I keep thinking about the season opener when Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens failed — by a toe and a two-point conversion — to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
All I want is a rematch.
Lamar is, no doubt, the best football player in the world this season. He’s a human highlight reel. He has been prolific as a rusher and passer. He’s an MVP front-runner. Patrick Mahomes is somehow the most influential football player. You have to squint to find the highlights. He’s not exactly impressing with his counting stats. But he’s doing exactly the right things for the Chiefs to stay undefeated. And if you disagree with that label for Mahomes, let’s revisit Week 1 when he and the Chiefs eked out a victory over Baltimore.
All I want is a rematch. Because the Ravens are better. And the Chiefs might be worse? So, yeah, I’m annoyed that we might have to wait until late January.
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For the QB Stock Market, we weigh the most recent performances with 30% importance, while 70% is applied to the rest of 2024. One question holds importance above all others: What have you done for your team lately?
Previous weeks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (↔)
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (⬆️ 4)
Josh Allen must love having Amari Cooper, who has instantly changed the Bills offense.
Don’t just look at the numbers that Cooper put up (four catches, 66 yards and a touchdown). Look at the numbers Keon Coleman (four catches, 125 yards) and Khalil Shakir (seven catches, 65 yards) put up. Cooper was a breath of fresh air for the offense, particularly in the second half when things began to fall into place for Josh Allen, who actually started 1 of 5. But of course, Allen finished 22 of 33 for 323 yards and two touchdowns. And he did it against one of the three best pass defenses, allowing just 166.7 passing yards per game.
His interception total? Still 0. Zero!!! For the guy who had a career-high 18 last year!!!
Much was made of Cooper’s touchdown (where Coleman appeared to direct Cooper what route to run after an audible). But I loved watching Allen connect with Cooper for 19 yards in the third quarter. The design of the play sent motion and a fake pitch to the right. That misdirection helped Cooper create separation along the left sideline. It was an easy pitch and catch between the two stars.
Smart stuff from OC Joe Brady — and a unique display of chemistry between Allen and Cooper.
It’s scary to imagine what the offense can achieve with Cooper fully integrated into the offense. But there’s the obvious white whale: Mahomes.
3. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (⬇️ 1)
4. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (⬆️ 6)
Goff did to the Vikings what no quarterback has done this season: He cut them to pieces with surgical passing under pressure. Keep in mind, this is the same Minnesota defense that logged eight interceptions and nine sacks in the previous three games.
But Goff was unstoppable.
Yes, we’re talking about the same Jared Goff.
And it’s not just a one-game thing. Under pressure this season, Goff currently leads all qualified quarterbacks in yards per attempt (11.6), completion percentage (71.6%), CPOE (+9.6%) and passer rating (125.7).
That’s why I have Goff and Brock Purdy trading places on this list.
At the beginning of the season, I pegged Purdy as one of the premier pocket quarterbacks with the best weapons in one of the premier NFL systems. Turns out, that’s actually Goff.
Over the past three weeks, here are Goff’s passer ratings:
Week 7 (win over Vikings): 140
Week 6 (win over Cowboys): 153.7
Week 5 (win over Seahawks): 155.8
He has just 10 incompletions on 68 attempts over those weeks. Goff has been the most consistently impressive thrower of the football.
5. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (↔)
6. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (⬆️ 3)
7. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (⬇️ 3)
8. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (↔)
9. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (⬆️ 3)
10. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (⬆️ 4)
I believe it was Aristotle who said, don’t hate the player, hate the game. (Or was it Plato?)
You’ve seen the meme of Mahomes making out with a referee. You’ve seen the endless stream of comments on social media about how the NFL is fixing games to keep Kansas City in the win column. You’re hating the player for no good reason, folks.
Mahomes isn’t making the rules. He’s just making them work for him.
There’s no better example than his 33-yard rush against the 49ers when he hesitated near the sideline — acting as if he might go out of bounds — before charging upfield for a big gain. Mahomes knew the officials would call a penalty if he got hit near the sideline, so he made that work for him. Football is a game where the greatest have always bent the rules. So that’s what Mahomes has done since winning his first Super Bowl.
Mahomes isn’t exactly having a good season. He has six touchdown passes and eight interceptions. That speaks to his overall mediocre body of work.
But know this: Mahomes’ expected point average on first and second downs is -2.8, while it’s 11.3 on third and fourth downs. His EPA is -5.7 in the first, second and third quarters, but it’s 14.2 in the fourth.
It’s weird. Mahomes isn’t good right now. But he’s great when it matters — and, with an elite defense, that’s all that matters. That, and 6-0.
11. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (⬇️ 8)
The 49ers needed Purdy to be great this past Sunday. A statement outing.
He played truly awful. And it’s because he tried to play beyond his capabilities.
It wasn’t just the three interceptions, which were all on him. It was also the missed opportunities on big plays that could’ve and should’ve been even bigger. The 49ers probably would’ve scored a touchdown if Purdy had hit George Kittle in stride on third-and-4 in the second quarter, but they settled for 41 yards and, ultimately, a field goal. They might have had another TD if Purdy hit Jacob Cowing in stride on 2nd-and-8 in the fourth quarter, which also produced 41 yards before Purdy threw an interception.
It’s not just about Purdy avoiding the mistakes.
It’s about the quarterback getting back to maximizing on positive plays.
The performance triggered a five-minute conversation in the 49ers’ locker room in front of the media, according to The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami. Kawakami suggested the conversation was about Purdy pressing and trying to put the team on his shoulders as more and more skill players deal with injuries.
“Is there more pressure to put on a Superman cape and do more? No,” Purdy said postgame. “We have a lot of talent, in my eyes.”
Maybe. But all his best weapons are struggling with injuries. And Brandon Aiyuk is out for the year.
Purdy is a good quarterback, who has — for his entire career — been elevated by his supporting cast. He’ll need to graduate from that designation if the 49ers are going to make the playoffs.
12. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (⬇️ 5)
13. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (⬇️ 1)
14. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (⬆️ 4)
15. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (⬆️ 4)
16. Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers (new)
It looks like Mike Tomlin was right to swap in Russell Wilson for Justin Fields, after all.
Even with basically everyone questioning the decision, Tomlin must have seen what Russ brought to the offense that Fields didn’t: verticality. We saw Russ tossing up moonballs like the good old days in Seattle.
But … I want to issue a word of restraint with Wilson, The box score showed that Russ was terrific. And while he was good, he wasn’t as good as the numbers showed. First of all, George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth are freaks, and that was on full display with both playmakers posterizing a banged-up Jets’ secondary at multiple points throughout the game. Pickens had to make a number of acrobatic catches, however, in part because Wilson was underthrowing the deep ball. Pickens and Freiermuth padded Wilson’s stats with one spectacular grab after another.
And then the Jets’ incompetence also boosted Wilson. The Steelers ran the same concept five times against New York. It was also their first passing play of the game: a play-action boot that got the tight end open just beyond the flat. Nothing fancy. But the Jets looked wholly unprepared to defend it, and the play sprung Darnell Washington for 18 yards and then 15 yards, and Freiermuth for 30 yards.
Russ was rusty. The Steelers set him up for success. It should keep getting better from here. And if it doesn’t — well, Fields is waiting.
17. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (⬇️ 2)
18. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (⬇️ 4)
19. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (⬇️ 3)
20. Drake Maye, New England Patriots (⬆️ 2)
21. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (⬇️ 4)
How does Rodgers get his team to keep belief?
“Stop listening to you guys [the media], number one. Number two, gotta be accountable. I gotta play better,” Rodgers told reporters.
OK, I’m cackling.
Look, we already knew Rodgers was a hypocrite. But I’m cracking up at Rodgers taking a shot at the media for criticizing his underachieving team — right before telling everyone that he needs to remain accountable.
But don’t worry, he’ll go on The Pat McAfee Show for an hour later this week to set the record straight. You know … during his media work. (Because, yes, Rodgers gets paid to work with the McAfee Show.)
Leadership is a key element of good quarterbacking. I don’t get the sense Rodgers has strong command over this locker room.
On the field, it’s hard to make sense of Rodgers’ play. I’m dead serious when I say that in an offense with Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, Rodgers looked at his best Sunday when throwing to Allen Lazard. So it’s a weird situation in New York. It makes sense that Adams — with just a few days with the Jets — had three catches on nine targets. It doesn’t make sense that Wilson had five catches on nine targets with two interceptions in his direction, including an egregious drop on Rodgers’ best throw of the night.
This isn’t to absolve Rodgers of his issues. He has the 16th best EPA per dropback when facing pressure, and you can see him struggling to get the ball out behind this offensive line. He is also surprisingly sloppy on dump-off passes and checkdowns. And he lacks confidence in what he’s seeing in the deep third of the field, where he attempted zero (0) passes on Sunday.
The Jets needed a savior. Rodgers ain’t it.
22. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (⬆️ 1)
23. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (⬆️ 2)
24. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (⬇️ 4)
25. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (new)
26. Mason Rudolph, Tennessee Titans (new)
27. Aidan O’Connell, Las Vegas Raiders (⬆️ 1)
28. Daniel Jones, New York Giants (⬇️ 1)
29. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints (↔)
30. Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers (⬇️ 2)
31. Tyler Huntley, Miami Dolphins (⬇️ 1)
32. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (↔)
It’s over. It has to be.
With Watson suffering an Achilles injury, his season — and perhaps his NFL career — is done. It’s hard to imagine the Browns taking the salary-cap losses ($172 million in dead cap hits if cut in 2025) and moving on without him. But wouldn’t that be better than wasting another season on Watson? Particularly after an injury that can already end a career?
He was the worst starting quarterback — without question. And he has the worst contract in the NFL — without question. This whole charade has gone on longer than it should have. It has been enormously problematic since the emergence of about two dozen lawsuits in 2021 accusing Watson of sexual assault and sexual misconduct — before Cleveland acquired him.
I know the Browns have a long history of screwing up the quarterback situation. But after giving up three first-round picks and $230 million guaranteed, they literally cannot do worse with the next guy. Even another rookie bust would be palatable. It’ll be a very long time before any team makes a transaction as cataclysmic as the Watson trade. It might never happen.
Henry McKenna is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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