Nothing steers NFL teams quite like quarterbacks. It's possible, not probable, to win in spite of them. It's preferable, not easy, to land the best of them. They are, more than anyone else, the ones who shape the football landscape, week in and week out.
That's why we're ranking all 32 starting signal-callers throughout the 2022 season: to take stock of the most important players in the game, sorting everyone from the bona fide superstars to the QBs who might be worth replacing.
Our weekly ranking factors in 1.) current status, 2.) past performance and 3.) future outlook, indicating which QBs we'd rather have both now and for the remainder of this season. That's why, for example, you'll find Aaron Rodgers ranked ahead of Tua Tagovailoa, even though the latter has been hot under new coach Mike McDaniel thus far. If you're looking purely for rankings of the best statistical QBs this year, feel free to peruse your nearest passer-rating leaderboard. If you're looking for informed but subjective rankings of the NFL's most reliable signal-callers, this is the place.
Now, without further ado, our Week 4 pecking order:
Week 4 QB Power Rankings
| 1 | 
Patrick Mahomes
Kansas City Chiefs QB
|
| The Colts got the best of him in Week 3, but let's face it: No. 15 remains the most reliable contemporary play-maker at the position. He's allowed an imperfect outing every once in a while, and his chemistry with new wideouts should only improve. | |
| 2 | 
Josh Allen
Buffalo Bills QB
|
| He couldn't quite close it out against the Dolphins, but Allen's physical gifts are almost unmatched league-wide. Through three games, he's on pace for more than 5,600 yards through the air and another 600+ on the ground. | |
| 3 | 
Aaron Rodgers
Green Bay Packers QB
|
| The numbers aren't gaudy, and the Packers' makeshift offense might not hit its stride until the latter months of the season, but as long as A-Rod's zippy accuracy remains intact, Green Bay can't be counted out. | |
| 4 | 
Justin Herbert
Los Angeles Chargers QB
|
| Herbie's MVP candidacy may well take a hit on an injury-riddled and underperforming team, and he still forces one too many throws. But the laser arm from inside the pocket will ensure he's one of the best players on the field each week. (+1) | |
| 5 | 
Tom Brady
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB
|
| He's got a lot of similarities to Aaron Rodgers this year: aging on a sluggish and depleted offense, but still with pinpoint accuracy when it matters most. Hopefully he gets some reinforcements, because his arm still has enough juice to make a run. (-1) | |
| 6 | 
Lamar Jackson
Baltimore Ravens QB
|
| It's safe to call him the early front-runner for MVP. He leads the NFL with 12 scores, he's shown improved confidence airing it out, and his legs remain the most lethal in the game. If he keeps it up, the Ravens will win the AFC North. | |
| 7 | 
Joe Burrow
Cincinnati Bengals QB
|
| This year might involve Burrow trying to outdo not only other teams but himself and his own squad, thanks to his penchant for risky or overlong plays behind an iffy line. Fortunately he's still elite at the fundamentals from the pocket. | |
| 8 | 
Matthew Stafford
Los Angeles Rams QB
|
| Just three games in, it's pretty clear he's not gonna be repeating his MVP-caliber production from a year ago. But Stafford's raw arm talent and feel for the game still offset his ill-timed throws. Let's hope his elbow can survive when he is required to regularly throw deep again. | |
| 9 | 
Kyler Murray
Arizona Cardinals QB
|
| He's almost impossible to grade, because his top-five athleticism as the NFL's most frenetic scrambler rarely produces consistent results in Kliff Kingsbury's offense. For all the promise, he and Arizona have yet to take hold of the "it" factor. | |
| 10 | 
Jalen Hurts
Philadelphia Eagles QB
|
| If Lamar Jackson is speedy and Kyler Murray is shifty, then Hurts is the happy medium -- a gliding runner with the physicality to break tackles. Better yet, he's suddenly a much more confident and accurate deep passer, suggesting he is, in fact, the Eagles' QB of the future. (+1) | |
| 11 | 
Russell Wilson
Denver Broncos QB
|
| Funny he plays for the Broncos now, because Wilson's ugly start in Denver is reminiscent in some ways to the Tim Tebow experience -- erratic accuracy, slow decision-making, but clutch late-game athleticism. It's hard to determine whether he's actually declining or he just needs more time to settle in. (-1) | |
| 12 | 
Kirk Cousins
Minnesota Vikings QB
|
| As always, he's on the outskirts of the "franchise" tier: always capable of highlight-reel game-winners, but rarely when the lights are brightest. | |
| 13 | 
Derek Carr
Las Vegas Raiders QB
|
| He and Cousins are forever linked in these exercises. The gusto is there, as are some pretty throws down the stretch (like his TD to Davante Adams in Week 3), but the big wins are not. Las Vegas is 0-3 for many reasons, but he hasn't exactly steered the ship to safety. | |
| 14 | 
Trevor Lawrence
Jacksonville Jaguars QB
|
| All that pre-draft talk of "generational talent" is finally starting to pay off. Lawrence is slinging it into tight windows with confidence under Doug Pederson, looking quite a bit like Justin Herbert in recent weeks. (+1) | |
| 15 | 
Tua Tagovailoa
Miami Dolphins QB
|
| It sure helps to have a spunky coach and a pair of dynamic wideouts. He's following the Jalen Hurts track, bar for bar, except with pinpoint strikes as opposed to dual-threat magic. (+1) | |
| 16 | 
Ryan Tannehill
Tennessee Titans QB
|
| New week, same story with Tannehill: when Derrick Henry is trucking, he's pulling his own weight as the point guard. The Titans will go as far as their QB's supporting cast will take them. (+1) | |
| 17 | 
Jimmy Garoppolo
San Francisco 49ers QB
|
| The 49ers got the full package of Jimmy G on Sunday night. The savvy vet showed nice rhythm early, giving Kyle Shanahan a reliable offensive figurehead, but he also ended the night with a handful of absent-minded errors, including stepping out of the end zone for a safety. (-3) | |
| 18 | 
Matt Ryan
Indianapolis Colts QB
|
| Don't ask him to air it out in a shootout anymore, but Ryan was a truly tough soldier guiding the Colts to an upset of the Chiefs. At 37, he took a beating but stood tall down the stretch to hit on short-area targets in crunch time. (+1) | |
| 19 | 
Carson Wentz
Washington Commanders QB
|
| He and the Commanders' battered line refused to help each other in an ugly loss to the Eagles, reiterating the truth about Wentz: his arm remains well above-average, but if he can't make the layups or think on his feet, his team is all but doomed. (-1) | |
| 20 | 
Jared Goff
Detroit Lions QB
|
| Here's something we didn't expect to write going into 2022: the Lions almost assuredly would've beaten the Vikings if they had just let Goff keep throwing it in Week 3. He's not been particularly accurate as a whole, but he's done a nice job feeding his young play-makers. (+2) | |
| 21 | 
Jameis Winston
New Orleans Saints QB
|
| We're entering Week 4 and still searching for a complete game from Jameis, who's evidently still affected by back and ankle injuries. Don't be surprised if the Saints call upon Andy Dalton sooner rather than later. | |
| 22 | 
Geno Smith
Seattle Seahawks QB
|
| We're now entering the tier of QBs who may or may not be better served as backups. But Geno has been attacking more than expected, ironically giving Pete Carroll reason to be more pass-inclined after the departure of Russell Wilson. (+4) | |
| 23 | 
Justin Fields
Chicago Bears QB
|
| The Bears have been competitive, but not because of anything Fields is doing as a QB. This standing is based almost solely on his athleticism, which is apparent whenever he moves. Chicago simply does not trust him to operate an aerial offense. | |
| 24 | 
Jacoby Brissett
Cleveland Browns QB
|
| After a rough start as Deshaun Watson's fill-in, Brissett has settled in to pick his throws more carefully. He's always had veteran poise; the problem has been sustaining accuracy as a more conservative decision-maker. (+8) | |
| 25 | 
Baker Mayfield
Carolina Panthers QB
|
| His quest to parlay a trial run with the Panthers into a long-term starting gig got the slightest of boosts in Week 3, but it took all of his might to just barely beat the Saints. | |
| 26 | 
Cooper Rush
Dallas Cowboys QB
|
| So maybe Jerry Jones really is onto something, outlandishly teasing Rush as a potential Dak Prescott successor? In all seriousness, he's been ready for the moment, delivering lots of pretty downfield throws and avoiding major miscues. Now 3-0 as an emergency starter, his football IQ appears rock-solid. (+5) | |
| 27 | 
Davis Mills
Houston Texans QB
|
| More of the same in Houston, where Mills' reign as the underrated gem of the 2021 QB class is fast approaching a potential end. He picked the worst times to turn the ball over in a winnable Week 3 loss to Chicago. (-3) | |
| 28 | 
Daniel Jones
New York Giants QB
|
| Is every single one of his starts the exact same? Jones is always fleeing the pass rush behind a bad O-line, always flashing Pro Bowl-caliber athleticism, and somehow always on the wrong end of crunch-time throws. He's rarely had much help, but he's rarely lifted his team. (+2) | |
| 29 | 
Marcus Mariota
Atlanta Falcons QB
|
| Speedy, scrappy and totally replaceable for a team that's managed to hang around in each of its first three games. (-2) | |
| 30 | 
Joe Flacco
New York Jets QB
|
| A week after his calm pocket presence helped the Jets to an inspiring upset, Flacco's immobility came back to bite the team against the Bengals, when he had no choice but to fold to pressure or throw into traffic. (-1) | |
| 31 | 
Mitch Trubisky
Pittsburgh Steelers QB
|
| The Steelers keep playing it safe and relying on things other than Trubisky's legs, which is an indictment on the coaching staff, but the passing confidence just isn't there. (-3) | |
| 32 | 
Brian Hoyer
New England Patriots QB
|
| The interim replacement for the injured Mac Jones, the 36-year-old is 1-11 in his last 12 starts under center. | |
