NFL QB Power Rankings, Week 7: Foles lower than Trubisky's worst
Week 7 provided us with a couple of the best divisional matchups of the year that could portend some of the best divisional matchups to come over the next decade. First, Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield traded blows as the Bengals and Browns fight for relevance in the AFC North. Then, Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray showed why the NFC West features not only two of the best QBs in the league, but also two of the best teams. But for the Bears, Nick Foles had fans wondering why Mitchell Trubisky was ever benched. Read on to see how far he fell after his embarrassing performance in primetime.
Last week: 32
COMP-ATT: 12-23
YDS: 120
TD: 0
INT: 2
Darnold returned to the Jets after missing a couple of games due to injury, but it didn’t matter for the hapless Jets. They had a great chance to finally notch their first win as the Bills couldn’t score a touchdown, but four punts and a pick in the second half were all Darnold and the Jets could muster. One good moment from Darnold was a pretty pass along the sideline to convert a 3rd-and-20.
Last week: 30
COMP-ATT: 24-40
YDS: 254
TD: 0
INT: 2
RUSH TD: 1
Back-to-back weeks with no touchdowns and two interceptions have Lock falling towards the bottom of the list. Among QBs with over 50 pass attempts, his 55.9% completion rate is only better than Joe Flacco (51.9%) and teammate Jeff Driskel (54.7%).
Last week: 31
COMP-ATT: 20-30
YDS: 187
TD: 2
INT: 1
RUSH-YDS: 4-92
FUMBLES LOST: 1
The meme of Jones tripping over his own feet will be the only thing people remember from the Giants’ offensive output on Thursday night. But that run put the Giants ahead late, and a 15-play, 97-yard touchdown drive after that should have put the game away. Instead, the Eagles rallied back, and Jones fumbled the ball to seal the loss.
Last week: 27
COMP-ATT: 28-40
YDS: 261
TD: 0
INT: 2
Yes, the Bears’ O-Line is awful. Yes, Matt Nagy’s play calling is questionable. But Foles continues to make bad decisions with the football-- the one thing he was supposed to do better than Mitchell Trubisky. This week it was on an interception in the back of the end zone on a ball that should have been thrown out of bounds instead. Foles’ inability to scramble looks like a huge liability with an offensive line that can’t slow down any pass rush.
Last week: N/A
COMP-ATT: 2-3
YDS: 39
TD: 0
INT: 0
It’s hard to get a real read on what DiNucci brings to the Cowboys after only three pass attempts, and lots of running from Washington’s pass rush. However, on his first pass downfield DiNucci showed impressive touch on a 32-yard gain to Amari Cooper.
Last week: 28
COMP-ATT: 25-43
YDS: 359
TD: 2
INT: 1
RUSH TD: 1
Another up-and-down game for Wentz, but he did enough for the Eagles to win. He looked great in the beginning and end of the game, making accurate throws and plays with his feet. In between, however, he was terrible with a particularly ugly interception in the red zone.
Last week: 26
The Vikings were on bye in Week 7, yet Cousins still owns a share of the league-lead for interceptions with 10. Cousins will have to throw the ball a ton to keep up with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 8, so Cousins could either rise-- or fall-- a lot next week.
Last week: 25
COMP-ATT: 14-27
YDS: 173
TD: 2
INT: 0
RUSH-YDS: 4-21
Minshew’s tumble in the power rankings continues as he was barely able to complete more than 50% of his passes against the Chargers. While a fumble turned the tide against the Jaguars, in a game where James Robinson was excellent, more production from Minshew should have been enough to give Jacksonville their first win since Week 1.
Last week: 25
COMP-ATT: 15-25
YDS: 194
TD: 2
INT: 0
While he wasn’t very efficient, Allen at least has Washington living up to its name and playing like a Football Team. Now Allen needs to show he can do it against a better team than the Dallas Cowboys.
Last week: 24
COMP-ATT: 35-47
YDS: 406
TD: 3
INT: 1
RUSH-YDS: 6-34
RUSH TD: 1
FUMBLES LOST: 1
For one minute it looked like Burrow would finally have his first impressive comeback win. But Baker Mayfield had other plans, and ruined the day for the Bengals. While he showed moxie in the Bengals’ final drive, turnovers continue to plague the rookie. His one interception was a bad throw in the back of the endzone and in addition to his one lost fumble, Burrow put the ball on the turf two more times. If he cleans that up, the Bengals should win more games.
Last week: 23
The Colts were on bye in Week 7, but Rivers’ 7:6 TD:INT ratio remains one of the least-inspiring in the league. He does score points for his 69.7 completion percentage which ranks seventh in the league, and his 8.1 YPA which ranks 10th.
Last week: 20
Fitzpatrick falls solely because other QBs around his ranking played well while the Dolphins were on bye. Next week Tua Tagovailoa makes his debut.
Last week: 21
COMP-ATT: 20-25
YDS: 277
TD: 0
INT: 2
While Garoppolo’s first interception was a mistake, his second came on a hail mary at the end of the second half. He doesn’t climb as much in the rankings, as the 49ers have leaned more on their running backs to win than other teams around the league. If he stacks more efficient starts, and the Niners keep stacking wins, he’ll move up despite the low TD numbers.
Last week: 19
COMP-ATT: 29-39
YDS: 309
TD: 2
INT: 0
On a night where the Packers made the Texans one-dimensional, Watson needed to be elite and he fell just a little short. With the ball in Watson’s hands on third down, the Texans converted 6-13 third downs, including one garbage time touchdown. A few more conversions and the Texans may have been able to score more touchdowns to keep up with Aaron Rodgers.
Last week: 13
COMP-ATT: 9-15
YDS: 98
TD: 0
INT: 3
RUSH-YDS: 5-19
Newton hasn’t looked the same since recovering from COVID-19. He looked so bad on Sunday, that the Patriots benched Newton for Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter. Newton knows better than anyone he needs to play better, telling reporters he knows “it will be a permanent change” if he doesn’t improve.
Last week: 15
COMP-ATT: 31-42
YDS: 338
TD: 1
INT: 0
FUMBLES LOST: 1
Ryan and the Falcons should’ve had their second win of the season, but yet another mental error towards the end of the game opened the door for an improbable comeback by their opponents. While Ryan isn’t to blame for most of these losses, he’s gotta slide down the rankings because other QBs keep winning while Ryan’s Falcons keep losing.
Last week: 15
COMP-ATT: 25-36
YDS: 340
TD: 1
INT: 0
Stafford led a jaw-dropping comeback against the Falcons in Week 7, but still falls down the rankings. Honestly, that has more to do with the exceptional play of other QBs than his own play. No. 16 does feel right as most of Stafford’s stats on the season fall somewhere near the middle of the pack in the NFL.
Last week: 18
COMP-ATT: 22-28
YDS: 297
TD: 5
INT: 1
Mayfield started his day with an interception, then five-straight incompletions. After that he went on a historic streak of completing 22-straight passes, including a remarkable game-winning throw with 11 seconds left in the game. With Joe Burrow and the Bengals cooking as well, the Browns needed every one of those completions to remain legit playoff contenders in the AFC.
Last week: 16
COMP-ATT: 23-28
YDS: 254
TD: 2
INT: 0
With absolutely nothing working on the ground, the Panthers needed Bridgewater to be perfect to beat the Saints, and he nearly delivered. Particularly impressive was his first touchdown throw to D.J. Moore. It was a bomb on a busted coverage and Bridgewater capitalized by throwing a perfect ball to Moore in stride.
Last week: 17
COMP-ATT: 27-43
YDS: 347
TD: 3
INT: 0
RUSH-YDS: 9-66
RUSH TD: 1
The Chargers have gotten the best out of any rookie QB starting this season. There, I said it. Each and every week Herbert is taking great strides to becoming a top-half starter in the league, helping LA overcome injuries to some of their best skill players. On Sunday, each of Herbert’s touchdowns was more impressive than the last. First was an accurate 22-yard throw down the seam to the Chargers’ fourth-string tight end. Then came a cross-field 26-yard touchdown to Virgil Green. His last passing touchdown was an absolutely perfect throw to Jalen Guyton, who only had his man beat by a couple of steps and ended up going 70 yards for a score. Finally, on his five-yard touchdown run, Herbert froze one defender with a pass fake, then juked another to make it safely into the endzone.
Last week: 12
COMP-ATT: 29-36
YDS: 287
TD: 2
INT: 0
RUSH TD: 1
FUMBLES LOST: 1
Drew Brees leads the NFL in completion percentage again, and all is as it should be in the league. But he doesn’t move up the rankings due to his slower start, and other QBs in this area continuing to play well, as well.
Last week: 9
COMP-ATT: 24-36
YDS: 284
TD: 2
INT: 1
With the Raiders unable to rush the ball against the stout Tampa Bay front seven, Carr failed to put the team on his back when they needed him to carry them to victory. That’s not to say he played poorly, because he made some big plays and didn’t necessarily hold the team back. If he had turned in a Top-10 performance could the Raiders have won? Maybe. But they didn’t, so he slides out of the Top-10 here.
Last week: 10
COMP-ATT: 23-33
YDS: 219
TD: 2
INT: 0
The Bears offense was so bad, and the Rams’ rushing offense was so good, that Goff was almost invisible on Monday Night Football. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as he made all the plays he needed too and never really put the Rams at risk of ceding points to the Bears’ defense. But it wasn’t enough to stay ahead of the next QB who lit up the stat sheet on Sunday.
Last week: 11
COMP-ATT: 33-45
YDS: 369
TD: 4
INT: 0
RUSH TD: 1
After another impressive performance, Brady ranks second in passing touchdowns (18), sixth in yards (1,910) and tied for sixth in first downs (95). But poor performances in the Buccaneers’ two losses keeps him from ascending higher in the rankings.
Last week: 8
COMP-ATT: 18-30
YDS: 220
TD: 2
INT: 0
Tannehill’s least efficient game of the season also came against one of the best defenses in the league, so he doesn’t drop in the rankings at all. He also gets points for nearly leading the Titans on a drive to tie the game, but a missed field goal spoiled the comeback opportunity. On the season, Tannehill’s 15:2 TD:INT ratio is one of the best in the league.
Last week: 6
COMP-ATT: 30-43
YDS: 307
TD: 0
INT: 0
RUSH-YDS: 11-61
FUMBLES LOST: 1
The Bears made winning ugly a thing in Week 6, but Allen and the Bills made it uglier in Week 7 against the woeful Jets. Allen’s biggest question mark heading into 2020 was whether he could limit turnovers, and now he’s up to six in seven games. Now the question is will this recent rash of turnovers be a blip, or turn into more of a trend as the season goes on?
Last week: 7
The Ravens were on bye in Week 7, but Jackson moves up a spot due to Josh Allen’s lackluster showing. Up next for Baltimore are the NFL’s best Pittsburgh Steelers.
Last week: 4
COMP-ATT: 32-49
YDS: 268
TD: 2
INT: 3
Yes, Roethlisberger and the Steelers beat the Titans to become the only undefeated team in the NFL. But, Roethlisberger’s uncharacteristic carelessness with the football let the Titans back into the game after Pittsburgh built a 27-7 second-half lead. The third interception was the worst, as it came on a bad decision in the back of the endzone on a ball Roethlisberger didn’t need to throw. That opened the door for the Titans to comeback and tie the game, but a Gostkowski missed field goal bailed out Roethlisberger.
Last week: 5
COMP-ATT: 34-48
YDS: 360
TD: 3
INT: 1
RUSH-YDS: 14-67
RUSH TD: 1
Murray went toe-to-toe with the best QB in the league on Sunday Night, and came away with the win. While he was a bit inaccurate downfield at times, he made big plays in big moments. One throw in particular was a 35-yard strike to DeAndre Hopkins on a 3rd-and-2 play for Arizona’s first touchdown. Murray also led three fantastic two-minute drills to put the Cardinals in position to kick field goals at the end of the first half, at the end of regulation to force overtime, and then again at the end of overtime to win the game. This could go down as a signature win for Murray’s 2020 campaign, and beyond.
Last week: 2
COMP-ATT: 15-23
YDS: 200
TD: 1
INT: 0
Once again, Mahomes didn’t put up eye-popping numbers as the Chiefs controlled the game early. But he’s the only QB who’s started all of his team’s game to only have one interception on the season and continues to make everyone else around him better. While he’s No. 3 on the list, it’s more a reflection that the top two guys have played unbelievably this season, rather than a reflection on Mahomes’ play.
Last week: 3
COMP-ATT: 23-34
YDS: 283
TD: 4
INT: 0
Rodgers came out with a vengeance after an abysmal Week 6 performance against the Buccaneers. His 17:2 TD:INT ratio trails only Patrick Mahomes in the NFL, and he’s got the Packers in first place in the NFC. It’s going to be an incredible second half of the season watching the Packers and Seahawks battle for the top slot, but it’s a shame they won’t play each other in the regular season.
Last week: 1
COMP-ATT: 33-50
YDS: 388
TD: 3
INT: 3
RUSH-YDS: 6-84
This was Wilson’s best week rushing the ball, but it was also the first week that Wilson's mistakes directly contributed to a Seahawks loss. All three interceptions were bad, but none were worse than his pick in overtime which set up Arizona’s game-winning field goal. If Mahomes performed better this week, or Rodgers hadn’t stunk it up himself last week, Wilson may have relinquished his top spot. He’ll look to bounce back next week against the 49ers.
