Week 9 QB Power Rankings: It’s Tua time in Miami!

The Miami Dolphins are all-in on Tua Tagovailoa!

Tier 1

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

Patrick Mahomes was on a bye week in Week 8 and therefore he holds on to the top spot. His last performance was a masterpiece against the NFL’s number one defense. Mahomes looks to be a favorite for the NFL’s MVP.

2. Tua Tagovailoa – Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 7)

You could make a serious argument to put Tua Tagovailoa up at the number one spot. Without Mahomes, I’d be very tempted to put him there. He currently leads the NFL in quarterback DVOA, DYAR, QBR, EPA per dropback, and passer-rating. The Dolphins are 5-0 with Tua and he’s playing extremely well despite one of the worst pass-blocking offensive lines. After trading for Chubb, the Dolphins are a sneaky team to watch.

3. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 2)

The Bills won by 10 against the Green Bay Packers. However, it’s the mistakes that Allen makes now that will cost them in the playoffs when it matters. Allen threw two interceptions, including one in the end zone. He makes special throws like the one below, but he now has interceptions in three of his last four games.

4. Geno Smith – Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 3)

The Seahawks quarterback continues to play at a very high level. It’s because of Smith that the Seahawks are going to be serious threats to win the NFC West. He’s arguably the best quarterback in the NFC which makes Seattle a very dangerous threat.

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

Hurts has taken that next step that everyone was hoping he would take heading into this year. He threw four touchdown passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers. His three touchdowns to AJ Brown might have been three of the best passes of the week. Week 8 was his most complete game this season. With Hurts under center, the Eagles are 7-0.

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

After struggling as a passer for almost a month, Jackson put together one of his best performances of the season. The Ravens quarterback threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns while completing 71 percent of his passes against the Buccaneers.

7. Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 4)

Despite the investment in the offensive line, the Bengals are getting beat badly up front. Without Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals offense struggled against a Browns defense that hasn’t played well. Burrow was under constant duress, but also simply wasn’t at his best.

8. Justin Herbert – Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 6)

The Chargers were on a bye week in Week 8 which should allow Herbert to get healthy. Herbert ranks just 21st in EPA per play this season. The offensive scheme hasn’t been very good, but Herbert has still shown how special of a talent he is.

Tier 2

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

If Jimmy Garoppolo could play the Rams 17 times a year, he’d be a top-5 quarterback. Garoppolo went 21-for-25 and two touchdowns to help the 49ers avoid losing their third straight game before heading into the bye week.

10. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 14)

Dak Prescott played better on Sunday one game removed from returning from his thumb injury. However, this performance was against the Chicago Bears. Sunday marked the first time in three games that Prescott has thrown for 250 yards this season. The next three weeks will be worth keeping an eye on.

11. Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 13)

Cousins hasn’t bee special this season, but he hasn’t needed to be. He threw for an efficient 232 yards and two touchdowns against a pretty good Arizona Cardinals defense. This week the Vikings play the Washington Commanders. However, the two weeks after, they play the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. Those two games will go a long way in determining whether or not the Vikings can win with Cousins.

12. Tom Brady – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 9)

The offensive scheme and interior offensive line play have not done Tom Brady any favors. The Buccaneers offense at times has looked broken. This Sunday, Brady needs just 164 passing yards Sunday against the Rams to become the first player in NFL history to throw for 100,000 career passing yards, including regular season and playoffs.

13. Jacoby Brissett – Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 21)

When the Browns can run the ball like they did on Monday night and take the pressure off of Brissett, they can be very good. Brissett seemed to be on a mission against the Bengals. He threw for 278 yards and a touchdown while completing 77.8 percent of his passes.

14. Daniel Jones – New York Giants (Last Week: 10)

Jones took a bit of a step back on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. He only completed 54 percent of his passes and threw of 176 yards. It was a reminder that the Giants and Jones are playing ahead of the development schedule under this new regime.

15. Jared Goff – Detroit Lions (Last Week: 20)

After a rough couple of weeks, Goff looked like the quarterback that we saw earlier in the season. With a better defense, the Lions would potentially be in the wild card hunt. Goff thew for 321 yards and a touchdown in a loss against the Dolphins.

16. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 11)

The Bills defense is very good and Rodgers still made some incredible throws, including his touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs. Still, the Packers offense has faults and Rodgers isn’t completely blameless in that.

Tier 3

17. Andy Dalton – New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 24)
18. Marcus Mariota – Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 22)
19. Derek Carr – Las Vegas Raiders(Last Week: 12)
20. Ryan Tannehill – Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 19)
21. Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 18)
22. Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 17)
23. Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 15)
24. Taylor Heinicke – Washington Commanders (Last Week: 26)

Despite a loss, Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers was one of Stafford’s better performances of the season. He didn’t turn the ball over and he rushed for a touchdown at the goal line. However, Sunday marked the third time that the Rams offense has been shutout in the second half and Stafford was held to under 200 yards passing.

Tier 3

25. Russell Wilson – Denver Broncos (Last Week: 23)
26. PJ Walker – Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 30)
27: Justin Fields – Chicago Bears (Last Week: 28)
28. Kenny Pickett – Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 27)
29. Sam Ehlinger – Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 32)
30. Mac Jones – New England Patriots (Last Week: 29)
31: Zach Wilson – New York Jets (Last Week: 25)
32: Davis Mills – Houston Texans (Last Week: 31)

Has Justin Fields turned a corner? Fields threw for two touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys and added 60 yards on the ground. The Bears traded for Chase Claypool at the trade deadline, giving Fields a legitimate wide receiver weapons aside from Darnell Mooney.