Week 17 of the NFL QB Power Rankings 2024: Daniels and Young open improbable paths

There is no one way to win a game as a quarterback.

Lamar Jackson is doing it differently than Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. No one is doing it like Anthony Richardson (although he doesn’t always win). No rookie has ever done it like Jayden Daniels, with his taste for dramatic finishes. And Bryce Young has returned from his “flop” label in a way we’ve never seen before.

It feels like a week where NFL QBs embraced their uniqueness. And that’s what makes this year’s class of quarterbacks special.

Happy holidays from the QB Stock Exchange, where We weight the most recent performances with 30% importance, while we apply 70% to the rest of 2024. One question is important above all others: What have you done for your team lately?

Previous weeks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (⬆️ 1)

We’ll never know exactly what this offense would have been like if Diontae Johnson hadn’t been such a fool. The Ravens and Johnson had the makeup of an ugly Christmas sweater. And now Johnson is a free agent.

But maybe Lamar didn’t need it after all.

Mark Andrews is taking shape and looks increasingly comfortable after his ankle injury. I’m not sure Zay Flowers or Rashod Bateman are WR1 material. But in many of the same ways the Buffalo Bills live by the “everybody eats” mantra, the Ravens rotate between Andrews, Flowers, Bateman and Isaiah Likely with a regular, terrifying injection of Derrick Henry. It’s still the nightmare unit that blew us away when the Ravens added Henry. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken is doing fantastic things, to the point that Baltimore shook the narrative that they couldn’t beat the Steelers.

Jackson-Henry’s rare threat of a running game is largely what causes Jackson to throw to a wide receiver on 35.4% of his throws, the most in the NFL, and to a wide receiver on 59, 7% of his throws, also the most in the NFL. , according to Next Generation Statistics. I wonder if those stats are what could ruin his MVP chances, because Josh Allen has had to do more with less.

But, returning to Johnson, I wonder if the desire to add it betrayed insecurity: Can the Ravens beat the Chiefs with what they have? Can they beat the Bills again?

I don’t have the answer. All I know is that the AFC playoff seeding is going to be electric.

2. jose alen, buffalo bills (⬇️ 1)
3. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (↔)
4. joe burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (↔)
5. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (⬆️ 1)
6. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (⬆️ 2)

Was that urgency against the Broncos last Thursday? Was that desperation?

Herbert is so calm, cool, and collected that it was rare to see so much energy emanating from the Chargers’ quarterback, and it forced more creativity to be expressed than we’ve seen from him all season.

Maybe that’s why tight end Stone Smartt laughed during Herbert’s animated speech before the game. Herbert replied: “What the hell are you laughing at?” We just haven’t seen this side of Herbert. It’s surprising.

First, he threw a bad interception because he fumbled the ball to Joshua Palmer and that allowed cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine to step in to get the ball. It was an aggressive decision: Herbert was trying to take more than the defense was giving him. But his initial mistake didn’t stop him from trying again later.

In fact, Herbert became greedier in the fourth quarter. And that gave way to a little creativity. We saw a touch of Mahomes and Allen’s wild side: just a little whiskey in Herbert’s eggnog to make things interesting. He came out of the pocket on the left and threw the ball vertically up for a touchdown. That’s not how they wrote it. But it was a touchdown.

However, my favorite Herbert shot was the one that went the shortest distance. The quarterback threw the ball toward running back Hassan Haskins. And since the Broncos had attacked with everything, that was all Herbert needed. It didn’t have to be a shooting zone or a perfectly placed man-beater. No, this ball simply needed to get from point A to point B. Haskins generated the 34 yards after the catch and ran into the end zone.

And it wasn’t because Herbert made some magical pitch. It was about getting the ball to the right place and at the right time. It was urgency. This all bodes well for the Chargers as the playoffs approach.

7. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (⬆️ 2)
8. jordanian love, Green Bay Packers (⬇️ 3)
9. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (⬆️ 2)

I usually have a lot to say about each guy. As Bill Simmons once said: I burp and 1,000 words come out. So maybe this section on Daniels is refreshing. I’ll try to be brief.

Here’s a video of his NFL-leading five touchdowns in roughly the last two minutes of games.

Here’s his Week 16 passing chart, where his five touchdown passes helped him surpass the team’s five turnovers (including two of his interceptions).

He has a rare combination of finishing ability and electric play. He can elevate a supporting cast that isn’t wildly impressive beyond Terry McLaurin. (After all, Jamison Crowder and Olamide Zaccheaus each scored two touchdowns on Sunday.) The numbers may not say “best rookie season ever,” but Daniels is in that conversation.

10. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (↔)
12. Jalen hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (⬇️ 5)
13. baker mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (↔)
14. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (↔)
15. Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers (⬇️ 3)
16. bo nix, Denver Broncos (⬆️ 2)
17. young bryce, carolina panthers (⬆️ 5)

In a win over the Cardinals, Young did a better job playing the better Kyler Murray than Murray himself. And Young’s standout performances just keep coming.

Is it fair to say that what Bryce Young is doing is unprecedented?

It’s hard to think of another first-round quarterback going from zero to hero this way. Your Tagovailoa? He was a better passer than Young in his rookie year. Josh Allen? A much more valuable runner. The closest comparison might be Jared Goff, who was a complete disaster in his first season. But he changed things immediately in Year 2, with the arrival of Sean McVay.

Young’s struggles are unique because they continued this year. If the Panthers expected Dave Canales to push Young like McVay did Goff, then Carolina must have been discouraged. To the bench. That, legitimately, seemed to change everything. Because since that move, Young has been special.

There can be no doubt what the Panthers will do next. They will build around it.

You can clearly see what Young can do with NFL talent when he targets Adam Theilen. Young completed 76% of his passes to Theilen for 9.2 yards per attempt with a 6% touchdown rate. That is extremely unpleasant! Theilen is a good receiver, but he is at the end of his career and no longer in his prime. Imagine what Young can do with a good offensive line and an elite receiver. Hopefully we find out with a strong Panthers offseason.

18. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans (⬇️ 2)
19. Kyle Murray, Arizona Cardinals (⬇️ 2)
20. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (⬇️ 1)
21. Antonio Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (⬆️ 8)
22. drake maye, New England Patriots (↔)
23. Caleb Williams, chicago bears (⬇️ 2)

If it were possible for me to advance to 2025 for one player and one player only, I would choose Williams. He is so shamelessly No The problem in Chicago.

He has now lost nine starts in which he did not throw interceptions, the most in NFL history. according to NFL research. He has made 326 passes without an interception, the longest ever by a rookie (per 100 passes). I just wish comedian Robin Williams was still alive so I could send him to Chicago and pat Williams on the back and say: “It’s not your fault” until everyone breaks down crying.

I’ve seen Williams in abundance. I don’t always like what I see. And it hasn’t progressed in all the ways you might expect. But while the Lions beat the Bears on Sunday, Chicago could take solace in one thing: Maybe OC Ben Johnson will one day be the Bears’ head coach. And maybe Williams will soon get the support he needs from the scheme and his offensive line.

24. Michael Penix, Atlanta Falcons (new)

This is exactly what you would want in a rookie’s outing. And it had nothing to do with Penix. Actually, that’s what made the debut practically perfect for the Falcons QB.

The defense scored two touchdowns and allowed only seven points. The running backs had 116 yards and two touchdowns. Penix enjoyed a modest outing in which he didn’t have to do much: 18 of 27 for 202 yards and an interception. The interception didn’t go to Penix: it was a direct pass that Kyle Pitts juggled directly toward a defender.

During the Lions and Bears game, FOX analyst Jonathan Vilma asked, “Are they winning because of you or despite you?”

Over the past few weeks, it was clear that Atlanta was winning despite Kirk Cousins. His turnovers were putting the Falcons in a position where they couldn’t play to their strengths. That’s why Penix took over. But Vilma’s evaluation left out another category: net neutrality.

Penix’s EPA was 8.1. Its CPOE was -3.1%. His average depth of target was 6.1. What all that means: Penix didn’t get in the way.

That was all he had to do against the worst team in the league. It was the perfect week to welcome the rookie to the NFL. But next week? Well, it’s about to get real against the Washington Commanders, who could make things uncomfortable for Penix with a playoff spot on the line for both sides. Then we will have to return to Vilma’s question.

25. Cooper Rush, dallas cowboys (⬇️ 1)
26. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (⬇️ 6)
27. Aidan O’Connell, Las Vegas Raiders (⬇️ 2)
28. Mason Rudolph, Tennessee Titans (new)
29. Mac Jones, jacksonville jaguars (⬇️ 4)
30. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints (new)
31. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, cleveland browns (new)
32. drew lock, New York Giants (↔)

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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