NFL Quarterback Rankings Week 8 Top Five And Bottom Five: The King Reigns Again

Another week of the NFL season has come and gone, and for the first time this year, the world’s best quarterback finds himself back on top.

Another week of the NFL season has come and gone, and for the first time this year, the world’s best quarterback finds himself back on top.

Note, these rankings only include incumbent starters. Fill-ins such as the Bears’ Tyson Bagent, the Cardinals’ Josh Dobbs, and others are ineligible. So, it’s technically not out of 32 quarterbacks, but that’s the easiest and most recognizable way to number them, as people are used to NFL lists being ranked 1-32.

28. Mac Jones, New England Patriots

Season Stats: 154/231 66.7%, 1480 yds, 6 TD 6 INT

Just when he seemed to be on the verge of losing his starting job, Mac Jones responded with likely his best performance of the season, going 25/30 for 272 yards and two touchdowns as the struggling Patriots beat the Bills on a Mac Jones two-minute drill touchdown drive.

That wasn’t enough to get him out of the bottom five, as he still has just six touchdown passes to go against six picks through seven games and the New England offense has been putrid. Jones simply doesn’t have the physical talent to excel in the NFL unless his anticipation and timing are perfect. And, this year, his timing and anticipation has been far from that. He will have to have a few more games like that one he played on Sunday if he wants to keep his job for next year.

29. Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons

Season Stats: 149/228, 65.4%, 1630 yds, 6 TD 6 INT

Desmond Ridder is the perfect example of a no-man’s-land quarterback. It’s not that he can’t win you games. It’s that he can’t win you enough to win anything of consequence, and he will win you too many to be bad enough to draft a better quarterback.

That’s been on display this year, especially the last few weeks. After back-to-back interception-plagued weeks, Ridder didn’t have any in the team’s 16-12 win against the Buccaneers. But, he lost three fumbles, two at the goal line, and continues to make costly mistakes. Despite all of this, the Atlanta Falcons are 4-3 and could very easily win the NFC South. That will in spite of, and not because of, Desmond Ridder.

In the meantime, the Falcons are maybe the top candidate to make a big trade up in the 2023 NFL Draft for an elite quarterback prospect.

30. Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans

Season Stats: 98/158, 62.0%, 1,126 yds, 2 TD 6 INT

The Titans were on a bye week in week 7, and nobody missed them. They may be the most boring, nondescript team in the league, and a lot of that is due in part to the play of Ryan Tannehill. No one should be surprised that the 2-4 Titans have decided to start Will Levis in week 8.

31. Sam Howell, Washington Commanders

Season Stats: 167/256, 65.2% 1,749 yds, 9 TD 7 INT

It’s not as if Sam Howell can’t move the ball through the air. He absolutely can, and is averaging a respectable 250 yards per game through the air. The problem? He is taking way too many sacks, and those sacks are killing too many Commanders drives.

That was on display Sunday, as he took six sacks against a very average Giants pass rush in a crushing 14-7 loss to one of the worst teams in football. Yes, the offensive line isn’t great. But, it’s not as bad as the 40 sacks they’ve given up this year, the most in the league. Sacks are a quarterback stat too, and he’s the worst in the league at avoiding them.

32. Daniel Jones, New York Giants

Season Stats: 105/151, 68.9% 884 yds, 2 TD 6 INT

Jones was once again out with injury on Sunday, and for a second straight week, the Giants offense was much more successful under Tyrod Taylor than it had been under Jones. That’s mostly due to the fact that Taylor has done a much better job at avoiding sacks and protecting the ball, while being more willing to throw the ball downfield. It’s unclear if Giants coach Brian Daboll will give Jones the starting job back when he returns from injury, but it is clear that the monster contract Jones got in the offseason was a huge mistake. It seems likely that the Giants will be looking for a quarterback in April’s draft.

5. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

Season Stats: 193/280 68.9% 2,057 yds, 16 TD, 5 INT

One of the most controversial quarterbacks in the league in terms of just how good he is, Kirk Cousins has been absolutely fantastic so far this season. And, he finds himself back in the top five as he’s helped the Vikings rebound from an 0-3 start to a 3-4 record, very much in the thick of things.

He’s guided the team to back-to-back wins without superstar wideout Justin Jefferson, and his virtuoso performance against the 49ers on Monday night where he threw for 378 yards put him back in the top five.

Cousins is a free agent at the end of the year, and there could be quite the bidding war for his services.

4. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Season Stats: 174/246 70.7%, 1,841 yds, 15 TD 7 INT

The Buffalo Bills are playing poorly right now. But, that’s not because of the Herculean effort of Josh Allen, who is being asked to do far too much each week to help the team win.

Still, he’s hanging in there and trying to make plays in an offense that has no structure, can’t scheme anything open, and is as mismanaged as any in the league. The fact that Buffalo has four wins is a testament to Allen. If things don’t change, Allen will have to carry this team on his back if they’re to make the playoffs.

3. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Season Stats: 142/200, 71.0%, 1,610 yds, 8 TD 3 INT

Get your MVP futures bets in on Lamar Jackson now, because the odds this week are the best you’re going to get. Jackson is finally getting comfortable in offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s new offense, and he looks incredible. Not only is he throwing the ball better than he ever has to better weapons than he’s ever had, but he’s till running the ball well. Jackson has added 363 yards and five touchdowns so far this year.

His performance against the then 5–1 Lions was a masterpiece. Jackson was 21-27 for 357 yards and three touchdowns, and added 36 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He looks like the former MVP that he is, and it’s going to go up from here. That offense is incredibly dangerous, and they will likely add a running back at the trade deadline, as well.

2. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Season Stats: 163/229, 71.2%, 2,092 yds, 15 TD 6 INT

Don’t let the final score or the good-but-not-great stat line from the Dolphins’s 31-17 loss to the Eagles fool you. Tua Tagovailoa was as precise as he has been all season against an unrelenting Eagles’ pass rush.

Look no further than the dropped touchdown by Tyreek Hill in that game as an example of how well Tagovailoa threw the ball but wasn’t necessarily shown in the stat sheets. Nobody is throwing with more timing or anticipation than he is, and as this offense continues to integrate Jaylen Waddle more and more to go along with Hill’s monster year, he will continue to get playmakers the ball where they can do damage. He’s still on an MVP-type pace, and is right behind the player ranked number one on this list in front of him in the race for the award.

1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Season Stats: 185/266 69.5%, 2,017 yds, 15 TD 6 INT

The Kansas City Chiefs sit atop my power rankings, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes has risen to the top of the quarterback rankings for the first time this year.

All the things that make the two-time Super Bowl champion arguably the most talented player to ever play the position were on display in his 424-yard, four touchdown performance against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The arm talent is one of a kind, but he does all the little things at an elite level as well. His timing and anticipation are top-notch, as is his ability to throw guys open. He’s at his best when he is taking what the defense is giving him instead of trying to force big plays, and that was on display against the Chargers. He’s the MVP favorite once again, and remains the best quarterback on the planet. I think we will be saying that for a long time.