2024 NFL Quarterback Rankings Week 4: Josh Allen’s MVP Push, the Grand Return of Andy Dalton, and Jayden Daniels’ Amazing Start
While scoring is still down in the NFL this season, we did see passing volume increase in Week 3 to get the league average back above 200.0 net passing yards per game again. Guess we can thank the oldest veteran quarterbacks for that after Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Andy Dalton all had big winning performances this week.
But it was another wild week of quarterback play with Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew getting benched late in losses, Derek Carr and Baker Mayfield getting humbled at home, and Justin Herbert left a game in Pittsburgh more injured than he came in feeling. We also saw Malik Willis turn into a lethal dual threat for Green Bay, which had to make Tennessee fans feel even worse about Will Levis.
Monday night was an early MVP showcase for Josh Allen, a disaster for Trevor Lawrence, and a breakout moment for rookie Jayden Daniels after he made history in Cincinnati.
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).
Table of Contents
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Week 3 rank: 2 (+1)
In my Buffalo preview this summer, the narrative section pondered if Josh Allen could be at his most MVP-worthy in 2024 without Stefon Diggs:
“You could make the case Allen is about to have his weakest supporting cast since 2019, the year before his breakout season with Diggs. But that’s also exactly the argument to use to bolster his MVP case this year because if he plays at a high level with this new cast, that would be an impressive achievement.
You would not have guessed that Mahomes would have had one of his best seasons in 2022 after the team traded Tyreek Hill and had a committee approach to his No.1 wideout spot, but that happened. Maybe Allen, a great dual-threat quarterback, can do something similar.”
Through Week 3, that’s exactly what is happening so far. Buffalo looks like the best offense and team in the NFL, and Allen is thriving with the highest QBR (92.6) and the highest EPA/dropback (+0.59) according to NGS.
Allen didn’t have to do much against Miami in Week 2, but against the Jaguars on Monday night, he destroyed them for 307 total yards and 4 touchdown passes. He looks very comfortable in throwing to his revamped supporting cast without Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. Defenses aren’t sure what to expect as Diggs was the clear No. 1 and Davis was the designated deep threat. This offense has more variation, and Allen still led the team in rushing on Monday night as the ultimate dual-threat quarterback right now.
At FanDuel, Allen now is tied with Patrick Mahomes for the highest MVP odds (+250) but other sportsbooks see Allen as the new favorite. We’ve seen Allen get off to hot starts before in 2021 and 2022 before fading for that award or earning first-team All-Pro honors.
But maybe this year is different as he tries to replicate what Mahomes did in 2022 after the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill. It does get tougher starting this week as the Bills will be in Baltimore on Sunday night. Allen has yet to throw an interception this season, and it’s those turnovers in prime-time games that build up most of the negative stigma against him. If he can beat the Ravens, who don’t look nearly as strong defensively this year, with another big game, then expect the Allen MVP campaign to explode next week.
2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 3 rank: 1 (-1)
While FanDuel may be giving Patrick Mahomes the same MVP odds as Josh Allen (+250), this doesn’t look promising at all to be a third MVP year for Mahomes based on the first three games.
In each game, he’s been intercepted on a poor decision over the middle of the field that he needs to clean up. His stats are actually down through three games compared to last year’s start, and the Chiefs have some real issues with the offense. They’ve benched their rookie left tackle, their No. 2 wide receiver (Hollywood Brown) is out for the season, their lead running back (Isiah Pacheco) is out for two months, their rookie wideout (Xavier Worthy) doesn’t have a route tree, and Travis Kelce looks old and slow.
For all those reasons, an improved Mahomes could take over the No. 1 spot and MVP again this year. But it’s going to be hard to improve given their current level of play and circumstances in Kansas City.
But the Chiefs (3-0) keep on winning close games, and that’s been the bar for keeping Mahomes on the top of the MVP leaderboard and overlooking some of the statistical shortcomings so far.
You just trust him to find a way to get it done, and it’s not like the Chiefs have taken an offensive nosedive. The offense is still No. 8 in yards per drive and No. 7 in points per drive. Mahomes is No. 9 in EPA/dropback (source: NGS) with a lot of the quarterbacks struggling right now.
But things need to pick up, and I’m not sure how they do that as they can’t make Kelce younger, and they can’t magically give Worthy experience the way Rashee Rice looks like a stud in Year 2. They’re just going to have to figure it out as the season goes on. They’ve done it before.
3. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Week 3 rank: 5 (+2)
I hope people don’t get caught up with the loss the 49ers took and ignore just how well Brock Purdy played in Los Angeles. He was 22-of-30 for 292 yards and 3 touchdowns with Jauan Jennings having a monster game with Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel all sidelined with injuries. People like to take away from Purdy for playing with them, but he was money in this game without that star trio.
He was even better than his numbers as his receivers had six drops, including a terrible one by Ronnie Bell that should have set up a game-winning field goal. Instead, it was the Rams who won on a late field goal.
Purdy also showed a lot of mobility and scrambling ability in this game, one of the best he’s ever played. The 49ers are very banged up right now, but Purdy is still No. 4 in QBR and No. 4 in EPA/dropback according to NGS.
He’s started 30 games now including the playoffs, and it’s about time he gets more credit for being so consistent. We are going to question the long-term outlook for several of these 2024 quarterbacks below, but Purdy has been nothing but the real deal ever since he came onto the scene in 2022.
4. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Week 3 rank: 4 (0)
Lamar Jackson is now 21-1 against the NFC as the Ravens got back to basics in Dallas. Jackson’s 15 pass attempts were the fewest he’s ever had in a full game, but he completed 12 of them for 182 yards and a touchdown.
He also ran the ball 14 times for 87 yards and another touchdown. Throw in a dominant game from Derrick Henry and this is the kind of offense the Ravens need to be using in January instead of asking Jackson to throw the ball over 35 times as if to justify his MVP awards or put him on the same plane as Patrick Mahomes. He’s a different kind of quarterback, and the Ravens are more effective when they’re leading the way on the ground.
At the very least, Jackson iced the game with a throw for a first down after the Cowboys got dangerously close in a 28-25 game after Baltimore led 28-6.
5. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
Week 3 rank: 14 (+9)
Is this real life? Sam Darnold is one of the only quarterbacks to play well in all three games this season, and the Vikings have a 3-0 record to show for it after knocking off contenders in the 49ers and Texans these last two weeks.
Darnold threw 4 touchdown passes on Sunday as he has excelled on long-developing scoring plays this year. Darnold has 6 touchdown passes on plays where he held the ball over 2.5 seconds, the most in the league according to NGS.
Sunday was the first time this season he didn’t throw an interception, and he’s also doing this without Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson. So, there is a chance he gets even better as the season goes on this time.
6. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Week 3 rank: 3 (-3)
It was disappointing that the Texans fared even worse than the 49ers, a similar offense, did against these Vikings. C.J. Stroud showed some of his inexperience in trying to deal with a disguised defense like Brian Flores’ Vikings, and he ended up taking 4 sacks for 42 yards in the 34-7 loss.
In fact, Stroud’s sack rate is up to 10.0% this season after it was 7.08% in his rookie season, so that’s alarming for this offense that has failed to score 20 points in consecutive games after such a good Week 1 showing.
It should hopefully get easier this week with a home game against the struggling Jaguars, but we need to see this passing game start clicking more. There’s too much talent here to be ranked 21st in scoring (total and per drive).
7. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
Week 3 rank: 17 (+10)
For the first time since December 2021, Aaron Rodgers threw for 281 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no picks in an impressive 24-3 win over the Patriots. That’s the kind of performance that has been missing for so long from Rodgers.
If he can play like that more often, then the Jets have something cooking here to deal with the Chiefs and Bills in the AFC. There just aren’t many quarterbacks capable of throwing a touchdown like this.
8. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Week 3 rank: 7 (-1)
Should have known that start was too good to be true. Derek Carr threw just one touchdown against the Eagles, ending his 7-game streak with multiple scoring tosses. He also threw for just 142 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per attempt as the big plays weren’t there this week.
But his touchdown was a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter. The defense just couldn’t make it hold up, so the Saints took their first loss of 2024. They’re still the only team to not win a game after trailing in the fourth quarter since 2023.
But it was wild to see the Saints go from dropping 91 points in two games to being stuck in a 3-0 game in the fourth quarter on Sunday. We’ll see how Carr rebounds in an important division game in Atlanta against a bad pass rush.
9. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Week 3 rank: 22 (+13)
Jayden Daniels may only be a rookie, but he is the first quarterback in NFL history to lead his offense to consecutive games with no punts and no turnovers. That’s certainly a team achievement too for not having any fumbles, but what a start to his career in Washington.
Going back to Week 1, Daniels has led 14 straight scoring drives for Washington when you exclude kneeldowns. The only longer streak we know about for a quarterback was 15 drives by Derek Carr to start this season, so that does make you wonder if the dynamic kickoff is in fact having an impact with better field positions as quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees never strung together scoring drives like this before.
But what a night for Daniels in Cincinnati. He led the Commanders to five touchdowns and a field goal on his six possessions. He was excellent on third and fourth down, he was elusive and smart as a runner, and he threw maybe the sweetest touchdown of the season to Terry McLaurin to ice the game when it looked like the Commanders were very confused about the play pre-snap.
Daniels completed 91.3% of his passes in Cincinnati, a rookie single-game record. For the season, Daniels has completed 80.3% of his passes, which only trails Drew Brees in 2018 (80.6%) for the highest in the first three games of a season since 1970 (min. 75 attempts).
Malik Nabers is cool for the Giants, but the drive engineering that Daniels is pulling off should make him the early favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
10. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Week 3 rank: 12 (+2)
Joe Burrow had the best performance of his career in a game the Bengals lost. He was 29-of-38 for 324 yards, 3 touchdowns, no turnovers, and only two sacks. If not for a missed field goal, the Bengals would have scored on all seven of their possessions, and even then, it still wouldn’t have been enough for a win because the defense allowed 38 points on six drives to Washington.
You can say the Bengals lost the game in the second quarter when they settled for three field goals while the Commanders were getting touchdowns, but that’s holding an offense to the highest of standards.
It helped to be playing a secondary and pass defense as bad as Washington’s, but this was not the kind of loss to hang on Burrow this week. We’ll see if the Bengals, who are now 0-3, can ever get it together and play some complementary football as it just hasn’t been there yet in 2024.
11. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Week 3 rank: 11 (0)
On the one hand, Jalen Hurts certainly overcame adversity in a game where he eventually was without A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Lane Johnson due to injuries. He still threw for over 300 yards and led a game-winning touchdown drive with Dallas Goedert making the crucial 61-yard play to convert a 3rd-and-16.
On the other hand, the Eagles created a hole to climb out of with bad decisions and plays by Hurts in what was still a 3-0 game in the fourth quarter. Hurts had two turnovers and also took a sack on a fourth down where the team probably should have just kicked a field goal. He also leaned heavily on a 65-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley in the final quarter, and that big Goedert play was a busted coverage with three Saints colliding into each other at midfield.
But it was enough for Hurts to get the win and get to 2-1 in a tough-looking NFC race right now. The Eagles have some things to clean up here, and it will be harder if Brown and Smith both can’t go in Week 4.
12. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Week 3 rank: 6 (-6)
Ranking the injured quarterbacks is a tough call, but the truth is Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers likely screwed this situation up when they played Justin Herbert on a high-ankle sprain in Pittsburgh. He was a game-time decision, so it was definitely possible to rest him for a week with a huge division game coming in Week 4 against the Chiefs.
But the Chargers started Herbert, and while he started decently enough with short passes and another touchdown to Quentin Johnston, the game took a bad turn in the third quarter once the Steelers started getting to him with sacks. Herbert aggravated his ankle injury and had to leave the game, being replaced by Taylor Heinicke.
The Steelers pounced with both offensive tackles, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, getting injured, and the Chargers finished with minus-5 yards of offense after halftime in the 20-10 loss.
Now, Week 4 against the vulnerable Chiefs is in jeopardy for Herbert, and even if he does play, he may not have Slater and Alt as his tackles. It’s crazy how quickly that 2-0 start is dissolving into more Chargering, but the team needs to manage this situation better to make sure Herbert is there for the long run this year.
13. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Week 3 rank: 13 (0)
Probably a few throws he’d like to have back, but Geno Smith has been fairly consistent to begin this season with a 3-0 record. He’s the first quarterback to complete at least 72% of his passes in each of the first three games of a season (min. 25 passes) since Geno did it in 2022.
The Seahawks, Bills, and Vikings are the only teams to score at least 23 points in each game this season. Smith is doing a good job and we’ll see him in prime time against the Lions on Monday, an opponent he’s carved up each of the last two Septembers.
14. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Week 3 rank: 9 (-5)
I was so ready for a fun shootout between the Lions and Cardinals, especially with the way the Cardinals looked last week and the way both offenses started the game with touchdowns. But Arizona did almost nothing the rest of the game, and Kyler Murray kept forcing high throws to Marvin Harrison Jr. that were even too high for the 6’3” rookie who did catch another touchdown.
But Murray had no support from his running game, and he led the Cardinals with 45 rushing yards. The one-dimensional effort combined with his inaccurate passing day led to just 13 points in the home loss for the Cardinals (1-2).
It didn’t help that Trey McBride suffered a concussion too. But the weapons were not working out for Arizona this week.
15. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Week 3 rank: 8 (-7)
Dak Prescott’s big drop from No. 8 after arguably the best game of his season is more of a reflection that we just haven’t seen a real complete game from him yet. It seems like the Cowboys are either up huge in Cleveland, so he didn’t have to do much, or they’re down huge like at home against the Saints and Ravens, and Prescott piles up a lot of volume stats in a loss.
In fact, the Green Bay playoff loss was the same way, so it’s been some time since we’ve seen Prescott and this offense in a normal game.
Prescott leads the league in passing yards (851), but he also leads in attempts (122), and he currently has career lows in completion percentage (60.7%), QBR (45.1), and passer rating (85.8).
We’ll see Prescott this Thursday against the Giants, a defense he usually beats. But the Cowboys (1-2) need to stop the bleeding on defense and play a normal game for a change.
16. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Week 3 rank: 18 (+2)
The old man still has some spark in him if you give him a chance with the ball late. The 49ers led by double digits multiple times, Stafford didn’t have Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp available, but the game still came down to the fourth quarter. He was able to find Tutu Atwell on a huge deep ball, then caught a break with a big punt return and penalty to set up a game-winning field goal in a 27-24 shocker.
Stafford was pressured on 46.4% of his dropbacks but still got the job done for the 37th fourth-quarter comeback win of his career, which ranks No. 6 in NFL history. This one is bigger than most as it temporarily saves the Rams’ season as 0-3 would be too big of a hole.
17. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 3 rank: 10 (-7)
After shredding the Commanders’ poor secondary in Week 1, Baker Mayfield has thrown 2 touchdowns since and taken 12 sacks. His pressure rate was 45.0% against Denver, the sixth highest in Week 3, so there were some issues upfront. But Mayfield did not handle things as well as he did in Detroit the previous week, and the Buccaneers finished with just one touchdown in an ugly home loss as a big favorite against a weak Denver team.
Back to the drawing board for Baker and the Bucs. They’ll host the Eagles this week, the team they obliterated out of the playoffs in January. But we need to see more of that Week 1 offense that was so impressive than these last two outings.
18. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
Week 3 rank: 15 (-3)
On the surface, Kirk Cousins had decent stats against the Chiefs with 230 yards, a touchdown, and an interception on just 29 attempts. They clearly have him on some kind of pitch count as he’s yet to throw 30 passes in any game this season, a far cry from his passing rates in Washington and Minnesota.
But given multiple chances in the fourth quarter to find the end zone, Cousins did not deliver the way he did in Philadelphia last week. The Falcons are just 1-2, but given the early schedule, you’ll take that. Remember, things will get much easier down the stretch, and hopefully, by then, Cousins will look closer to the quarterback he was before the Achilles tear.
19. Malik Willis, Green Bay Packers
Week 3 rank: N/A (Jordan Love was No. 16)
From not being able to throw for 100 yards to converting a 3rd-and-18 with ease, Malik Willis is having himself quite the stint in Green Bay.
Coaching really matters, eh? Malik Willis couldn’t throw for 100 yards in any of his three starts for the Titans in 2022, so they ended up trading him to Green Bay late this summer. He’s had to start for an injured Jordan Love (MCL) the last two weeks, and the Packers won both games by employing Willis in a run-heavy offense that limits his throws and plays to his strengths.
But he’s still posted a 120.0 passer rating in back-to-back games, and he threw for 202 yards in Tennessee on just 19 passes. He also rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown in a great performance. The Packers may legitimately have developed a great backup again here.
The fact that he did this against Tennessee has to feel especially bad for Titans fans, who are stuck with Will Levis as they could never get this level of play out of Willis.
20. Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers
Week 3 rank: N/A (Bryce Young was No. 32)
Andy Dalton hitting his over in passing was my No. 1 pick for Week 3. But little did I expect to see the Red Rifle become the first quarterback this season to pass for over 300 yards with 3 touchdowns in a game as Carolina pulled off the 36-22 upset win in Vegas.
That sure says a lot about how bad Bryce Young was in this offense. Dalton opened up the talent of Diontae Johnson, who had a career-best 122 yards, and he delivered this great pass for a long touchdown to Adam Thielen.
Could Dalton be the 2024 version of what Joe Flacco was for Cleveland last year? Just an old gunslinger who’s seen it all before and is a huge improvement over what they had at quarterback. He gets the Bengals this week, his former team, and a defense that looked horrible against Jayden Daniels on Monday night.
This could get very interesting in Carolina as you can’t just write it off for being the Raiders. They held up much better against Justin Herbert and Lamar Jackson in the first two weeks.
21. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Week 3 rank: 19 (-2)
Have the Lions already turned into a team that runs the ball and plays great defense with a mistake-prone quarterback? Things have looked different this year, but Goff probably had his best game this season in Arizona, which isn’t saying much. He really lucked out before halftime with a turnover returned for a touchdown that was erroneously blown dead by officials.
Goff finished with 199 passing yards in the 20-13 win. He ranks just 26th in QBR (34.4) this season. We’ll see him against the 3-0 Seahawks on Monday night. Those games have been huge shootouts the last two years with Detroit losing both at home, so maybe he’ll have to do more this week.
22. Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 3 rank: 24 (+2)
Justin Fields has improved with each start for the Steelers this year. They put a little more on him against the Chargers, and he delivered by completing 25-of-32 passes for 245 yards. His first interception of the season was thrown too hard, but it was also a fluky play as the ball bounced around several hands before a linebacker came down with it. Fields also made some good timing throws to extend drives and put away the Chargers in a 20-10 win.
The real tests will come later once the Steelers finally give up more than 10 points to their opponents. But for now, they are getting the job done with Fields.
23. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 3 rank: 21 (-2)
Trevor Lawrence has lost his last eight starts dating back to last season. It’s one thing to lose to Josh Allen when he’s on a heater like he was Monday night, but Lawrence threw one of the worst interceptions you’ll ever see with a wide-open target off a play-action look. It helped Damar Hamlin get his first career interception, a cool moment for him, but also the ultimate sign that things are not good in Jacksonville with the quarterback they extended to a deal worth $275 million.
No pressure, wide open, and that’s what happened. There are so many quarterbacks the Jaguars could be paying peanuts to if they’re just going to lose eight starts in a row and barely put up any points.
24. Daniel Jones, New York Giants
Week 3 rank: 26 (+2)
It’s funny to think Daniel Jones has had one of the best 2-game stretches of his career in Weeks 2-3, and the end result is the Giants have averaged 19.5 points, gone 1-1, and he’s throwing for 200 yards a game with under 7.0 yards per attempt.
That sounds about right for Danny Dimes, but there is no denying he’s developing great chemistry with rookie wideout Malik Nabers, who is almost single-handedly carrying this passing game right now.
We’ll get a good look of Jones against the Cowboys on Thursday night to see if he can truly step up and beat a defense that’s struggling right now. Still, you worry that he’s playing just well enough for the Giants to keep him for 2025 while ultimately never getting back to the playoffs with this caliber of quarterback play.
25. Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders
Week 3 rank: 23 (-2)
Is coach Antonio Pierce already in over his head? He’s talking about a quarterback switch already after pulling Gardner Minshew late in a 36-22 loss to the Panthers. Sure, Minshew was outplayed by Andy Dalton, the GOAT himself, but it’s not like Aidan O’Connell is the answer here.
Minshew was the only quarterback to throw for 250 yards in both Weeks 1 and 2, and he likely would have continued that streak without getting benched Sunday. But between the lack of a stable running game in Vegas and the defense getting shredded by Dalton, Minshew stand little chance of pulling out a win on Sunday.
But his play wasn’t nearly bad enough to consider a switch at quarterback for Week 4. It’s on Pierce to improve the areas of the team that he clearly wanted to lean on with running the ball and playing good defense. Minshew is the best option he has after the Raiders whiffed in the draft on the quarterbacks this year.
26. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
Week 3 rank: 25 (-1)
If you need 10 yards, Anthony Richardson can get you 40. If you need 4 yards, Anthony Richardson can get you 40 yards, or he can give you a headache. He is even more boom-or-bust than advertised.
Richardson’s inconsistency is hurting the offense as his passing success rate is only 33.8%, which ranks as the third lowest in 2024. He’s fortunate the Colts were playing the Bears on Sunday, or else it would have been another loss instead of his first win in a game he played the majority of snaps for. Still, his passer rating was 39.0 as he threw two picks.
You have to wonder if the Colts shouldn’t be tightening the reins on him even more and limiting his throws as they build around the run with Jonathan Taylor. Maybe they should run their offense more like the Packers have with Malik Willis this year.
I hate to see what Richardson will do against T.J. Watt this week, but it should be entertaining either way.
27. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Week 3 rank: 31 (+4)
You can’t call him “Bo Picks” this week. On the road, Nix played easily his most complete game yet as he didn’t throw any picks, and he also didn’t take any sacks despite facing an aggressive defensive coach in Todd Bowles.
Nix also engineered several scoring drives in the 26-7 win, and his mobility continues to be an asset as he rushed for 47 yards and another touchdown. He almost led his team in rushing for a third straight game, but a backup running back ripped off a 43-yard run that prevented that.
It’s definitely a process, and Nix waited until Week 3 to give the fans a sigh of relief and to not give up on him.
28. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Week 3 rank: 29 (+1)
You know the Bears’ offensive line is cooked when they faced the worst run defense in the league (Colts) in a low-scoring game, and they still decided to let Caleb Williams throw 52 passes.
There were things to like and things to worry about. He threw for 363 yards and 2 touchdowns, and playing like this will help him figure things out faster than being a coddled game manager. Williams is a gunslinger and should be treated as such.
But he did turn the ball over three more times, including a strip-sack while trailing 14-9 in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead. It’s going to be a long season here, but I think they should let him take over more games like this.
It’s the Peyton Manning approach of figuring out what you can and can’t get away with in the NFL. Manning needed six games under his belt before he cut down on the mistakes and started playing like a top-10 quarterback as a rookie. We’ll see if Williams can get there, but at least the Bears have been in every game so far.
It would also help if they called better plays, because what in the bloody hell was this?
29. Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots
Week 3 rank: 27 (-2)
Are we sure rookie Drake Maye is learning anything when he watches Jacoby Brissett barely throw the ball in an offense that has little interest in working on the passing game? Brissett has averaged 122.7 passing yards per game and takes very few chances down the field.
But the Jets got after him with 5 sacks on just 18 throws, and the Patriots fell hard in the 24-3 loss last Thursday. They even benched Brissett late in the game as Maye made his debut, and it didn’t take long for him to get rocked by a hit.
It reminded me of the way Eli Manning took a huge hit in his NFL debut game for the 2004 Giants. But he soon started that season and ended up just fine. Eli never missed a start due to injury in his entire NFL career.
Not saying Maye is Eli 2.0, but it’s time to let the rookie take his lumps and figure things out. They’re getting nothing out of Brissett right now.
30. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Week 3 rank: 28 (-2)
Remember when Joe Flacco left his couch to throw for 250 yards and multiple touchdowns in five straight games for the Browns last year? That was fun. The 2024 Browns with Deshaun Watson at quarterback are anything but fun. The offensive line is struggling between injuries and losing their position coach, so the burden of the offense has fallen more on Watson with Nick Chubb still recovering from injury.
He’s failing miserably in the moment. He hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in any game this season, he has a career-high sack rate of 12.1%, and he just took 8 sacks in a 21-15 loss against the Giants.
Coach Kevin Stefanski is a better man than I am as I would have benched Watson for Jameis Winston already. This team is going to keep struggling with Watson at quarterback.
31. Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Week 3 rank: 30 (-1)
Now 12 starts into his career, Will Levis is a mess in Tennessee. He’s fumbled and thrown a pick in every game this season. He took 8 sacks against the Packers, a defense not exactly known for a fierce pass rush.
The Titans are 0-3 and have yet to score more than 17 points this season. Levis has even scored two touchdowns for his opponents with turnovers returned for scores. We get to see him in prime time in Miami, the site of his biggest triumph last year on a Monday night. It might be the only game this season where the Titans can put a better quarterback on the field than their opponent, but Levis is just killing the team with these mistakes.
32. Skylar Thompson, Miami Dolphins
Week 3 rank: N/A (Tua Tagovailoa was No. 20)
All the speed in the world doesn’t mean much for an offense if your quarterback isn’t any good at throwing the ball to his weapons. The Dolphins are in a tough spot as they try to navigate an unknown number of games without Tua Tagovailoa after his latest concussion. Skylar Thompson’s 8.1 QBR was the lowest in Week 3. He has started games before in 2022 as a rookie, and his latest start in Seattle didn’t show much progress.
Worse, he suffered a rib injury and didn’t finish the game. His Week 4 status is up in the air, so much like in 2022, the Dolphins may end up starting three quarterbacks in a 3-game period.
Why not call Ryan Tannehill at this point?
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