defense than they had in October. We’ll see if he’s up to the task.

6. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings

Week 17 rank: 6 (0)

Honestly, why not have MVP consideration for Sam Darnold? He’s a win in Detroit away from a 15-2 season, the No. 1 seed in the toughest division race we’ve arguably ever seen, and he’s been so consistent with 35 touchdown passes and 4,153 yards. If he can light up the injured Detroit defense like how he shredded the Packers for a season-high 377 yards Sunday, he deserves some MVP votes for sure. Remember, they have to pick five names in ranked order.

Darnold even helped the Vikings put the game away with some big throws after a late scare from the Packers. He was in full control of that game and easily outdueled Jordan Love. Now he just has to do it again in Detroit to cement one of the most incredible late-bloomer seasons in NFL history. 

7. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Week 17 rank: 8 (+1)

Joe Burrow probably played his most complete game of 2024 in a must-win game against Denver where he threw for 412 yards and had 4 total touchdowns, including the first overtime touchdown of his career to walk things off with his third touchdown throw to Tee Higgins.

But there are still concerns with how this team operates. Burrow took 7 sacks in this game, three more than his season high, and that includes back-to-back sacks in the first drive of overtime that could have been costly if Denver had any offense in the extra session. The clock management in regulation was also poor as the Bengals should have been able to set up a short game-winning field goal in the final 10 seconds instead of giving Denver almost a full 90 seconds with a timeout to get the touchdown to tie it.

We’ll see how Burrow and the Bengals fare in Pittsburgh this Saturday night in another must-win game that is essentially the playoffs for them this year.

8. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Week 17 rank: 9 (+1)

The Chargers (10-6) are back in the playoffs for the second time in Justin Herbert’s career after a 40-7 rout of the Patriots. Just think, they won 6-0 at New England last year. But Herbert was fantastic in throwing to rookie Ladd McConkey, and this one was never in doubt. It’s about time the Chargers have a team that can effortlessly win games like this against bad teams instead of sweating them out late.

9. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 17 rank: 10 (+1)

Baker Mayfield has 39 touchdown passes this season after throwing as many touchdowns (five) as incompletions against Carolina in a 48-14 rout. He is in full control of this offense and playing better than ever. Look for the Bucs to be a potential threat in the playoffs should they get there again by winning the NFC South this week.

10. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Week 17 rank: 7 (-3)

It was a tough game for Jordan Love in Minnesota as he needed into the fourth quarter just to reach 100 passing yards after a very nonchalant approach to the early drives. But after falling behind by 17 points, Love finally got into a little rhythm and the Packers made this interesting by getting to 27-25 with enough time to get the ball back and win.

However, the defense did not hold, and Love never got the ball back. It was similar to earlier this season when the Vikings were up huge in Green Bay, Love made it a 2-point game late, but he again never had the ball with a one-score deficit.

But definitely a worrisome sign that Love and the Packers have lost to the Vikings (twice), Lions (twice), and Eagles already this year. They’re going to have to beat these teams in the playoffs if they want to get back to a Super Bowl. We need to see Love take over games earlier instead of these passive starts indoors.

Just go out and sling it.

11. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Jordan Love #10 of Green Bay Packers
(Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Week 17 rank: 13 (+2)

Matthew Stafford can probably get used to winning like this when you don’t even need to score 20 points because your team isn’t even allowing 10 points. That’s what the Rams have done in the last three games since their 44-42 win over Buffalo, and it’s paid off with a division title.

However, there should be concerns going to the playoffs with Stafford’s ability to get the ball to players not named Puka Nacua, who again had a huge game against the Cardinals. But the Rams won, and Stafford didn’t even have to throw for 190 yards again just like the last two weeks.

He’s getting the finale off as the Rams will start veteran Jimmy Garoppolo instead.

12. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

Week 17 rank: 17 (+5)

Brock Purdy had a perfect start against Detroit by leading three straight touchdown drives. His kicker didn’t help him out with a few more misses, but this was looking like an elite offense even with all the star power they were missing.

However, Purdy got caught on two interceptions that were bad plays, including one in the fourth quarter of a tight game. The Lions delivered the knockout blow from there, and Purdy was knocked out of the game with an elbow injury, which doesn’t sound serious, but it will end his 2024 season.

13. Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 17 rank: 12 (-1)

It is very discouraging for the Steelers during this 3-game losing streak that Russell Wilson has regressed to making bad decisions and struggling to score points. Even in getting George Pickens back, the duo only connected for a 41-yard catch. Otherwise, he had two catches for 9 yards in a game where the Steelers knew they had to score to keep up with Patrick Mahomes.

But Wilson had a bad red-zone pick, an area that’s been a nightmare for the Steelers, and even with star pass rusher Chris Jones out, the Chiefs sacked Wilson five times in the 29-10 final.

Wilson had his best game in Cincinnati with over 400 yards and 3 touchdowns. He’ll get that defense again Saturday night, but the Steelers really need to snap out of this funk or they’re going to get embarrassed right out of the playoffs again and end the year on a 5-game losing streak.

14. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Week 17 rank: 20 (+6)

Before you question how Bo Nix jumped six spots this week after losing in Cincinnati, let’s keep in mind the quarterbacks he leapfrogged led their offenses to 9, 6, 0, and 0 points this week.

It wasn’t pretty, but at least Nix threw 3 touchdowns against the Bengals, including one of the longest throws in the NFL in the last decade. But play-calling also did him little favors late in the game with an ill-advised screen leading to a bad pick. But when he had to tie the game in the final 90 seconds with a touchdown, he delivered with a great throw and catch on fourth down in the end zone.

The Broncos didn’t go for two because a tie still put them in the playoffs, but they didn’t call plays or manage the game in overtime like they wanted the tie. Bad calls led to passive offense and no points. The Bengals were able to score the game-winning touchdown, so Nix will have to beat Kansas City’s backups in Week 18 in Denver to make the playoffs.

He already nearly beat the Chiefs’ starters in Arrowhead if not for that blocked 35-yard field goal, but it’s still dangerous times for the Broncos, who could be on the verge of choking this season away.

15. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Week 17 rank: 15 (0)

The good news is Kyler Murray finally threw a touchdown to tight end Trey McBride even if took a screen pass like he was slot wideout to do it. The bad news is he couldn’t do it twice, because when Murray tried to find McBride in the end zone again, he ripped his face off with a pass right to the head. The ricochet was intercepted by the Rams in one the truest “game of inches” endings this season.

Crazy to think the Cardinals hung 41 points on this defense in Week 2. But they lost 13-9 here as Murray again struggled to finish drives for points for his team.

16. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

Week 17 rank: 19 (+3)

A 6-3 win on the road in the rain isn’t the worst outcome in the world, but it’s hard to give Geno Smith much credit for it. He did his best by completing 17-of-23 passes for 160 yards, but staying turnover free was just as big in a game like this. Just let the defense win it for you.

However, the Seahawks were eliminated from the playoffs Sunday night when the Washington Commanders came back to win and clinch the strength of victory tiebreaker for the Rams. So, we won’t see Geno and rookie coach Mike Macdonald in the postseason.

17. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Week 17 rank: 14 (-3)

Not many scores more embarrassing than a 31-2 loss at home on Christmas. Needless to say, the Ravens own Stroud and the Texans, who haven’t been able to solve this defense in three opportunities since 2023. But only getting a safety when the defense tackled Derrick Henry in the end zone is a horrible outcome for the Texans even with the injuries they are experiencing at wide receiver to Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell.

Stroud will have problems in the AFC if this is how his games against Baltimore are always going to go. The Texans are really backing into the playoffs here.

C.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans
(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

18. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets

Week 17 rank: 18 (0)

Well, you can’t blow a fourth-quarter lead if you fall behind 40-0 like the Jets did in Buffalo. Aaron Rodgers was so frustrated with multiple picks and four sacks that he even got penalized for shoving a defender out of bounds after a pick. It wasn’t a dirty play but it was still funny to see him get hit with that flag in what was arguably the most embarrassing loss of his career.

Tyrod Taylor came in for Rodgers in the fourth quarter and led a couple of garbage-time touchdown drives to make it look more respectable at 40-14. But this is the first time in his career that Rodgers trailed by 40 points in a game he started.

19. Tyler Huntley, Miami Dolphins

Week 17 rank: N/A (Tua Tagovailoa was No. 16)

It was a surprise start late in the week with the news that Tua Tagovailoa was injured. Tyler Huntley’s had experience starting before, but he usually never threw the ball as efficiently as he did in Cleveland, completing 22-of-26 passes for 225 yards, a touchdown, and he rushed for 52 yards and another touchdown in the 20-3 win.

You could argue it was the best game of Huntley’s career, and it keeps the Dolphins’ playoff hopes alive at 8-8. Still, you’d prefer to see Tua come back and start against the Jets this Sunday. But good on Huntley for delivering in short notice, and it sounds like he could get the call again with Tua’s hip still bothering him.

20. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

Week 17 rank: 21 (+1)

Bryce Young threw a pair of touchdowns with Adam Theilen having a big game, but it was nowhere near enough as the Panthers allowed 48 points in Tampa Bay. Still, it’s encouraging to see Young throw multiple touchdowns in consecutive games for the first time in his NFL career.

21. Michael Penix, Atlanta Falcons

Week 17 rank: 25 (+4)

We can focus on the negatives like the pick Michael Penix threw early, or the poor clock management at the end of each half. The latter might be just as much on the coaching than the rookie quarterback.

But let’s give Penix credit for standing in there and delivering clutch throws on multiple fourth-and-long situations to tie this game and send it to overtime. He might even have won in regulation if the kick was better, but again, the management there was poorly done.

Jayden Daniels is clearly further ahead for Washington, but Atlanta fans should feel fine about Penix. Still, it’s a pretty brutal spot to blow the lead in the fourth quarter for the first time all year as the Buccaneers are now heavily favored to win the NFC South over Atlanta.

Maybe the Penix move should have happened sooner after all.

22. Joe Flacco, Indianapolis Colts

Week 17 rank: N/A (Anthony Richardson was No. 26)

Anthony Richardson’s back was giving him problems, so Joe Flacco got the start in a must-win game for the Colts to keep their playoff hopes alive. But while Flacco finished with 330 yards and 2 touchdowns to give his team a chance, the defense played its worst game in two years after getting shredded by Drew Lock and Malik Nabers and allowing 45 points.

The Giants forced a couple of turnovers from Flacco late, and he also threw a pick early, but he made enough plays and certainly scored enough points (33) against the league’s 32nd-ranked scoring offense to get the win. The Colts just had other plans defensively, and now they can make their vacation plans for January.

But it is wild that after all the talk about the quarterback position in Indy this year, it was the defense against Drew Lock and the Giants that eliminated them in the end.

23. Aidan O’Connell, Las Vegas Raiders

Week 17 rank: 27 (+4)

Let’s hope a winning streak against the Jaguars and Saints doesn’t convince the Raiders not to go in new directions at coach and quarterback for 2025. But Aidan O’Connell was solid in leading a balanced attack against the Saints in a comfortable 25-10 win for the team. He can help Brock Bowers get all the catches he need to make sure he keeps the rookie receptions record in Week 18.

24. Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Week 17 rank: 22 (-2)

It was a rough outcome for Drake Maye against a great Los Angeles defense. He took a big hit that he probably could have lessened the impact of early in the game, but he returned to eventually throw a touchdown. However, the Patriots didn’t score again and lost 40-7 as Maye finished with 117 passing yards before giving way to Jacoby Brissett in the rout.

25. Kenny Pickett, Philadelphia Eagles

Week 17 rank: N/A (Jalen Hurts was No. 11)

We saw a little bit of everything from Kenny Pickett in his first start with the Eagles as Jalen Hurts had a concussion to deal with. Pickett threw a touchdown, almost had a second before getting it on the Tush Push, and then he was knocked out of the game on what didn’t look like a huge hit. But that’s been the issue for Pickett as he left a handful of games with an injury in Pittsburgh in just two seasons.

Fortunately, third-stringer Tanner McKee came in and threw a pair of touchdown passes on just four attempts to pull off the 41-7 rout and clinch another NFC East title for the Eagles.

But Pickett has looked pretty comfortable in this offense the last two weeks. The Eagles may have something in a backup for Hurts. Just has to stay healthy and avoid the meme moments like this snap:

26. Cooper Rush, Dallas Cowboys

Week 17 rank: 24 (-2)

It’s not surprising that Cooper Rush struggled in Philadelphia without CeeDee Lamb available as his go-to target. He threw a pick-six in the first few minutes, and while he was able to make up for it with a touchdown drive, the Eagles scored the last 34 points in a 41-7 rout to win the NFC East.

27. Drew Lock, New York Giants

Week 17 rank: 32 (+5)

What a league. Drew Lock had one of the worst games by any quarterback this season just one week ago in Atlanta. But with the season on the line for the Colts, they were dominated by Lock. More appropriately, they couldn’t tackle Malik Nabers, the rookie wideout who made some great plays on short throws by Lock to turn them into long touchdowns.

Lock finished with by far the best stat line of his career: 17-of-23 for 309 yards, 4 touchdowns, and he rushed for a 5-yard touchdown that was the dagger for the Colts in a 45-33 final score for a team that was averaging just over 14.0 points per game coming into Sunday.

That game will buy Lock several more years in the NFL.

28. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Week 17 rank: 23 (-5)

Last Thursday night’s 6-3 loss to the Seahawks in the rain was a rough watch. Caleb Williams clearly has talent, but coaching for the Bears seems to be nonexistent. I guess that’s what happens when you fire the offensive coordinator and then the head coach during the season. But they don’t even look like they practice two-minute drill situations, and it’s still appalling he hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown this year to make use of his mobility.

But the Bears couldn’t get any touchdowns in one of the worst prime-time games we’ve seen in recent years. The interception Williams threw at the end broke one of the craziest NFL record streaks in history. The Bears were that close to going 10 straight losses without throwing an interception in any game, which would have doubled the previous record.

Instead, the 10-game losing streak lives on, and the record books will show a 9-game losing streak without any interceptions thrown. Still crazy. Take some more chances with the ball instead of just taking sacks, Caleb. Learn from those mistakes too next year.

29. Mac Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 17 rank: 29 (0)

Mac Jones has been respectable in division games this year. He completed a sweep of the Titans with another impressive showing for rookie wideout Brian Thomas Jr. But the Jaguars will look to get Trevor Lawrence back next season to build chemistry with that great weapon.

30. Mason Rudolph, Tennessee Titans

Week 17 rank: 28 (-2)

It’s good for their draft pick, but the Titans getting swept by Mac Jones and the Jaguars in December is a rough look for rookie coach Brian Callahan, who hasn’t impressed at all this year. He gave Mason Rudolph another start, and it didn’t go much better than the loss that Will Levis had against these Jaguars in Week 14. Once again it came down to Tennessee not finishing in scoring territory as Rudolph’s game-winning drive came up short.

31. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints

Week 17 rank: 31 (0)

I won’t say Spencer Rattler has no future in this league even as a starter, but it has been a rough rookie season for him in New Orleans. He’s started five games, lost all of them, but he hasn’t even scored more than 10 points in his last four starts. Then when you recall his 51-27 loss to Tampa Bay in his first NFL start, the Saints scored all 27 of their points in the second quarter. That means outside of that one quarter, Rattler is basically giving you 0-to-10 points.

But at least he took the loss to the Raiders so that Derek Carr wouldn’t have had to cement the record for losing as a starter to all 32 NFL teams.

32. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Cleveland Browns

Week 17 rank: 30 (-2)

Let’s be glad this is the last time I have to write about “DTR” this season. He’s led the Browns to just 9 points in his two starts, and you could argue he’s been the worst quarterback to start multiple games this season. In fact, Thompson-Robinson has the fifth-lowest passing success rate (27.9%) in a season since 1994 (min. 100 attempts). It’s the lowest since Alex Smith’s rookie season in 2005 (27.8%).

DTR has been so bad it’s rumored that Bailey Zappe will start the finale against Baltimore this Saturday. Just one more game, Cleveland fans. Then you can go back to rooting in 2025 for Desh—wait, that’s still so unsavory.

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Photo of Scott Kacsmar Scott Kacsmar02/01/2025 - 08:58 am