Week 8 NFL QB Rankings: CJ Stroud struggles, while Jared Goff and Josh Allen thrive

Tyler Huntley completely lucked into a Pro Bowl appearance during his time with the Ravens, but lately, he looks like he doesn’t even belong in the NFL. That continued on Sunday as the Dolphins QB had just 87 passing yards before being forced out with a shoulder injury in the third quarter. Tua Tagovailoa’s return can’t come quickly enough.

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Getting the keys to the Saints’ offense hasn’t gone well for the fifth-round rookie. While the Saints got a spark in Week 6, scoring 27 points, the story was much different against Denver’s top-five defense. Rattler managed to complete 71.4% of his passes, but they only amounted to 172 yards, plus he took six sacks, which lost the Saints 36 more yards. Let’s all hope Derek Carr’s healthy enough to return next week against the Chargers; otherwise, it may be time to see what Jake Haener can do.

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It doesn’t get much worse than Gardner Minshew’s Week 7 performance. The Raiders’ replacement QB came in after Aidan O’Connell suffered a broken thumb, but judging by Minshew’s performance, Las Vegas would have been better off never even attempting a pass. Instead, Minshew completed just 44% of his passes, while accounting for three interceptions and a lost fumble. He was downright horrible.

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With Will Levis still a bit injured, and simply ineffective, the Titans turned to Mason Rudolph for the start against Buffalo. Going with the veteran didn’t pay off. Like Levis, Rudolph also couldn’t avoid turnovers, he threw a pick and was charged with a lost fumble on a snap that he couldn’t get a hold of. He managed to record a respectable 215 passing yards, but it came on 40 attempts in a game that lacked big plays from Tennessee’s offense.

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Making his first start since September 29th, Anthony Richardson failed to complete more than 50% of his passes four his fourth time in five starts. Yet, apparently he didn’t need to complete more than 41.6% of his passes to get a win against a woefully bad Dolphins team without Tua Tagovailoa. Richardson generated just 129 yards through the air, but mustered 56 more on the ground. He didn’t get in the end zone, but the Colts only needed 16 points to win anyway. However, Richardson needs to be more consistent.

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The Broncos dominated the Saints in Week 7, but it wasn’t because of their franchise quarterback. To be fair, Nix did his job. He took care of the ball and completed a respectable amount of his passes (61.5%), but he also missed several throws, some were even wide-open. Nix’s best trait is being able to move the chains with his legs, but that’s not going to make him a star.

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Deshaun Watson’s season is officially over after suffering an Achilles tear in Cleveland’s Week 7 loss. Though, to be fair, this won’t necessarily derail the Browns’ season, as he’s been one of the worst among our NFL quarterback rankings all season long. Perhaps Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Jameis Winston can create a spark, but Cleveland’s playoff chances are nonexistent.

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Alright, so, maybe Bryce Young wasn’t the problem. Maybe Frank Reich wasn’t the problem. Andy Dalton may have gotten the Panthers one win thus far, but on Sunday, he had just 93 passing yards and two interceptions. Carolina got blown out by a Commanders team that lost their QB due to injury after one drive, yet Dalton still couldn’t avoid a 33-point blowout.

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The Patriots were held to just 16 points, but we’d consider Sunday a big win for Drake Maye. The third overall pick had his best performance yet, connecting on three passes for 20+ yards while racking up 276 passing yards. Better yet, he didn’t commit a turnover and had two passing touchdowns. The 22-year-old looks like he’s already lightyears ahead of Jacoby Brissett.

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This was the first game back for Malik Nabers after missing the past two with a concussion, but you wouldn’t know the star receiver returned after watching the Giants’ offense. Daniel Jones nearly lost as many yards via sacks (56) than he had passing (99). The Giants even replaced him with Drew Lock, though the game was well out of hand. Brian Daboll should be on the hot seat, if not replaced before Week 8 begins, because he’s not putting his quarterback in a position to succeed.

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Playing in London, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars had their backs up against the wall, desperate for a win. Lose the game, and Doug Pederson might be sent on a different flight home, but not as a member of the Jaguars. Despite falling behind 10-0, Lawrence remained calm, finishing the game with just five incompletions and, for the first time in three weeks, no turnovers. Plus, his connection with star rookie Brian Thomas Jr continues to grow, with the first-round pick snagging a perfectly thrown 58-yard beauty. We’ll be curious to see if Lawrence can get in a groove from here.

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On a day when Saquon Barkley had 176 rushing yards, Jalen Hurts didn’t have to do much to get the Eagles back in the victory column. The Eagles asked him to attempt just 14 passes, yet he did his job well, completing 10 of them for 144 yards and a touchdown. Hurts also chipped in two rushing touchdowns before being able to sit in the fourth quarter while Kenny Pickett took over. He’ll probably need to do a bit more to sneak away with a win against Cincinnati.

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To no surprise, Caleb Williams keeps improving as he gets more comfortable operating Chicago’s offense. Perhaps having multiple players request coaching adjustments after a slow start helped. Either way, the 2024 No. 1 overall pick was at his best in London, completing a career-high 79.3% of his passes while tallying four passing touchdowns in what was a nearly flawless performance, aside from an interception. The race to win Offensive Rookie of the Year is officially on.

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Honestly, Matthew Stafford didn’t have his best on Sunday. He completed just 14-of-23 passes for 154 yards and an interception. Yet, on another day when the Rams didn’t have Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua, escaping with a win deserves a celebration.

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Coming out of the bye, the Chargers dialed up more of a pass-heavy approach against one of the NFL’s best pass defenses. It led to a season-high 237 passing yards in a game the Chargers won by just seven points. His stats aren’t gaudy, but we could see Herbert put up bigger and better numbers over the next few weeks as his ankle injury continues to improve. We’ll see how his ranking changes here after Monday night.

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Russell Wilson’s first start in Pittsburgh led to a season-high 37 points. The Steelers’ passing offense was certainly more effective, with Wilson producing 264 yards through the air plus two touchdowns. He even added another score via a QB sneak at the goal line. No turnovers? Wilson earned himself at least another week as Mike Tomlin’s starter.

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Not even Davante Adams could save Aaron Rodgers. While 276 yards is his second-highest total in a Jets uniform, Rodgers ran into other issues, like Garrett Wilson turning a reception into an interception. He threw another interception just before the end of the first half after the Jets got out to a 15-6 lead. After adversity hit, the Jets couldn’t score any more points for the next 30 minutes. They’ll need to learn how to fight back for the rest of the season because being three games below .500 won’t get anyone to the playoffs.

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The NFL’s highest-paid quarterback stumbled at home against Detroit, passing for a season-low 178 yards. That may have been acceptable, if he hadn’t thrown two interceptions to Brian Branch while helping Dallas put up just nine points on the scoreboard. He’s now one away from trying Will Levis for the most interceptions in the NFL, and the Cowboys are 3-3. The good news is they have a bye week to figure things out.

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The Jekyll and Hide two-sided Kirk Cousins career continues. Some weeks, he looks like one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Other times, he looks average. That was the story on Sunday, where Cousins had no trouble racking up 232 passing yards, but it was the two interceptions and a lost fumble that can’t be forgotten.

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The Vikings finally suffered their first loss of the season in what was a mixed performance from Sam Darnold. He had some beautiful throws, such as his 25-yard touchdown strike to Justin Jefferson, or his 51-yard bomb to Jordan Addison. Yet, he also had one ugly interception that should have never been thrown. Overall, the Vikings have to be happy with their QB after holding his own against a top ten defense.

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Murray was playing short-handed early on when Marvin Harrison Jr. left the game in the second quarter with a concussion last week. Without him, the Cardinals’ offense was punchless, aside from tight end Trey McBride, who racked up 96 yards on eight receptions. Murray lost one of three of Arizona’s fumbles and only managed to get in the end zone once. It wasn’t his best day. But we’ll see what he can do against the NFL’s best scoring defense on Monday night.

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The NFL’s passing yards leader through seven weeks, Geno Smith had his second-lowest passing yardage total of the season, with just 207. Yet, the Seahawks didn’t need to air it out to win 34-14. Smith found DK Metcalf and Kenneth Walker III for touchdown strikes, avoided turnovers, and took just one sack in an overall good performance.

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Brock Purdy still can’t defeat Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. This time, Purdy threw three interceptions, just one shy of tying his career-high. He also completed just over half his passing attempts, finishing at 54.8%. From a fantasy perspective, Purdy managed to salvage his day with two rushing touchdowns, but it’s clear this was far from his best performance.

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At his best, there’s no one better than Patrick Mahomes. But we didn’t get to see the elite, 3x Super Bowl MVP version of the Chiefs’ starting quarterback on Sunday. For the second time this season, Mahomes finished with more than one interception, giving his opponent a chance. Yet, Mahomes removed those doubts with some magic, including an incredible 33-yard scramble that had multiple defenders reaching for air.

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Love was his usual self, mixing in impressive throws with head-scratching decisions. Yet, he made more good plays than bad ones, like his clutch find to Romeo Doubs to set Green Bay up for a game-winning field goal from Brandon McManus. Love continues to place a lot of stress on defenses, and Sunday was no different.

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As the kids say, Jared Goff is ‘on one’ right now. He’s somehow completed 83.5% of his passes across the past four games, leading Detroit to victory in each one. Playing a top-ten Vikings defense couldn’t even slow the former No. 1 pick down. Despite facing some early adversity, Goff stayed composed all day, averaging 11.2 YPA to get to 280 yards and two touchdowns without committing a turnover. As mentioned, he’s on fire right now.

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Stroud may have just had the worst start of his NFL career, yet the Texans still only lost by two points. Still, he won’t escape criticism after completing just 10-of-21 passes for a new career-low 86 yards. He also took four sacks, losing the QB battle with Jordan Love. We’d imagine Stefon Diggs wasn’t happy about ending with just 23 receiving yards either.

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The only NFL QB without an interception this season, Josh Allen’s MVP candidacy keeps strengthening. What’s crazy is he just made his seventh start of the season, yet it was his first game over 300 yards. Strangely, he had just one rushing yard, which is the third-fewest of his career. Yet, we’re guessing he was just eager to try out his new toy, Amari Cooper.

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The frontrunner to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award’s candidacy took a hit on Sunday with Jayden Daniels being forced out due to a rib injury. Meanwhile, the Commanders didn’t miss a beat, racking up 40 points against a hapless Panthers team. Let’s hope the injury doesn’t cause the star rookie to miss too much time.

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The Buccaneers won last week, but they gave the Saints many chances to steal the game. Despite the win, Baker Mayfield’s MVP candidacy took a big hit after throwing three interceptions. Yet, Mayfield salvaged his day with 325 passing yards and four touchdowns while taking just one sack. Overall, he had a good day, but a better opponent would have made him pay for the three turnovers. We’ll see how he fares on Monday night against the Ravens.

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With just one passing play going for more than 20 yards, Joe Burrow had an underwhelming performance in Week 7. Of course, since he was playing the Browns, the Bengals didn’t need the very best from their franchise QB. Burrow had a pedestrian stat line, completing 15-of-25 passes for 181 yards, but the two touchdowns saved his day.

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Completing 76.9% of his passes, Jackson’s biggest mistake came on a tipped-pass interception on the Ravens’ first drive of the game in Week 6. He was excellent afterward, averaging a dangerous 12.4 yards per attempt while going off for 323 passing yards. He didn’t do as much on the ground, where he ran for 40 yards, but Jackson did have a heads-up fumble recovery on a botched snap in what ended up being a one-possession game. He keeps the top spot in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB Rankings for now, and it’s hard to imagine that changing, no matter what happens on Monday.

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