An important place within the NFL? Beginning quarterback — in fact. A QB’s efficiency on any given week can form a franchise’s future and decide the destiny of his teammates.
Utilizing insights from the Stats Carry out database, Yardbarker’s NFL writers break down the important thing stats defining each group’s beginning quarterback.
NFC East
DALLAS COWBOYS | Dak Prescott | A very good quarterback could make a protection pay for sending an additional man on a blitz, and Prescott, regardless of his lack of playoff success, is an efficient quarterback. In opposition to the blitz, Prescott has a 64 p.c completion charge and has been sacked on 6.1 p.c of his dropbacks. He has additionally thrown for 8,454 yards and 80 landing passes when blitzed, so opponents ought to assume twice about when to make use of further strain towards the Cowboys.
NEW YORK GIANTS | Russell Wilson | Wilson was pressured on 13 of his 45 dropbacks in his first recreation as a Big, making only one profitable play whereas underneath duress in Week 1. The 36-year-old used to have the ability to depend on his legs to keep away from strain, however these days are lengthy behind him.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | Jalen Hurts | All through his profession, not together with playoff video games, Hurts has gained extra yards scrambling (1,654) than on designed runs (1,541). When the protection offers him a lane to take off, he’s probably going to do it, and his common of gaining 7.84 yards on a scramble means he’s more likely to get a primary down. In truth, in 211 scrambles in his profession, he has transformed 97 first downs, and the reigning Tremendous Bowl MVP reveals no indicators of slowing down.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS | Jayden Daniels | The second-year QB assaults all components of the sphere however favors the suitable aspect most. In his quick NFL profession, Daniels has tried 255 passes to the suitable aspect, finishing 177, in contrast with 129 and 44 completions on the left aspect and center of the sphere, respectively. So, watch the place his favourite targets, like large receiver Terry McLaurin, line up — in the event that they’re on the suitable, count on Daniels to look their method. — Conor Killmurray
NFC West
ARIZONA CARDINALS | Kyler Murray | In Week 1, the Cardinals beat New Orleans 20-13 regardless of Murray getting sacked 5 instances. Earlier than that, Arizona was solely 1-15-1 when Murray was sacked at the least 4 instances in a recreation. The silver lining for the Cardinals is that Sunday’s win was their sixth consecutive recreation by which Murray didn’t toss an interception.
LOS ANGELES RAMS | Matthew Stafford | Stafford joined an unique checklist in a Week 1 14-9 win over the Houston Texans. He grew to become the tenth participant in NFL historical past to throw for 60,000 yards and completed the feat in his 223rd recreation, tied with former Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan for the second-fastest participant to hit the mark. (Former Saints nice Drew Brees completed the feat in 215 video games.)
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS | Brock Purdy |
Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Wednesday that Purdy may miss “a number of weeks” and that he’s a “lengthy shot” to play Sunday at New Orleans due to accidents suffered to his left shoulder and left toe in Week 1. If he begins, Purdy will probably make historical past. Coming into the forty second recreation of his profession, Purdy wants 205 passing yards to achieve 10,000, which might surpass present Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo by one recreation because the quickest to achieve the mark in franchise historical past.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS | Sam Darnold | Darnold threw for less than 150 yards and no TDs in a Week 1 loss to the 49ers. He’s tied with Invoice Nelson for the third-most TDs within the NFL (98) amongst former USC gamers. With two extra, he would be part of Carson Palmer and Matt Cassel as the one Trojans to cross for at the least 100 TDs within the league. — Colby Colwell
NFC North
CHICAGO BEARS | Caleb Williams | In case you’re a Bears fan trying to find a silver lining after the Week 1 collapse towards the Minnesota Vikings, we have now you lined. By 18 NFL begins, Williams has a better completion share (62.3 p.c), extra passing yards (3,751), extra passing touchdowns (21), a better quarterback score (87.7) and fewer interceptions (six) than draft busts DeMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf and Zach Wilson.
DETROIT LIONS | Jared Goff | Goff and the Lions may want time to regulate to life with out Ben Johnson, their former OC who’s now Bears HC. The Week 1 loss to the Packers marked simply the third time since 2022 that Goff threw for fewer than 250 yards (he went 31-of-39 for 225 yards), tossed one or fewer touchdowns and took at the least 4 sacks.
GREEN BAY PACKERS | Jordan Love | Inexperienced Bay’s passing recreation received’t be simple to decelerate this season as a result of it could assault defenses in some ways. Love accomplished 16 passes to 10 completely different pass-catchers within the season-opening win towards the Lions.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS | J.J. McCarthy | After a weak begin to his Vikings profession, McCarthy led three landing drives within the fourth quarter to orchestrate an 11-point comeback win towards the Bears in Week 1. McCarthy is the eighth NFL QB since 1950 to beat a deficit of at the least 11 factors within the fourth quarter of his first profession begin. — Jack Dougherty
NFC South
ATLANTA FALCONS | Michael Penix Jr. | Regardless of struggling a deflating 23-20 dwelling loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Penix gave Atlanta purpose for optimism. In his first Week 1 begin, he had two complete touchdowns and no turnovers, turning into the primary Falcons QB to publish these numbers in Week 1 since Matt Ryan in 2016 (additionally in a loss to the Buccaneers), when Atlanta reached Tremendous Bowl LI.
CAROLINA PANTHERS | Bryce Younger | After a promising finish to 2024, Younger suffered a setback in Week 1’s 26-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, accounting for one landing and three turnovers. He fell to 6-23 for his profession, the worst report by means of 29 begins by a QB chosen No. 1 general courting to 1950.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | Spencer Rattler | Rattler grew to become the twenty sixth QB in NFL historical past to start his profession 0-7 as a starter in Week 1’s 20-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He’ll look to keep away from turning into the primary since Cleveland Browns QB DeShone Kizer (2017) to lose his first eight begins when the San Francisco 49ers invade the Superdome in Week 2.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS | Baker Mayfield | In opposition to the Falcons in Week 1, Mayfield threw his first successful landing with underneath a minute left in regulation since Week 14 of the 2023 season, discovering rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka for a 25-yard landing with 59 seconds left. Since he entered the league because the No. 1 general choose of the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield’s 4 successful touchdowns with underneath a minute left in regulation rank first. — Eric Smithling
AFC East
BUFFALO BILLS | Josh Allen | Allen made an early case for a second straight MVP award by passing for 251 yards within the fourth quarter of a 41-40 win in Week 1 over the Baltimore Ravens. That is one shy of the NFL report for passing yards in 1 / 4, shared by former MVPs Tom Brady and Boomer Esiason.
MIAMI DOLPHINS | Tua Tagovailoa | With a 7-0 profession report towards the New England Patriots, Miami’s Week 2 foe, Tagovailoa has an opportunity to get better from an embarrassing 33-8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, however he has a poor shot of beating Buffalo on the highway the next Thursday. Tagovailoa is 1-8 towards the Payments as a starter, and his .286 successful share towards successful groups is the third lowest amongst energetic QBs with 15 begins.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | Drake Maye | When requested if he and OC Josh McDaniels put an excessive amount of on Maye’s plate throughout a 20-13 loss in Week 1 to the Las Vegas Raiders, head coach Mike Vrabel stated, “I believe we have now to guage that.” No QB had extra makes an attempt in Week 1 than Maye, who threw a career-high 46 passes. The second-year QB wanted extra time to achieve 41 passes towards the Tennessee Titans final November, however he ought to throw significantly much less in Week 2 towards a Dolphins group that gave up two dashing touchdowns to Colts QB Daniel Jones in Week 1.
NEW YORK JETS | Justin Fields | With 12 carries for 48 yards in his Jets debut, Fields grew to become the primary QB in franchise historical past to have 12 or extra carries in a recreation since Al Dorow rushed 18 instances for 72 yards and a rating towards the Payments in 1960 as a member of the New York Titans. — Bruce Ewing
AFC West
DENVER BRONCOS | Bo Nix | Broncos head coach Sean Payton shouldn’t stray from the working recreation this season, particularly now that the group has two succesful RBs, J.Ok. Dobbins and rookie RJ Harvey. When Denver rushes for 100-plus yards, Nix is 9-4 and has a stellar 98.6 passer score. He’s 2-3 and logs a below-average 73.6 passer score when the group fails to take action.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | Patrick Mahomes | Mahomes ranks second within the league in TD passes (95) for the reason that 2022 season, regardless of not taking part in with elite WRs. No Chiefs WR has made the Professional Bowl since Tyreek Hill within the 2021 season. Kansas Metropolis can nonetheless depend on Mahomes, who threw for 258 yards and one TD in a 27-21 Week 1 loss to the Chargers.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | Geno Smith | The Raiders ought to encourage Smith to let it fly this season. Because the 2024 season, he has accomplished 45.2 p.c of his passes of 20-plus yards (min. 25 makes an attempt), the NFL’s fourth-best mark. This might assist the Raiders maximize speedy WR Tre Tucker, who caught a 26-yard TD cross in a 20-13 Week 1 win over the Patriots.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | Justin Herbert | Herbert hasn’t received a playoff recreation, however his expertise is clear. The 2020 first-rounder threw for 21,093 yards in his first 5 seasons, essentially the most in NFL historical past. He had 318 yards passing in a Week 1 win over the Chiefs. — Clark Dalton
AFC North
BALTIMORE RAVENS | Lamar Jackson | Despite the fact that the Ravens misplaced their opener in Buffalo, Jackson was nonetheless sensational with 209 yards passing, 70 yards dashing and two landing passes. It’s already the tenth recreation in his profession by which he has reached at the least 200 yards passing and 70 yards dashing, essentially the most of any QB in NFL historical past. The Ravens are 7-3 in these 10 video games.
CINCINNATI BENGALS | Joe Burrow | Sluggish begins are nothing new for Burrow, and his Week 1 efficiency this season was no exception as he averaged simply 4.9 yards per cross try within the Bengals’ 17-16 win over the Cleveland Browns. That’s the second-lowest complete of his profession in a recreation and his lowest complete in a win.
CLEVELAND BROWNS | Joe Flacco | Flacco, 40, is one among two beginning QBs within the NFL this season who’re 40 or older (becoming a member of Aaron Rodgers, his divisional rival in Pittsburgh) and is one among simply 15 QBs to have thrown for greater than 2,000 yards within the NFL after turning 39. He’s additionally one among simply 12 quarterbacks to throw for at the least 290 yards in a recreation after turning 40.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS | Aaron Rodgers | Not solely did Rodgers throw 4 touchdowns in his Steelers debut, however he additionally prevented turning the ball over. That may be a enormous a part of HC Mike Tomlin’s requirement for a QB, so he has to like the truth that Rodgers has the bottom interception share (1.4 p.c) in NFL historical past. — Adam Gretz
AFC South
HOUSTON TEXANS | C.J. Stroud | Stroud is hoping to repeat historical past in Week 2, because the third-year QB set a number of rookie information the final time he confronted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023. Stroud threw for 470 yards in Houston’s 39-37 win that 12 months, which nonetheless stands as essentially the most passing yards in a recreation by a rookie QB. He additionally tied a rookie recreation report with 5 landing passes.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS | Daniel Jones | After beating out Anthony Richardson Sr. for the beginning QB job, Jones put the Colts on his again of their 33-8 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. The largest shock was that he had not one however two dashing touchdowns. Since 1950, solely 4 QBs have rushed for 2 touchdowns of their first recreation with a brand new group. One of many others is Justin Fields, who additionally completed the feat in his first recreation with the New York Jets in Week 1.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS | Trevor Lawrence | The Jaguars have scored 10 or extra factors in all 25 of their franchise’s video games towards the Cincinnati Bengals, their Week 2 opponent. That’s Jacksonville’s longest energetic streak towards any opponent. The Jaguars received 13 of these video games and have a successful report towards each AFC North group, so Lawrence will look to maintain each of these streaks alive.
TENNESSEE TITANS | QB Cam Ward | Tennessee’s offensive line had main holes in a Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos, as Ward was sacked six instances. The rookie QB grew to become simply the second No. 1 general choose (David Carr with the Houston Texans in 2002) since sacks grew to become a stat in 1970 to be sacked six or extra instances in his NFL debut. Ward is just the sixteenth QB — rookie or in any other case — to be sacked six or extra instances in a debut. — Steve DelVecchio
