The five best passers and the five worst of the eighth day of action in the 2024 regular season
Five top overall picks from their respective drafts appeared among the 10 names on our weekly list in this edition, three on the positive side and two on the negative.
Fortunately, there was no one in single digits on the metric. Total QBR of ESPNbut there was one instance where it did not seem to accurately reflect what we saw last Sunday. For this reason, our weekly rankings are not a carbon copy of the lists of any metric, but rather we take into account multiple statistics, numbers and situations to deliver the best and worst quarterbacks of each day.
Without further ado for the moment, we highlight the five best and five worst passers from the most recent week of action in the NFL:
FIVE ON THE RISE
Philadelphia woke up with its quarterback, and the rest of the NFC has been warned. Hurts posted a total QBR of 95.6, the highest in the entire league, completing 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, but finding the end zone three more times on the ground. He tied for the league lead with 80.0 percent of his passes completed, but no one surpassed him in completion rate above expectation, with a stellar 20.2 percent, or in average yards per pass attempt, with 11.8, meaning he was able to stretch the field vertically frequently. He wasn’t sacked on his day, and his 5.3 percent inaccurate passing rate ranked third in the league. On the ground, in addition to the three touchdowns, there were 37 yards on 10 carries.
The Total QBR has him very punished with a 15.3 but we will not do the same, highlighting instead his 12 completions of 15 attempts for 80 percent completion rates, and three touchdowns despite only 85 yards through the air. Because? Because Goff didn’t need to do more for his Lions to humiliate the Titans. Goff was second in completion rate above expectation with a remarkable 14.2 percent, and had the sixth-best inaccuracy rate at 7.1 percent. No one can argue against that kind of productivity in exchange for such a small effort.
The Rams got their passing weapons back, and no one was happier than Stafford, who managed to connect on 25 of his 34 attempts for 279 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Stafford’s 73.5 percent completion rate left him eighth in the league, and he was 10th in passing production, while going without a sack against him. His 16 first passing attempts were the second most on the day.
And suddenly, Cleveland was another. Winston posted a Total QBR of 84.5 which is in a different zip code than what Deshaun Watson was offering on a weekly basis. Winston put the ball in the air 41 times, connecting 27 times for 334 yards with three touchdowns without interceptions, and moving the chains 16 times with his arm, equaling what was done by Stafford and Baker Mayfield. Winston also finished fourth in number of completions, and first in passing yards for the day, one in which he set an organization record in the latter area for a debut performance.
Cousins appeared productive in Atlanta’s Week 8 matchup, amassing 276 yards on 23 of 29 attempts, including four touchdowns and no interceptions. Escaping a Michael Penix Jr. shadow that loomed over him after a pair of poor performances, Cousins responded with the fourth-best completion rate, 79.3 percent, and the fourth-best completion rate above expectation, a 10.3 percent. Sixth with an average of 9.5 yards per pass, Atlanta regained the division lead with the victory over the Bucs.
FIVE DOWN
If we thought Young would be ready to take advantage of a new starting opportunity after Andy Dalton’s car accident, we’re going to have to wait. The No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 NFL Draft completed 24 of 37 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns, but with two interceptions and two sacks against. His Total QBR of 38.2 was high for what we are used to in 2024, but the sixth lowest in the league for the day. He was the 24th passer in the NFL in passing yards last week, in addition to being the fourth worst in inaccurate pass rate, with 28.6 percent, and fifth worst in average yards per pass attempt, with just 6.1. .
By far, Total QBR’s 10.9 was the worst for Week 8 in the NFL, after he went 21 of 29 for 212 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Smith was fifth-worst in the league in completion rate, at -3.9 percent, and was the 25th-ranked quarterback in passing production. The Seahawks quarterback also suffered a fumble on his day.
It’s not like New Orleans has shined brightly with Derek Carr at the controls previously — except for that game against Dallas — but the Saints have truly fallen apart with Rattler at the wheel. The rookie connected on 12 of 24 pass attempts last Sunday, for 156 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. That 50 percent was the third-worst completion percentage before being replaced by Jake Haener, who didn’t do much better. Rattler was also second-worst in the league in completion rate above expectation, at minus-14.3 percent, and ranked as the league’s 29th passer in passing production. His average of 6.5 yards per pass attempt was the ninth-lowest in the NFL, he was sacked three times, and the Saints advanced the chains just five times in the game thanks to his arm. A 20.0 percent inaccuracy rate was the seventh-worst rate in the league, on a day when, with just one pass for 3 yards, Taysom Hill was the Saints’ best quarterback. Total QBR of 30.2 left Rattler second to last in the league in that advanced ESPN metric.
After a couple of very positive matches, the big problems returned for the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 NFL Draft, who put the ball in the air 24 times, with only 10 of those deliveries remaining in the hands of his teammates. He had 131 yards passing, with no touchdowns or interceptions, but lost a fumble and was sacked three times. He scored a Total QBR of 36.0, the fifth worst on the eighth day, after completing the fewest passes in the entire league among the starting quarterbacks, with the exception of Drake Maye, who was concussed. Williams’ 41.7 percent completion rate left him second-to-last in that statistic, but he was last in inaccurate pass rate, at 50.0 percent, and last in average yards per pass attempt, at 5.5. Additionally, he ranked second to last in completion rate over expectation, at -8.8 percent. Only six times did the Bears get a first down on a pass from Williams, who ranked 31st in passing yards for the day.
A Total QBR of 30.3 secured Richardson’s 30th place among 33 qualified quarterbacks for Week 8, a product in part of his 10-of-32 completion with one touchdown and one interception. But, no one was sacked more than his five against — tied with Gardner Minshew — and he was second-to-last with just 5.5 yards per pass attempt average. Additionally, his 29.0 percent passing accuracy was the second-worst mark in the league, and no one did worse in completion percentage than his minuscule 31.3. Also, he was the worst passer of all in completions over expectation, with a -16.0 percent, the Colts only moved the chains seven times because of Richardson’s arm, and he suffered two fumbles, one of them lost. All of this is without mentioning that he himself asked to leave the game at a critical moment in the third quarter due to fatigue, something we had never seen in the NFL. All of this led to Indianapolis taking the field for its next game with Joe Flacco at the handlebars.
Statistics and metrics from ESPN Stats & Information and TruMedia
