I can’t believe that the Sam Darnold we’re watching now used to see ghosts. Jayden Daniels, who returned after missing two weeks with a knee sprain, is still Mr. Cool. And, just when you’re ready to jump off his ship, Bryce Young finds a way to remind you why he was a No. 1 pick in the draft.
These were some of my observations watching the quarterback play in the NFL this past week. That brings us to the latest QB Stock Market, where we monitor the performance fluctuations of quarterbacks throughout the season — a power ranking of sorts at football’s most important position.
Remember, the totality of a quarterback’s season has heavy influence here, though his most recent performance also plays a role in dictating his current place in the pecking order.
After a slow start, Jared Goff has the Lions pointed in the right direction and looking like a title contender. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Dak Prescott is drawing early MVP attention for almost single-handedly keeping the Cowboys afloat. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Darnold continues to prove the NFL world wrong.
Many league observers thought the Seahawks were downgrading at quarterback when they moved on from Geno Smith in favor of Darnold, who enjoyed a career resurgence last season with the Vikings. The thought was that he was mostly benefiting from a quarterback-friendly coach in Kevin O’Connell and Minnesota’s supremely talented offensive supporting cast.
But in Seattle, the former No. 3 overall pick is continuing to ascend with what is, on paper, a lesser offense. I’d say he’s firmly a “great” quarterback at this point. He’s been playing at an MVP level all season and had arguably his best showing of the year Sunday in an epic duel with Baker Mayfield. Darnold completed 82.4% of his passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns (three in the second half) with an interception and a 135.4 passer rating. His pick at the end doesn’t take away from what was otherwise a brilliant performance.
Darnold ranks top-five in the league in several categories, including passer rating (114.8, 3rd), yards per attempt (9.3, first) and completion rate (73.1%, third). He leads the NFL with a 10.5% completion rate over expected, which tells you how good he’s been at connecting on high-difficulty throws. He had a plus-24.8% completion percentage over expected against Tampa, a career-high.
After a vintage performance in Week 4, Patrick Mahomes threw a 99-yard pick-six in Week 5 as the Chiefs lost to the Jaguars.
Jalen Hurts took to the air against the Broncos in Week 5, but in the end, that didn’t work out for the Eagles, who lost their first game of the season. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Jayden Daniels, who missed Weeks 3 and 4 with a knee injury, reminded everyone this past week why he’s in the conversation for best quarterback in the NFC.
Last year’s No. 2 pick threw for 237 yards and a touchdown and added another eight carries for 38 yards in the Commanders’ win over the Chargers. He was in complete control of the passing game, despite being without two of his top receivers (Terry McLaurin, Noah Brown). At the end of the first half, he completed a perfect 50-yard pass to Luke McCaffrey flat-footed to set up a field goal. Daniels showed tremendous composure on his touchdown throw in the final minute of the game. Rolling backward and to his right with multiple Chargers defensive linemen chasing after him, he lofted a great ball to Deebo Samuel in stride at the back of the end zone.
Maybe my favorite thing he did: running out to be a lead blocker on a 27-yard run by tailback Jacory Croskey-Merritt in the third quarter.
I think the Chargers game showed that Daniels is still learning at a rapid rate, as good as he’s been so early in his career. He threw the ball away to avoid unnecessary hits and got down quickly after scrambles — clearly an emphasis after hurting his knee.
I’m not quite ready to say the C.J. Stroud we saw as a rookie is completely back.
He has faced terrible defenses in back-to-back weeks, the Ravens’ battered one most recently. That takes a bit of the air from his performance Sunday (though still very impressive), when he completed more than 85% of his passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns with a 143.9 passer rating in the Texans’ 44-10 rout of Baltimore.
You can see Stroud’s moxy coming back, though. That’s probably the biggest thing from the past couple of games.
It certainly helps when he gets better play from the offensive line, which did a great job of keeping him upright against the Ravens. The former No. 2 pick went 17-of-20 for 179 yards and all four of his touchdowns from a clean pocket.
But I think we’re also seeing Stroud and offensive coordinator Nick Caley adjust to the deficiencies that Houston has upfront. The Texans are getting the ball out fast. Two-thirds of Stroud’s throws Sunday came out in under 2.5 seconds, and he went 16-of-18 for 150 yards and all four scores on such attempts, per Next Gen Stats.
When the Ravens were able to get Stroud under duress, he was still effective, going 6-of-7 for 65 yards. That bodes well for his enhanced level of play continuing against stiffer opponents (after their bye this week, the Texans travel to Seattle to face a tough Seahawks team). But I need to see a bigger sample size against competent defenses.
Mac Jones has had success filling in for injured 49ers starter Brock Purdy, leading San Francisco to the top of the NFC West. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Kyler Murray isn’t the reason the Cardinals suffered one of the more humiliating losses in recent NFL history, blowing a 21-3 lead to the previously winless Titans. His numbers weren’t bad — a 74.2% completion rate for 220 yards, plus four carries for 25 yards and a touchdown. But he also didn’t give them a chance when it mattered the most.
On an apparent miscommunication in the third quarter, a snap bounced off his helmet, leading to a lost fumble. He also had a bad intentional grounding penalty in the same period that killed a drive. Murray couldn’t lead a Cardinals scoring drive over Arizona’s final eight possessions of the game (seven if you exclude running back Emari Demercado’s gaffe that turned a would-be touchdown into a touchback).
In his seventh season, Murray still hasn’t made the leap in his play that many league observers have long expected. At this point, it’s fair to wonder if it will ever happen in Arizona.
In Week 5, Spencer Rattler got his first NFL win as a starting quarterback after 10 straight losses, a 26-14 victory over the Giants in New Orleans. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Young continues to be a frustrating assessment.
A great example is the Panthers’ thrilling victory over the Dolphins this past weekend — when he opened the game with two turnovers. The first was particularly bad: With Miami edge rusher Bradley Chubb bearing down on him, Young just … dropped the ball. Chubb, who didn’t touch Young, recovered for the Miami takeaway. Young’s mishaps were a big reason why Carolina faced a 17-0 deficit.
But the Panthers also don’t win without him.
He hit tight end Mitchell Evans for the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes remaining. He had two fourth-down passing conversions, including one to rookie receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. that set up the game-winning score. The timing and ball placement on his third-and-4 touchdown to Xavier Legette in the second quarter were impeccable. Young also had a ridiculous sidearm throw around the body of a blitzing Dolphins defender for a completion to Rico Dowdle in the flat.
In Year 3, the former No. 1 pick’s inconsistencies are making it increasingly difficult to believe that he can be the Panthers’ long-term answer at quarterback (despite how well he played at the end of last season). The franchise has a decision to make on him this offseason. But the Dolphins game was the latest reminder that, at the very least, you can’t say he’s not clutch.
Young has just eight career wins, but he has seven game-winning drives and four fourth-quarter comebacks.
The Browns have traded veteran QB Joe Flacco, giving third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel some time to develop as the team’s starter. Of course, Shedeur Sanders is still waiting in the wings. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
He threw another two interceptions in a blowout loss to the Colts on Sunday. The first one was a bit fluky — with the Raiders in the red zone, Smith’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage before it was picked off. But the second one was bad. He stared down the intended receiver, rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr., and was late on the throw.
This is not the quarterback we saw in Seattle, where his accuracy and efficiency helped him make two Pro Bowls. This is closer to what he was as a struggling young passer with the Jets. In three years as the Seahawks’ starter, Smith’s on-target rate was never less than 75%, according to Pro Football Reference. It’s at 52.8% through five weeks with the Raiders.
Smith leads the NFL with nine interceptions. He’s had at least two picks in three of the past four games.
His decline is puzzling. Maybe it’s a mental thing. Maybe he’s still adjusting to Chip Kelly’s offense. Whatever the reason, he’s clearly in a funk — and the two-year, $75 million extension he signed with the Raiders is aging more poorly than anyone could’ve imagined.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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