QB Power Rankings: Mahomes back on top after shredding the 49ers

Week 7 was an interesting week in the quarterback landscape in the NFL. Matt Ryan was benched by the Colts after another sub-par performance. Mac Jones was also benched after just three drives on Monday Night Football.

Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes went super-nova against the number one ranked San Francisco 49ers defense. Joe Burrow has also found his level after a slow start to the 2022 season.

Every week this season, I will be power-ranking the NFL quarterbacks based on their previous weeks’ performance. You can check out last week’s rankings here.

Tier 1

1. Patrick Mahomes - Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 2)

There’s good, there’s elite, and then there’s what Mahomes did to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The 49ers came in with the number one ranked defense and Mahomes threw for 423 yards and three touchdowns. The Chiefs quarterback was simply on another level on Sunday.

2. Josh Allen - Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 1)

It’s extremely hard to move Allen down to two this week after he didn’t play in Week 7. However, Mahomes was just that good. Allen will get a chance to move back up this week as the Bills take on the Green Bay Packers.

3. Geno Smith - Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 3)

It wasn’t necessarily wrong for the NFL to write off Geno Smith when they did. However, it’s a prime example that some quarterbacks deserve more time to develop and the right situation can make the difference. Smith has been playing at a high level this season and that was on full display against the Los Angeles Chargers.

4. Joe Burrow - Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 8)

It took awhile, but Burrow and the Bengals offense have finally seemed to figure it out. Yes, the Bengals went up against the Falcons on Sunday, but Burrow put on a clinic. The Bengals quarterback threw for 481 yards and three touchdowns. At halftime, he was 21-for-25, had three touchdowns, threw for 344 yards, and had a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

5. Jalen Hurts - Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 5)

The Eagles were on a bye week and we’ll see if they can continue at their current level and don’t burn out. Some bye weeks come at a perfect time. For Hurts and the Eagles, they have to hope it didn’t kill their momentum.

6. Justin Herbert - Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 4)

Herbert has been without wide receiver Keenan Allen and Mike Williams got injured last week as well. However, Herbert still made way too many mistakes against a very susceptible Seahawks defense. There’s no denying Herbert’s talent, but he’s still a level below the elite tier of quarterbacks.

7. Tua Tagovailoa - Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 11)

After being out with a concussion, Tua returned last week against the Steelers and continued playing as efficiently as he was prior to the injury. He threw for 261 yards and a touchdown and improved to 10-2 in his last 12 starts.

8. Lamar Jackson - Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 6)

After being in the early race for MVP, Jackson has fallen off a little bit. He hasn’t completed more than 60 percent of his passes in each of his last three games. He was only 9-for-16 for 120 yards on Sunday against a Cleveland Browns defense that hasn’t been very good.

Tier 2

9. Tom Brady - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 7)

Throughout Brady’s career, the best way to disrupt him has always been to collapse the pocket and get interior pressure. The Buccaneers lost much of their interior offensive line in the offseason. That, along with the Buccaneers offense being extremely predictable, has led to a stale product on offense.

10. Daniel Jones - New York Giants (Last Week: 19)

Jones is a primary example of how coaching matters when it comes to young quarterbacks. Brian Daboll isn’t trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. He’s using Jones to his strengths which have limited his weaknesses. Jones has only thrown two interceptions this season despite having one of the worst receiver rooms in the NFL.

11. Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 10)

At some point, inexperienced wide receivers can no longer be an excuse for Rodgers. As mentioned above, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs would likely be the top-two wide receivers for the Giants. Rodgers currently leads the NFL in passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage.

12. Derek Carr - Las Vegas Raiders(Last Week: 17)

In each of his last three games, Carr hasn’t thrown an interception. In games like Sunday where the Raiders don’t have to ask Carr to do too much, this offense runs smoothly. Davante Adams is starting to get more involved. If the Raiders can use a similar formula as they did on Sunday against the Texans, they might still be able to turn their season around.

13. Kirk Cousins - Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 14)

The Vikings didn’t play on Sunday, but they remain in first place in the NFC North. We’re going to learn a lot about Cousins in the coming weeks as the Vikings play the Cardinals, Bills, and Cowboys. Does he crumble like he did earlier this season against the Eagles or does he rise to the occasion?

14. Dak Prescott - Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 24)

Prescott didn’t have a spectacular debut after returning from injury, but he did what the Cowboys needed him to do. He’ll continue to improve as he gets healthier. The Cowboys have a great team. All they need Prescott to do is not make crucial mistakes and to make the big throws when his number is called.

15. Trevor Lawrence - Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 12)

This is almost like a rookie season for the Trevor Lawrence. It’s going to be a year of growth for him moving on from Urban Meyer and going to Doug Pederson. Lawrence has shown flashes, but needs to be more consistent. He’s making rookie mistakes, but hopefully he grows out of those as the season goes on.

16. Jimmy Garoppolo - San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 9)

Garoppolo showed why the 49ers moved on to Trey Lance this season. While he’s efficient and is comfortable in their ball control offensive scheme, Garoppolo is always going to make “the mistake”. The 49ers traded for Christian McCaffrey, but we’ll see how much that move helps them as the biggest hurdle this team faces is what they’re going to get out of the quarterback.

Tier 3

17. Kyler Murray - Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 22)
18. Matthew Stafford - Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 18)
19. Ryan Tannehill - Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 16)
20. Jared Goff - Detroit Lions (Last Week: 15)
21. Jacoby Brissett - Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 25)
22. Marcus Mariota - Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 20)
23. Russell Wilson - Denver Broncos (Last Week: 21)
24. Andy Dalton - New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 26)

Jared Goff started the season hot. However, over the last two weeks against better defenses, Goff has thrown three interceptions to zero touchdowns. The Lions are 1-5 and currently the favorites to land the number one overall pick. If that ends up being the case, it’s going to be tough for the Lions not to draft one of the top quarterbacks.

Tier 4

25. Zach Wilson: New York Jets (Last Week: 23)
26. Tyler Heinicke - Washington Commanders (Last Week: NR)
27. Kenny Pickett - Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 27)
28. Justin Fields - Chicago Bears (Last Week: 31)
29. Mac Jones - New England Patriots (Last week: NR)
30: PJ Walkers - Carolina Panthers (Last week: 32)
31: Davis Mills - Houston Texans (Last Week: 29)
32. Sam Ehlinger - Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: NR)

Is there a quarterback controversy in New England? After just three possessions, Jones was replaces by Bailey Zappe who immediately threw two touchdown passes. Zappe unraveled in the second half, but the Patriots have a lot to think about moving forward.