NFL quarterback play has been something else this season. Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford are all playing the best football of their careers.
Lamar Jackson continues to break records. Fellow youngster Deshaun Watson is in the midst of a tremendous season. Meanwhile, former teammates Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo have their teams undefeated on the season.
It’s in this that we continue with a season-long series looking at the top-10 quarterbacks in the NFL heading into Week 7.
1- Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson takes over the top spot for the first time this season after yet another dazzling performance in a win over the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday. Through six games, Wilson is the unquestioned league MVP for a surprising 5-1 Seahawks squad. He’s currently completing 72.5% of his passes and is on pace to throw for 4,544 yards to go with 37 touchdowns and zero picks. It’s easy to conclude that Wilson is playing the best football of his already Hall of Fame worthy career.
2- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
A minor ankle injury has limited Mahomes big time during his Chiefs current two-game losing streak. The reigning NFL MVP has put up just four passing touchdowns over the past three games. That’s certainly not what we’ve become accustomed in watching Mahomes dominate opposing NFL defenses throughout his young career. Even then, the third-year quarterback heads into Thursday night’s game having thrown for a league-high 2,104 yards to go with 14 touchdowns and one interception. Is that good?
3- Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
Dazzling. That’s the best way to describe what we’ve seen from this youngster during a breakout 2019 campaign. Sure Watson threw two interceptions in a surprise road win over Kansas City last week, but he was not helped out by receiver Will Fuller and Co. having a case of the dropsies. Watson still managed to lead Houston back from a double-digit first-half deficit against Mahomes and Co. for a signature victory. He now heads into Week 7 having accounted for over 1,800 total yards with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions. That touchdown total has Watson on pace for 45 on the season.
4- Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Atypical. That would be the best way to describe Brady’s performance over the past few weeks. The six-time Super Bowl champ has turned the ball over four times over the past three games. That included a fumble for a touchdown against the New York Giants last week. Brady has accounted for just three passing touchdowns during that span. It might be a minor hiccup. It could also be a sign of things to come for the 42-year-old Brady. Time will tell on that front. For now, it’s dumb to discount Mr. Brady.
5- Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
To an extent, Rodgers has turned the corner in first-year head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense. Even then, he’s not the dominating MVP candidate we’ve see over the past several years. Rodgers heads into Week 7 against Oakland having thrown eight touchdowns in six games. That puts the future Hall of Famer on pace for just 21 touchdown passes. This would be how lowest total in a full season ever. The good news? Rodgers has his Packers at 5-1 on the season after a controversial win over the Detroit Lions last Monday night.
6- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Jackson and his Ravens face a difficult test this coming Sunday against the Seahawks in Seattle after barely disposing of the Steelers and Bengals over the past two weeks. With that said, the second-year quarterback continues to do his thing. Following last week’s historical performance, Jackson is on pace for 1,227 rushing yards. He’s also on pace to throw for 4,019 yards while accumulating 42 total touchdowns. The only hiccup here is that Jackson has thrown five picks in six games.
7- Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Ryan can’t be blamed for his team’s disastrous 5-1 start to the season. Atlanta’s defense is a complete joke. That was magnified last week when the team lost to the Arizona Cardinals despite Ryan completing 30-of-36 passes for 356 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Ryan has now posted 10 touchdowns compared to two interceptions over the past four games after opening the season with five picks in his first two starts. The veteran is playing his best football since his MVP campaign of 2016.
8- Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Speaking of playing his best football, Stafford has the Lions at 2-2-1 after six weeks. Realistically, the team would be 3-1-1 if it weren’t for some horrible officiating in the Packers’ game last week. Stafford has put up nine touchdowns compared to two interceptions in five games and is on pace for 4,438 passing yards. It sure looks like the veteran has progressed big time under offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. It’s not a huge surprise given that Bevell’s offense has always catered to the quarterback.
9- Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
His Eagles might be just 3-3 on the season, but that’s primarily due to a horrible defense. Last week’s 38-20 loss to the Vikings was a prime example of this. But make no mistake about it, Wentz is playing the best football of his career. He heads into Sunday’s all-important game against the Dallas Cowboys having thrown 12 touchdowns compared to three interceptions in six games while averaging 243 yards per game. This makes Wentz worthy of a spot in the top 10.
10- Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
Seven touchdowns and five interceptions in six games. Three fumbles over his past two starts. Those are not numbers indicative of a top-end starter in the NFL. That’s until we realize Garoppolo is leading an undefeated 49ers team that ranks third in the NFL in scoring. He’s also posted an 11-2 record dating back to the start of the 2017 season. All other 49ers starters during that span are 4-20. This is not a coincidence. Garoppolo is a winner. He’s proven this time and again. It’s time to stop sleeping on the dude.