Week 1 NFL Quarterback Power Rankings: Ranking All 32 Starting NFL Quarterbacks After The First Games

After 1 week of the 2025 NFL season we learned a LOT about the league’s passers.

There were some huge shifts in the NFL quarterback power rankings from the preseason through Week 1 with one notable QB moving up 28 spots! Some stars shined while others gave us reason to be concerned. Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Week 1 Power Ranking All 32 Starting NFL Quarterbacks In 2025

For the first NFL Starting Quarterback Power Rankings of the 2025 season there was a TON of movement. This won’t be the case every week as things normalize but Week 1 shows us a much clearer picture of the current QB rankings than the preseason QB Power Rankings from last week.

32. Tua Tagovailoa – Miami Dolphins (-18 spots)

Dropping 18 spots in the NFL Quarterback Power Rankings from preseason to Week 1, up first we have Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who looked alarmingly bad on Sunday.

Tua threw the ball 23 times and connected with receivers just 14 times. He had 1 TD and 2 interceptions with a dismal 114 passing yards, 1 fumble lost, and a laughable QBR of 2.7. Dolphins fans need to be concerned if Mike McDaniel goes back to Tua over Zach Wilson.

31. Spencer Rattler – New Orleans Saints (+1)

The positives in Spencer Rattler’s Sunday start for the Saints was he got a TON of passing attempts. He threw the ball 46 times. But he only connected on 27 of those 46 passes, and had a respectable 214 passing yards but a 0/0 TD/INT split and he took just one sack.

On the other side of the field, Kyler Murray was efficient. He didn’t try and force plays. And the same can’t be said for Spencer Rattler’s performance.

30. Cam Ward – Tennessee Titans (+6)

It’s unfair to think the recent #1 overall pick out of Miami would look like an MVP in his first NFL start but Titans fans were down bad after the game with how truly bad Cam Ward looked.

He wasn’t accurate, only connecting on 12 of 28 pass attempts. Cam has 0 rushing yards. He threw for just 112 yards and took 6 sacks for a cumulative -50 yards. Ward also lost a fumble. Things were bad and he needs to show sings of hope going forward.

29. Sam Darnold – Seattle Seahawks (-12)

Sam Darnold dropped 13 spots in the power rankings from the preaseason to Week 1. He couldn’t put together any semblance of momentum, throwing for 150 yards and connecting on 16 of 23 pass attempts for a 0/0 TD/INT split.

Did he get it done on the ground though? Also no. He scrambled for 14 yards on 2 attempts and took 1 sack. Darnold needs to up his game a lot this season.

28. Russell Wilson – New York Giants (-)

Replacing the man above this season is Russell Wilson who threw for 2,482 in his lone season with the Steelers, including 16 TDs and 5 INTs. Now, after spending 10 seasons with the Seahawks where he won Super Bowl XLVII and led the league in passing TDs in 2017, Wilson finds himself learning a new playbook for the third time in three seasons.

At 36-years-old, Russ should have years left in the tank but constantly adjusting to a new system would be a strain on any quarterback let alone a 36-year-old veteran set in his ways. Also, have you taken a look at the Giants’ WR depth chart? Russ could fall down these NFL power rankings pretty quickly…

27. Joe Flacco – Cleveland Browns (+1)

While Joe Flacco threw for a very respectable 290 yards, the 5th most of any QB through Sunday, he could not avoid making costly mistakes and threw 2 interceptions (1 TD) and took two sacks for a QBR of 32.8.

Flacco did a great job of spreading the ball around and had 4 receivers with over 50 yards but it wasn’t enough to beat the Bengals who looked just as impotent as the Browns did. I do have hopes that Flacco will turn things around pretty quickly though.

26. Bryce Young – Carolina Panthers (+4)

The 5’10” QB in Charlotte didn’t look sharp at all in his season debut. Bryce Young was the opposite of ‘accurate’ and only connected on 18 of 35 passes. He threw for just 154 yards, 1 TD, and 2 interceptions with a QBR of 20.1. Bryce did dazzle some with his feet and picked up 40 yards on 5 carries but also had a lost fumble.

Carolina did not look good. Bryce Young did not look sharp. They need to tighten things up a lot of winning the NFC South is a hope of theirs this season.

25. Bo Nix – Denver Broncos (+4)

Bo Nix and the Broncos won their season opener against the Titans but it’s hard to imagine Denver winning against any other team with how they played on Sunday. Nix had a QBR of just 19.2 after throwing for 176 yards (25-of-40), for 1 TD with 2 interceptions and 1 lost fumble.

If the Broncos are going to be competitive this season they are going to need a lot more from Bo Nix who didn’t look anything like himself from last season.

24. Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals (+5)

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray fell two spots this week despite picking up a win on the road. He was 21-for-29 through the air, had 2 TDs and 0 INTs, and scrambled for 38 yards in 7 carries but then only managed to beat the Saints by 7.

Marvin Harrison Jr. made Kyler Murray look solid in Week 1 and not the other way around. He hauled in 5-of-6 targets for 71 yards as the Cards’ top receiver while Trey McBride caught 6 of his 9 targets for 61 yards. Beyond that, Tip Reiman had 1 reception for 10 yards and every other receiver had 6 or fewer. The offense looked one-dimensional and that starts and ends with Kyler Murray’s reads. He was sacked 5 times for 33 yards and will need to work on his pocket presence going forward.

23. Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars (+5)

The Jacksonville Jaguars looked pretty good in their 26-10 Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers but it was the running game that shined. Lawrence himself failed to impress much, connecting on 19-of-31 passes for 178 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception with a QBR of 68.9

Jacksonville’s run game bailed him out with Travis Etienne Jr. rushing for 143 yards on 16 carriers and Lawrence was able to let the ground game take over and settle for 4 field goals. Trevor Lawrence threw for over 4,000 yards in his 2nd and 3rd seasons in the league, his last two full seasons, and I still think he can get back to that form this season but he dropped 2 spots this week due to lack of production.

22. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys (+6)

Dak Prescott dropped 3 spots in the Week 1 power rankings. He threw for 188 yards, was 21-for-34, and had 0 TDs and 0 INTs while only scrambling for 3 yards.

CeeDee Lamb was Prescott’s top receiver with 13 targets but only 7 catches and those 7 still accounted for 110 of Dak’s 188 passing yards. Jake Ferguson was targeted 6 times for 5 catches and 23 yards and George Pickens had 4 targets for 3 catches and 30 yards. This felt like a game where everyone in Dallas wanted to see Dak Prescott put the team on his back and start the season with a signature win and instead he failed to ever find the end zone.

21. C.J. Stroud – Houston Texans (+13)

C.J. Stroud threw for 188 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT in the Texans’ Week 1 loss to Matthew Stafford and the Rams. He was sacked three times for 37 yards and still only lost to the Rams by 5 points on the road.

The #2 overall pick in 2023, C.J. Stroud needed help in this game. Stroud was 19-for-27 with only Cade Stover proving reliable and catching all 4 passes he was targeted on. Dalton Schultz only caught 3 of 5 targets, same with Nico Collins. Stroud scrambled for 32 yards which was 2nd-best on the team behind Nick Chubb’s 60 yards.

20. Justin Fields – New York Jets (-7)

There were some positives to Justin Fields’ outing on Sunday. He threw 218 yards, 1 TD, and 0 interceptions and was accurate with 16 completions on 22 attempts. He also scrambled for 48 yards and 2 TDs on the ground.

The negatives were that he got shown up by Aaron Rodgers who threw for 4 TDs through the air against his former team and then blasted the organization saying it felt good to beat every single person involved with the Jets, but Justin Fields couldn’t control that.

19. Brock Purdy – San Francisco 49ers (+8)

There were moments of brilliance and head-scratching moments in Week 1 for Brock Purdy. At times he looked like a top-10 QB and at other times he looked pedestrian.

Purdy and the Niners beat Seattle on the road, a tough stadium to play in, 17-13. Brock threw for 277 yards, was 26-for-35, had 2 touchdowns through the air and 2 interceptions while taking just 1 sack for 12 yards. Purdy played good enough but he’ll need to step it up going forward.

18. Drake Maye – New England Patriots (-12)

Sophomore QB Drake Maye jumped 15 spots in the Week 1 NFL Quarterback Power Rankings after a strong Week 1 showing. Candidly, if he was a veteran he would’ve moved up further because it isn’t abundantly clear if Week 1 was the Drake Maye we will see all season long or if he’ll revert to the 55.2 QBR we saw last season.

Coming into the season, Drake Maye was ranked 22nd by ESPN at the QB position and he looked a lot better than that in Week 1 while throwing for 287 yards. With that in mind, he did throw the ball 46 times. New England’s rushing game was non-existent. Maye only had 1 touchdown through the air, had 1 interception, and was sacked 4 times. He needs to do a better job at ball control in Week 2 after New England lost by 7 to the visiting Raiders.

17. Caleb Williams – Chicago Bears (-3)

Caleb Williams was beating the Vikings with his arms and legs on Monday night. He looked sharp. The Vikings had trouble getting pressure on him and when they did Caleb Williams was able to scramble or pull a play out of thin air.

Honestly, he had the poise of a veteran and it was pretty wild to see. The Bears have to be excited about what they say from him. Was it enough to win? Ultimately, no. He got out-dueled by the Vikings’ incredible comeback in the 4th but Caleb looked great in Week 1.

16. J.J. McCarthy – Minnesota Vikings (-6)

J.J. McCarthy looked a little shaky in his first NFL outing. He threw a pick-6 early in the second half and it looked like the debut was turning into a waking nightmare.

But then he picked himself up by his bootstraps and led his team back to glory. J.J. McCarthy threw 2 TDs and ran in another in the 4th quarter to beat the Bears in a signature win that had every talking head raving about McCarthy’s grit and poise under pressure. He exorcised the demons of the first half and the pick-6 and will be filled with confidence going into week 2.

15. Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals (+10)

Despite throwing for half the yardage of his opponent, Joe Flacco, Joey B got the job done in Week 1. He threw for just 113 yards and 1 touchdown but had 0 interceptions and took 3 sacks. Conversely, Flacco threw 2 INTs and the Bengals went on to win 17-16.

With an elite set of wide receivers including Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Burrow typically sees passing yards materialize out of thin air and he threw for 4,918 in 2024 along with 43 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions. Burrow didn’t do anything wrong to drop himself too far on the list but we didn’t see elite quarterback play.

14. Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles (+7)

The Eagles looked perfectly fine in their season opener and picked up a close win over NFC East rival Dallas. Jalen Hurts who was #6 in our preseason QB rankings failed to do much of anything through the air with only 152 passing yards, 0 TDs, and 0 INTs. He was highly accurate though, connecting on 19 of his 23 passes but 51 of Jalen’s 152 passing yards came from one Dotson reception and his stats look vastly different without that.

Jalen beat the Cowboys with his legs though and ran for 62 yards, 2 more yards than Saquon Barkley, and Jalen seemed to snipe two tuddies with rushes of 4yds and 8 yds. Ultimately, he looked good and the Eagles didn’t have much need of him to throw the ball. The lack of typical QB play is what led to Jalen’s drop in the power rankings this week but I fully expect to see him back in the top 10 next week.

13. Baker Mayfield – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+6)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield looked sharp in Week 1. He threw for 167 yards and 3 TDs (0 INTs) but the longest reception of the entire Bucs’ offense was just 20 yards. Deep balls were nonexistent and that is uncharacteristic of Baker who was 3rd in the NFL last season with 4,500 passing yards and 41 passing TDs.

Baker scrambled for 39 yards as well which meant he was the top rusher on the field for the Bucs in the game. Bucky Irving’s longest run was just 9 yards. Where the Bake Show failed to impress was accuracy. He was only 17-for-32 through the air. That’s not going to get the Buccaneers back to the Playoffs if the inaccurate throws continue.

12. Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams (-3)

I was wrong about Matthew Stafford. I thought we’d see some rust and regression but he looked dialed in for Week 1 against the Texans.

Stafford threw for 245 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, took 3 sacks, and led the Rams to a 14-9 home win over Houston in Week 1. Leaning heavily on Puka Nacua, Stafford threw him the ball 11 times for 10 receptions and 130 yards. Davante Adams was his second-favorite target, throwing his direction 8 times for 4 receptions. If Stafford looks that good all season the Rams will be a problem for opposing NFC defenses.

11. Jared Goff – Detroit Lions (+1)

Jared Goff slipped 1 spot from 10th to 11th in the preseason to Week 1 NFL Starting Quarterback Power Rankings. The Leos tried to get things going but it was too little, too late, with Goff throwing for 225 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He took 4 sacks and simply wasn’t able to make magic happen.

10. Jayden Daniels – Washington Commanders (+6)

Jayden Daniels and the Commanders had an easy win over the Giants. He put up solid numbers, throwing for 233 yards with 1 TD and 0 INTs while taking 3 sacks with a QBR of 55.1.

Jayden didn’t drop in the power rankings necessarily due to any fault of his own, it was more because the QBs ahead of him on this list looked incredible. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year started his sophomore campaign off hot.

9. Michael Penix Jr. – Atlanta Falcons (-16)

Michael Penix Jr. moved 16 spots this week from 25th in the preseason QB power rankings to 9th after Week 1. Did he win? No. My Buccaneers got the job done but not because of any shortcomings by Penix Jr.

The former #8 overall pick out of Washington threw for 298 yards and 1 TD (0 INT). He also had a rushing TD and ran for 21 yards. Penix led his team down the field in the final minutes of the 4th quarter with a chance to push the game to overtime but his kicker doinked one off the crossbar, this came after he laid out for a 1st down and then a TD in the 4th quarter before the Bucs took the lead back. Penix was doing a LOT. It will be interesting to see how much the Falcons call on his heroics each week.

8. Geno Smith – Las Vegas Raiders (-5)

Geno Smith and the Raiders went into Gillette Stadium and stood on business. In his first game as the Raiders’ starting QB, Geno Smith threw for 362 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He took 4 sacks though which he will need to work on going forward.

This game turned into a bit of a QB battle with no rusher going over 40 yards in the game and Geno Smith rose to the challenge, out-dueling Drake Maye to lead Las Vegas to a 20-13 win to start the season.

7. Daniel Jones – Indianapolis Colts (-22)

Daniel Jones flew up the power rankings this week, moving from 29th in the preseason rankings to 7th after Week 1. There was already talk on SportsCenter on Monday morning of getting Daniel Jones the ‘Comeback Player of the Year Award.’

Let’s not got too far ahead of ourselves but let us give credit where credit is due. Daniel Jones threw for 272 yards and 1 TD (0 INTs). He made Tua look pedestrian in comparison while the Colts looked rock solid.

6. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs (+3)

Mahomes struggled to find momentum in Brazil and fell to the Chargers, snapping the longest active win streak of one team against another, I believe it was 12, and was just 1 shy of tying the all-time NFL record.

It seems silly to say that Patrick Mahomes struggled when he threw for 258 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs, while rushing for 57 yards and was the lead rusher on his team. He needed help. The squad didn’t make him look good. But Patty fell 3 spots in this week’s NFL Starting Quarterback Power Rankings because the QBs left on this list went above and beyond.

5. Jordan Love – Green Bay Packers (-7)

With a quick release and ability to beat defenders with his legs and keep plays alive I fully expected Jordan Love to put on a show in Week 1 and I was right. Facing the Lions, Jordan Love put on a clinic with 188 passing yards and 2 TDs (0 INTs) while rarely having to scramble and only rushing for 4 yards.

He was fully in control of the offense when the Packers took the field and similar to other QBs in the power rankings, Jordan Love wasn’t called on to do much in the blowout win for Green Bay. After jumping out to a 14-point lead at the half, all he really had to do was hand the ball off and avoid taking sacks… He was sacked 0 times in the game by the way, something the Lions should be worried about heading into Week 2.

4. Justin Herbert – Los Angeles Chargers (-5)

Can we all appreciate how incredible Justin Herbert looked in Week 1? He was on the road in Brazil facing the mighty Chiefs and not only showed up but took the game over. He threw for 318 yards which was the third-most of any QB in Week 1, had 3 touchdowns through the air, and he scrambled for 32 yard. It was like Herbert could do no wrong with the ball in his hands.

At 27-years-old, Justin Herbert already has one of the strongest throwing arms in the NFL. He can air it out and he does it with precision. He stands 6’6″ and weights 236-pounds. Last week he came into the preseason ranked 9th and moved 5 spots to #4.

3. Aaron Rodgers – Pittsburgh Steelers (-28)

Hand up, I was dead wrong on Aaron Rodgers. I fully expected him to come into the new season struggling to learn the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playbook, I thought his age would show, and there would be rust. I could not have been any more wrong.

Rodgers looked like the veteran QB he is and he played like a man 10 years younger. he did everything right and had 4 touchdowns through the air, 0 interceptions, 244 passing yards, was only sacked 4 times, had a passer rating of 136.7, and moved from 31st in the preseason power rankings because I was evidently being a hater all the way up to #3. Circle 10/26 on your calendar, that is when Aaron Rodgers will lead the Steelers against his former team the Green Bay Packers.

2. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens (-)

Lamar Jackson came into Week 1 as the #2 ranked QB in our NFL Starting Quarterback Power Rankings and there’s been no movement here. It wasn’t Lamar’s fault the Ravens blew a 19-point lead in the 4th quarter.

Lamar put on an MVP-caliber performance with 209 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, and another 70 rushing yards and a rushing TD of his own. Zero fumbles, zero interceptions. There’s not much more he could’ve done.

1. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills (-)

Josh Allen came into Week 1 as the #1 ranked QB in our preseason power rankings and nothing changed. He showed everyone once again that he is that dude.

Allen has the most passing yards of any QB in Week 1 with 394. He had a 2 TD-0 INT split with a 71.7% completion percentage and brought his team back to win while losing by two touchdowns. Just an incredible Week 1 performance from the Bills QB but it’s exactly what we expected.

And thus concludes the first 2025 NFL Quarterback Power Rankings for all 32 Starting Quarterbacks in the NFL to start the season. Where did we go wrong? What did we get right? Let me know in the Facebook comments or email me anytime at cass@brobible.com.