2024 NFL Quarterback Rankings Week 9: Colts Right to Bench Anthony Richardson and Jayden Daniels for MVP
Head coaches in the NFL this season have been very bold in benching their quarterbacks from Bryce Young to Justin Fields to now Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis. We’ll see if it pays off, but the MVP odds have shifted with Josh Allen back as the favorite (+270 at FanDuel) after the Browns pulled off a huge upset against the Ravens. But don’t sleep on Jayden Daniels after the rookie grew his legend with one of the greatest Hail Mary finishes in NFL history to beat the Bears on Sunday.
We’ll get into that Richardson move below, but we also had to highlight just how great it was to see Cleveland scoring again on offense with Jameis Winston after Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles last week. If any coach should have benched their starter this year, it was Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland. At least he got to the right starter before November.
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. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Week 8 rank: 3 (+2)
A rib injury and big games from the other quarterbacks were the only reasons I dropped Jayden Daniels from the top spot last week. But while Sunday wasn’t his best game this season, it was another iconic moment for the rookie as he pulled off this incredible Hail Mary to win the game:
Some will say that’s just a lucky bounce on a Hail Mary, but I think you have to give Daniels a lot of credit for the whole drive after his defense blew the 12-0 lead he gave them in this game. He had just 19 seconds and one timeout to manage that final drive, and he did it like a veteran by getting completions, buying time, and getting that ball to the end zone despite his rib injury.
He also hit a 61-yard completion earlier in the game, so his ability to attack from distance is significant, and he’s also one of the best quick throw passers in the league this season. Despite the ribs, he still rushed for 52 yard in this game too to go along with his 326 passing yards.
I think you can say the Offensive Rookie of the Year race is over unless he gets seriously injured soon. Daniels definitely outplayed No. 1 pick Caleb Williams in their first NFL matchup, and that was true even if the Hail Mary would have fallen incomplete.
No one expected this Washington team to be at 6-2 with such a highly efficient offense led by Daniels. That’s why he absolutely belongs high in the MVP discussion, and if I had to vote today, I’d vote for him as the 2024 NFL MVP. Daniels has brought excitement and the hope of greatness to a mundane Washington franchise that has not had those things for over 30 years.
What’s more valuable than that? This dude is built differently.
2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Week 8 rank: 1 (-1)
Lamar Jackson did not have a bad game in the 29-24 loss in Cleveland. In fact, we’d be talking about a comeback win for him had Kyle Hamilton simply held onto an interception thrown by Jameis Winston in the final minute. It was just that kind of day for the Ravens as Rashod Bateman also had a big dropped pass on offense on third-and-long, and even kicker Justin Tucker missed a clutch field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Had Jackson been able to pull off that final touchdown drive, he’d for sure have incredible MVP odds right now. Alas, he came up short, so he has fallen behind Josh Allen in that race.
But this offense did struggle in the first half against a defense that is familiar with them. We know Jackson owns the NFC teams, but let’s see what happens when he plays more of these familiar AFC opponents like the Steelers and Broncos coming up here.
3. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Week 8 rank: 2 (-1)
While Josh Allen threw his first pick of the 2024 season in Seattle, he didn’t throw a second, which has been his problem in the past when they came in bunches. He also threw for 283 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Bills made short work of the Seahawks in the rain in an easy 31-10 win.
The Bills (6-2) are absolutely dominating the AFC East race where none of the other teams have more than two wins right now. They can sweep Miami this week, but all signs are pointing to the Week 11 showdown with Kansas City as the game that could decide so much for the playoffs and even the MVP award with Allen trying to make his case over Mahomes.
4. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 8 rank: 5 (+1)
Patrick Mahomes certainly has his 2024 routine down right now. Every week, he throws an interception, he makes some crazy scramble for a big first down late in the game, and he comes away with a win for the 7-0 Chiefs.
But despite the injuries and working in new pieces like Kareem Hunt and DeAndre Hopkins, the Chiefs are improving offensively, and Mahomes’ stats are trending up again. He’s up to No. 7 in QBR (67.0) for the season and No. 4 in passing success rate (51.5%). None of his last four interceptions were really bad throws or decisions from him as Sunday’s was another where he was hit on the hand as he threw.
The Chiefs are also starting to efficiently score points again as Mahomes has led them to 26-to-28 points on a limited number of drives in three straight games. If they can find a way to phase out the obligatory interception, they might be able to start scoring 30 points per game on top of having one of the best defenses.
5. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Week 8 rank: 4 (-1)
While Jared Goff is creeping up in the MVP race (+600 at FanDuel), Sunday’s 52-14 win over Tennessee is exactly the kind of game that makes you feel like it’s impossible to vote for him given the way Detroit just toys with some opponents. It feels like you can stick a lot of quarterbacks in there and produce these results.
But Sunday’s game was truly unique. The Lions had incredible success with special teams producing short fields on long returns and a return touchdown. The defense also forced four turnovers, so Goff had a handful of drives that started inside the Tennessee 30, all of which ended in touchdowns.
At one point, the Lions had 42 points while Goff had 28 passing yards. That number would even be smaller if you took out the yards he lost on sacks as that’s been an issue for him lately. It almost feels like he is guarding his insanely high completion percentage these last four games (84.34%) by taking more sacks as he has as many sacks (13) as he has incompletions the last four games.
The QBR metric certainly doesn’t like Goff’s season as his 15.3 QBR was the second lowest of any quarterback in Week 8. This is probably a good case of QBR showing a quarterback hasn’t been as good as his surface stats like Goff in 2024, but it may be going in a little too harshly on him right now.
He’s in a zone, but let’s see what happens when he faces a Green Bay defense that leads the league in takeaways.
6. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Week 8 rank: 7 (+1)
C.J. Stroud had a similar game to the 23-20 win over Buffalo where he played great, lost a receiver to injury, and then had a hard time finishing the deal before the defense did.
But he is running dangerously low on receivers after Stefon Diggs tore his ACL, ending his season in a crushing blow. Nico Collins is not coming back this Thursday night either, so that’s a short week to prepare for the Jets without your top two wide receivers, a terrible trend this 2024 NFL season that has plagued over a quarter of the league already.
Collins will eventually be back, but Tank Dell needs to step up for Stroud in the meantime. Dell’s sophomore season has been disappointing to say the least.
7. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
Week 8 rank: 6 (-1)
Everyone is waiting for Sam Darnold to fall off this season, but he wasn’t that bad in either of the team’s losses so far. Has there been a downward trend in his play if you’re comparing October to September? I think so, but he’s still putting up some points and giving the team a chance as the defense has fallen off more in the last few weeks.
But there is concern after the team lost left tackle Christian Darrisaw to a season-ending injury. Darnold has been taking some sacks as he likes to hold the ball longer for big plays, but he might need to speed up that process. I also think he needs to find wide receiver Jordan Addison more as he hasn’t had more than 3 catches in any game this season and has already started NFL rumors about being on the trade block. They can’t rely on Justin Jefferson for everything no matter how great he is.
But we’ll get to see Darnold in prime time again against the Colts, the team the Vikings came back from a 33-0 deficit to beat in 2022.
8. Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 8 rank: 10 (+2)
For the first time in six years, the Steelers have gone over 400 yards of offense in back-to-back games. Think Russell Wilson has made a difference? Monday night probably wasn’t his better game of the two as he had a late fumble he’d love to have back. But he again hit the big plays down the field, and he also lost a couple of touchdowns due to penalties or George Pickens getting his same foot down twice, which doesn’t count.
But Wilson is moving the ball and putting points on the board, exactly as Mike Tomlin had hoped. This is probably a good time for the bye week as the Steelers will need to be prepared for Washington in Week 10, a team that can score a lot of points.
9. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Week 8 rank: 9 (0)
Joe Burrow got off to a very sharp start against the Eagles, but for the third week in a row, the offense couldn’t get past 17 points. They scored just once on their last seven drives, and Burrow was intercepted in the fourth quarter after the Eagles tipped a ball from one defender to another for an athletic pick. The Cincinnati defense had no hope of stopping Jalen Hurts and company, and the Bengals are now 3-5 despite Burrow leading the NFL in QBR (75.4).
However, the Bengals are a fringe top-10 offense in terms of per-drive efficiency, so his numbers have not translated to as many points and yards as you’d like to see. In half of the eight games, they haven’t topped 17 points on offense and they’re 0-4 at home.
Burrow still seems to believe they can finish 7-2 to get to 10 wins, but that’s going to be very difficult given their struggles to play complementary football this season. When the offense is great, the defense stinks. When the defense steps up, the offense falters.
That’s how you end up missing the playoffs as a subpar football team.
10. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Week 8 rank: 8 (-2)
Go figure, Jordan Love had a great matchup with a Jacksonville defense that allowed the most touchdown passes in the league, and he couldn’t throw one. But it didn’t help that he injured his groin in the second half and was replaced by Malik Willis again.
Thankfully, Willis made some big plays and helped the Packers to a last-second field goal for a 30-27 win. These injuries are going to destroy any MVP argument for Love this year, but the more important thing is his availability for the huge game against Detroit at home this Sunday. That’s up in the air now, but he’s not ruled out yet.
11. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Week 8 rank: 14 (+3)
The Chargers have been one of the worst red-zone offenses this season (30th in touchdown rate), which is a big reason why they couldn’t find the end zone against Arizona last week. But against the Saints, the Chargers tied their season high with 26 points thanks to a couple of nice touchdowns by rookie wideout Ladd McConkey, who had his breakout game with 111 yards. That’s what the Chargers were hoping to see when they moved up to draft him for Justin Herbert this year.
There will be tougher games ahead for the Chargers, but Herbert has to be enjoying having a reliable defense to this point. The running game with J.K. Dobbins has fallen off a bit in recent weeks, but he’s stepped up as a passer again and is averaging 288.3 passing yards per game over the last three weeks, which is the Herbert we’re used to seeing.
12. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Week 8 rank: 11 (-1)
It may have been a rough start for Brock Purdy against Dallas, but he led several touchdown drives in the second half and bounced back well from that bad game against the Chiefs.
His rushing is an underrated part of his game as Purdy rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown in this game to go along with 260 passing yards. The 49ers are still scoring their share of points this season despite all the injuries they’ve suffered, but heading into the bye week, let’s see if they can string together wins for the first time in this 2024 season when they return to action in Week 10 against the Buccaneers.
13. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Week 8 rank: 15 (+2)
The Cardinals have struggled to score for the last month, but that was not the case in Miami where Kyler Murray passed for 307 yards in a comeback win where Arizona scored the final 10 points after falling behind 27-18.
We know Murray has some great offensive pieces around him, and they were on full display in this game with Marvin Harrison Jr., James Conner, and Trey McBride all playing a big role in the comeback win. Technically, the 4-4 Cardinals are leading the NFC West now thanks to that win over the 49ers.
Let’s see if Murray can keep putting up the points like he did in this game. We know his scrambling has been excellent all season, but Sunday was a key game for his season as a passer.
14. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Week 8 rank: 16 (+2)
Jalen Hurts is another quarterback who has seen a big uptick in his production in the last three weeks after a slow start. The return of A.J. Brown has a lot to do with that but Hurts saved his best throw for Sunday’s big win in Cincinnati for a 45-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. The Eagles were also great on the Tush Push as Hurts scored 3 rushing touchdowns in the 37-17 win, by far the team’s best performance of 2024.
If these Eagles show up more often, they can get back to the top of the NFC this year.
15. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
Week 8 rank: 17 (+2)
Imagine Kirk Cousins’ numbers if he got to play Tampa Bay every week this season. He has 8 touchdowns against them in two games and 6 touchdowns in his other six games. The Bucs are also the only defense he’s completed over 70% of his passes against this season, doing so in both games.
Both wins too as the Falcons completed the key sweep in the NFC South. The bad news for Cousins is he’s all out of Tampa games this season, but hopefully, this big win will help him get on a run in the NFC.
16. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Week 8 rank: 20 (+4)
For the first time since Week 1, Matthew Stafford had Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua at his disposal, and you can see what a huge difference that makes. Stafford had 4 touchdown passes against the Vikings, one more than he had in the first seven weeks combined this season.
It was a surprise to see Nacua play, and you instantly got a reminder that he’s really supplanted Kupp as the best receiver in that offense. But Stafford also moved around well and threw a pair of touchdowns to Demarcus Robinson as he looked refreshed for the season in the upset win.
With a chance to keep this rolling with his receivers back, Stafford and the Rams may not be out of things yet in a tight NFC West.
17. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 8 rank: 12 (-5)
Baker Mayfield started really well against Atlanta’s bad pass rush in a game where he didn’t have Chris Godwin or Mike Evans available. But the Falcons eventually saw through the lack of wideout options, and Mayfield threw a couple of more picks, which has been a problem the last few weeks for him.
He had a chance to lead a game-winning touchdown drive late, but his Hail Mary was not caught in the end zone to end the game, and the Falcons swept the Bucs, which should prove crucial in the NFC South standings at season’s end.
Fun fact: Mayfield has thrown at least 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in three straight games, something only Vinny Testaverde has done since the 1970 merger, and that was for the Buccaneers in October 1989. Only four other offenses in NFL history have done this since 1940. The 1950 New York Yanks did it in four straight games in a season where George Ratterman led the NFL in touchdowns (22) and interceptions (24), something Mayfield could do this season.
18. Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns
Week 8 rank: N/A (Deshaun Watson was No. 32)
Wasn’t that so much more fun than watching Deshaun Watson take a ton of sacks and fail to score more than 18 points?
Jameis Winston gave us the full Jameis experience, meaning he threw dimes all over the field for over 300 yards, coughed up a fumble before halftime, he got away with one of the ugliest game-ending interceptions you’ll ever see after Kyle Hamilton dropped it, and he threw a beautiful game-winning touchdown pass on the next play to upset the Ravens. Oh, he also started quoting Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” in the post-game interview after he ate that W.
I’m not sure the Browns can climb out of a 1-6 hole as they should have made this move weeks ago, but they are an infinitely more exciting offense with Jameis. In fact, it’s basically getting any veteran in there that’s not named Deshaun Watson that seems to get this offense moving.
But let’s warn you that the Browns know the Ravens well as a division rival, they beat them last year too, and the Ravens have declined significantly on defense, especially against the pass.
We’d also be talking about a game-ending Winston pick if Hamilton didn’t do this:
But welcome back, Jameis. Welcome back, Kevin Stefanski’s play calls. Welcome back to actually taking an interest in the Cleveland offense again.
19. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Week 8 rank: 13 (-6)
I don’t envy the task Geno Smith faced on Sunday against a hot Buffalo offense that he had to keep pace with on a rainy day with no running game and No. 1 wideout D.K. Metcalf was inactive with injury.
It was the first time all season the Seahawks didn’t reach 20 points, and they were fortunate to get halfway there in a 31-10 blowout loss at home. Smith is throwing more passes than any quarterback in the league this year, but the Seahawks are only producing mediocre results across the board in their production, and their situational play and that’s reflected in their 4-4 record.
20. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 8 rank: 21 (+1)
You have to give Trevor Lawrence a hand for turning his season around after a putrid start. I started this season by saying he is very dependent on having offensive rhythm and completing over 60% of his passes to have success.
- In the first four games, he completed 53.3% of his passes and the Jaguars were 0-4, averaging 15.0 points per game.
- In the last four games, he’s completed 71.9% of his passes and the Jaguars are 2-2, scoring at least 27 points in 3-of-4 games.
Sunday was a good comeback effort against a Green Bay defense that leads in takeaways. Lawrence tied the game late, but the Packers were able to win 30-27 on a last-second field goal.
Still, you wonder what’s going to happen now that Christian Kirk is out for the season with an injury, and they could be without rookie wideout Brian Thomas Jr. Somehow, we have yet another AFC team that is being crushed by injuries to its top two wide receivers. Kirk’s injury last year coincided with a bad slide by Lawrence to end the year, and we’ll see what happens this time around.
21. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
Week 8 rank: 22 (+1)
Aaron Rodgers has made himself an easy target with the way he’s carried himself in recent years. But he has played better than the 2-6 record the Jets currently have. The problem is he hasn’t played like the 4-time MVP we are used to seeing, and maybe that should have been expected all along given his age and another serious injury last year. He just doesn’t look as confident or physically imposing to defenses.
But it sure would help if the Jets had anything close to an average special team instead of a unit that continues to kill this team with missed field goals and setting up bad field positions.
Rodgers led a go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter in New England, but the defense didn’t have his back either. By the time he got the ball back, just 22 seconds remained in a 25-22 game. He may be the King of the Hail Mary pass, but he couldn’t even get the Jets close enough to spike it and try one in this latest head-scratching loss for the team.
22. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Week 8 rank: 18 (-4)
I’ve been a supporter of Dak Prescott since his rookie year, but this season just feels like the least effective and most uninspired he’s ever played in the NFL. We know the 49ers have had his number since 2021, and this game didn’t go well for most of the night either. But after the 49ers somehow left CeeDee Lamb wide open on back-to-back touchdown drives, Prescott had a shot to be the hero in a 30-24 game much like when he led a game-winning touchdown drive in Pittsburgh, by far his best moment of 2024.
But instead of pressuring the 49ers to choke a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys went four-and-out with a baffling drive by Dak where he threw four incomplete passes in a row. That was basically game over right there.
Even on a night where his defense stepped up for a half and got the ball back to him late, Prescott just didn’t deliver again.
23. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Week 8 rank: 25 (+2)
I think we can entertain the idea of Bo Nix entering the Offensive Rookie of the Year debate, but we really need to put into context just how terrible the Carolina defense is this season. Nix was able to pass for a season-high 284 yards and 3 touchdown passes while also running for his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. It might have been the most “Drew Brees-looking” game he’s had this year, but Brees would have killed to play a Carolina defense this poor.
The Broncos are 5-3, but don’t worry. With road trips to the Ravens and Chiefs these next two games, we’ll get a great sense of where Nix’s progress is as he’ll have to find a way to outscore Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes. For his sake, the defense better keep showing up for Denver.
24. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Week 8 rank: N/A (Tyler Huntley was No. 28)
Tua Tagovailoa played for the first time since Week 2, and I am happy to report that he learned how to slide after a big scramble on third-and-long. That’s a welcome sight that should be good for his future endeavors on scrambles. But the Dolphins couldn’t hold a 27-18 lead in the fourth quarter and lost on a last-second field goal in a loss that had more to do with the defense than the offense that showed improvement in Tua’s return.
But with a 2-5 record, it’s going to be a tough climb back for Tua and the Dolphins.
25. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Week 8 rank: 19 (-6)
It was the big showdown between the top two rookies in the draft in Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. For almost three full quarters, it was a one-sided affair as Daniels built a 12-0 lead while Williams could barely complete a pass against a Washington defense that has been extremely bad or great this season. But Williams was making them look great for much of this game before his teammates tried to get him a win with a long touchdown run by D’Andre Swift to finally get the offense on the board.
To his credit, Williams made a few throws on his final possession to help the Bears get in the end zone with 25 seconds left. He even completed the 2-point conversion pass for insurance, but the Commanders hit that epic Hail Mary to steal the 18-15 win.
Williams was definitely outplayed by Daniels even before that final drive happened. He finished 10-of-24 for 131 yards, taking a pair of sacks and rushing for 41 yards. It was a disappointing showing after his little run before the bye week.
But if this is to become the next great quarterback rivalry in the NFC, we know we’ll always remember how their first meeting ended. Williams will just have to make sure he’s ready to score more points early as we know Daniels is going to deliver at some point.
26. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Week 8 rank: 23 (-3)
It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of Drake Maye against the Jets, because he rushed for his first NFL touchdown and was quickly up to 46 yards on the ground before he left with an injury. We didn’t get to see if he would figure out the pass defense, avoid the sacks, and go win the game the way Jacoby Brissett did in his place against the reeling Jets.
The diagnosis is a concussion, so it’s possible Maye misses a game. But I would go right back to him regardless of this win. The Jets are handing those out to everybody right now.
27. Daniel Jones, New York Giants
Week 8 rank: 26 (-1)
Is there anything that’s more of a sure bet than fading Daniel Jones in prime time? He’s now 1-16 in his career under the lights after a 26-18 loss in Pittsburgh. He had a couple of good throws down the field to Darius Slayton, but his connection to Malik Nabers looked off, he coughed up a strip-sack to T.J. Watt in a big spot, and he threw another game-ending interception when the Giants actually had a shot to tie the game.
The Giants are 2-6, and hopefully, that will be the final prime-time game Jones ever starts for the team. They play the late-afternoon game in Dallas on Thanksgiving, but none of their other games are scheduled for prime time in 2024. Thank God.
28. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
Week 8 rank: 27 (-1)
Anthony Richardson had such a rough afternoon in Houston that it may have cost him the starting job in Indianapolis this year or for good depending on how things go. I still think we’ll see him start eventually in Indy, but it’s hard to say this benching for Joe Flacco isn’t warranted.
I would have benched Richardson at halftime of Sunday’s game, a winnable contest in a game for first place in the division. After throwing a brutal interception that led to a short-field touchdown for the Texans, Richardson had completed just 2-of-15 passes. You read that correctly.
Richardson is only completing 44.4% of his passes this season, which would have been the worst in the league in 1958 when Johnny Unitas led the Colts to their first championship. Only three quarterbacks since 1994 had a lower completion percentage in a season with at least 120 pass attempts than Richardson does right now.
But it’s being speculated that the last straw in him starting this week was the post-game admission that he tapped out for a breather after a scramble play in the third quarter. Joe Flacco came in and handed the ball off for one snap, which led to a field goal.
I’m more worried about the way he misses easy throws every week and can’t sustain offense than I am about this play, but it wasn’t a good look either. I’m not even sure I’ve ever seen Donovan McNabb, who had a reputation for puking on the field after running around, ever take himself out for a breather during a game.
The Colts’ biggest sin may be that they signed a quarterback in Flacco who is just so clearly better prepared to handle NFL defenses and run coach Shane Steichen’s offense than Richardson is right now. Scratch that, their biggest sin was using the No. 4 pick in the draft on such a raw, developmental quarterback like Richardson. But if this was ever going to work, they probably should have kept scraps at backup for 2024, then there would be no need to play the backup since there’s nothing there. Steichen knows he can win games with Flacco. He knows his offense has looked better with Minshew last year and Flacco this year than it has with Richardson.
It’s a rough situation to be in, which sums up the Colts well ever since Andrew Luck shockingly retired in 2019. Even if Flacco plays well and the team makes the playoffs as a wild card in a bad AFC, he turns 40 years old in January. Flacco is not the future, and this team isn’t ready to go win a Super Bowl this season.
Do you just keep playing Richardson, hope he improves, or look to cut bait for 2025 if he continues playing poorly? I’m not sure he can ever get it working without significantly changing his throwing mechanics, which feels like an offseason project for a determined quarterbacks coach and trainers.
The Colts have tough games coming up with the Vikings, Bills, and Lions. If they’re 4-8 going into December, maybe they just go back to Richardson then. It’s not a desirable coaching spot right now as the long-term quarterback does not seem to be there in Indy. Also, it’s not like the 2025 draft class is filled with interesting prospects.
Richardson likely hasn’t started his last game in Indy, but Sunday could have been the beginning of the end of his time there. This is going to be a tough situation to repair for all parties involved.
29. Mason Rudolph, Tennessee Titans
Week 8 rank: 30 (+1)
I think some of the play-calling failed the Titans in Detroit as they moved the ball well with Mason Rudolph throwing for over 100 yards to Calvin Ridley alone in the first quarter – that’s not a typo. But a putrid goal-line series before the half where they called four straight passes was asinine. However, you can’t win a game where you constantly give the opponent the ball inside the 30-yard line as the Titans did here between turnovers and abysmal special teams play.
But props to Rudolph for the moves he showed on a touchdown run early in the game before it got out of hand. I didn’t think he had those moves, and I’m still convinced he’s better for this team than Will Levis. However, you run into the same problem here that the Colts do with Richardson and the Panthers do with Bryce Young in that they really should just keep playing their 2023 draft pick to make sure he’s not the guy or if there is something there to salvage for 2025.
30. Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders
Week 8 rank: N/A (Aidan O’Connell was No. 31)
Again, Gardner Minshew is the Ryan Fitzpatrick of this era in that he’ll bounce around teams and give them some false hope, but you best be sure that game-losing turnover is coming in the fourth quarter. He did it again against the Chiefs, coughing up a fumble right after CBS’ Trent Green noted that Minshew had protected the ball. He got a late touchdown drive to cover the spread, but the Chiefs recovered the onside kick for another win.
At this point, head coach Antonio Pierce may want to give Desmond Ridder, who they recently signed, a shot to start to see if there’s anything there. I’m not a Ridder fan either, but he has at least led multiple game-winning drives with Atlanta.
31. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Week 8 rank: N/A (Andy Dalton was No. 24)
Thanks to a garbage time touchdown in the final seconds in Denver, Bryce Young led the Panthers to more points (14) than he had in his previous four starts combined (13). I don’t envy the job Young has in front of him with a weak offense that just traded away receiver Diontae Johnson to the Ravens. We should probably see him continue to start even if Andy Dalton (thumb) returns to health just to make sure the Panthers need to be in the quarterback market for 2025.
32. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints
Week 8 rank: 29 (-3)
Never thought I’d say this, but can Derek Carr please return this week? I’ve seen enough of rookie Spencer Rattler, who has been a human pinata behind this line with a sack rate of 12.4% this season (Carr’s is 3.76%). The veteran will get this offense back on track, but I’m not sure the Saints, losers of six straight, have much left to play for in 2024 as injuries have just ravaged their hot start that feels like eons ago.
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