With six quarterbacks making debuts for their respective teams, Week 3 was undoubtedly notable for quarterback performances. Here are the grades I’ve given out to every quarterback for their showing in Week 3:
Gardener Minshew: A-
A player who has very quickly emerged as a fan-favorite, Minshew earned his first NFL win on Thursday night while throwing for two touchdowns. Minshew might even make it hard for the Jaguars to turn back to Nick Foles once he is healthy.
Marcus Mariota: B-
The Titans’ offense had trouble moving down the field, and as has been the storyline for much of Marcus Mariota’s career, while his play wasn’t horrible, it was very underwhelming.
Carson Wentz: B+
While it certainly wasn’t Wentz’s best game, let’s cut him some slack here. Eagles receivers and running backs had a whopping seven drops and two lost fumbles. Sure, Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson were inactive, but that’s just unacceptable.
Matthew Stafford: B+
Very quietly, Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions have gotten off to a good start at 2-1 and coming off back-to-back upset wins. While his numbers don’t jump out at you, Stafford led a crucial touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to give the Lions a 10-point lead.
Andy Dalton: C+
After tying the game after having been down 14-0 at halftime, Andy Dalton was intercepted by Tre’Davious White in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Dalton didn’t look to be at his best as he’s still without his top target, A.J. Green.
Josh Allen: B
After throwing what could have been a costly pick at the end of the third quarter, Allen led the Bills on a game-winning drive, capped off by a Frank Gore one-yard touchdown run.
Dak Prescott: A-
My grandmother could probably beat the Dolphins with her left hand but let’s give Dak Prescott credit here, as he’s looked sharp all season and had this great escape to find Jason Witten for a 33-yard completion on third and 20:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaTBVZlefeA
Josh Rosen: C-
My goodness, the Dolphins are trash. And to think Arizona took Rosen 22 picks before Lamar Jackson. Yikes.
Joe Flacco: C+
A costly third-quarter Joe Flacco interception ruined what could have been a game-tying drive for the Broncos in the third quarter. As the Broncos slipped to 0-3, Joe Flacco has yet to look sharp with his new team.
Aaron Rodgers: A-
Rodgers was in vintage form on Sunday as the Packers improved to 3-0. Rodgers did what he does best, converting on this free-play opportunity for a 40 yard Marquez Valdes-Scantling touchdown:
Matt Ryan: B+
On paper, Ryan had a great game, but in reality, he had one great half and one horrible half. So while he went off in the second half and almost led a comeback, I can’t put him in the A range given how bad his first half was.
Jacoby Brissett: A
No Luck, no problem! Jacoby Brissett had easily his best game in the NFL, starting the game by completing his first 16 passes. You never know, maybe Brissett can lead the Colts to the playoffs in the absence of Andrew Luck.
Patrick Mahomes: A
Last Sunday was business as usual for Patrick Mahomes as he has now thrown for over 370 passing yards and three touchdowns in each of the Chiefs’ three games this season.
Lamar Jackson: B
Jackson struggled to throw passes farther than 10 yards down the field and had a low yards per attempt score as a result (6.2 YPA). However, he still made incredible plays with his feet, and the play is never over when the pocket collapses with him under center.
Kirk Cousins: A-
While the Vikings’ offense is primarily centered around the running game, Cousins still had a great week, completing 15 of 21 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown.
Derek Carr: B-
The Raiders played most of the game from behind and relied heavily on the passing attack. Carr relied on breakout tight end Darren Waller, finding him 13 times for 134 yards.
Tom Brady: A
As expected, Brady chewed up the Jets’ secondary as the Patriots got a blowout win for a third straight week. Following Brady, backup Jarrett Stidham came in the game and promptly threw a pick-six.
Luke Falk: D
There have been two quarterbacks in NFL history taken 199th overall: Tom Brady and Luke Falk. However, don’t expect this guy to be as good as Brady or even Nathan Peterman. (Okay, maybe that’s too far, but this was not a good first impression for Luke Falk.)
Kyle Allen: A
Unlike Luke Falk, Kyle Allen took full advantage of his opportunity and chewed up the Cardinals’ defense in Cam Newton’s absence. Newton is out Week 4 and who knows, Allen may earn the starting job if he can replicate that performance.
Kyler Murray: C-
Throwing 43 passes for 173 yards, Kyler Murray’s 4.0 YPA is the worst among QBs in a single week with 30 or more attempts in NFL history. He also had to endure eight sacks. However, there is a learning curve with rookie passers, and these are just growing pains Murray will have to overcome.
Daniel Jones: A
Giants fans are going to be annoying for a while. Jones carried the Giants on his back down 18 at the half and scored the go-ahead touchdown as the Giants won with seconds remaining. The Giants will need more of this from Jones if they want a chance at squeaking into the playoffs with Saquon Barkley out 4-8 weeks.
Jameis Winston: A-
Winston has looked much better these last two weeks after an abysmal Week 1 performance. But he still makes some bad decisions. His fourth-quarter interception turned out to be costly.
Deshaun Watson: A
Watson balled out on Sunday as his 135.8 passer rating was the second-highest of his career. The biggest concern regarding Watson is the Texans’ O-line. After allowing the most sacks in the NFL last season, Houston has already allowed 12 through three weeks this year.
Philip Rivers: A-
Philip Rivers relied heavily on his top receiver, Keenan Allen, and while Rivers played very well, it just wasn’t enough to beat Deshaun Watson and the Texans.
Mason Rudolph: C+
In his first NFL start, Rudolph had some encouraging moments but also made a few mistakes, most notably an interception at the beginning of the second half. While Rudolph’s performance was solid, he’ll have to step it up a notch if Pittsburgh wants any chance at making the playoffs.
Jimmy Garoppolo: C+
Garoppolo rebounded from an awful first half to lead the 49ers to a comeback win and a game-winning touchdown to Dante Pettis. The highlight of his performance, however, was this 27-yard pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Watch this stiff arm!
Teddy Bridgewater: B+
In his first start since 2016, Teddy Bridgewater led the Saints to a win and looked solid given the circumstances. He was very conservative, as most of his passes were dump-offs to Alvin Kamara, but that can be improved going forward.
Russell Wilson: A-
Statistically, Wilson had a great game, but in reality, his stat line was bolstered by two junk-time touchdowns. On the bright side, he has connected with top receiver Tyler Lockett 21 times in the last two games after hooking up just once in Week 1.
Jared Goff: B-
While he got bailed out by a great game from the Rams’ defense, Jared Goff has yet to look like his 2018 form that led the Rams to the Super Bowl. It helps to have Cooper Kupp back to his to normal self, but the Rams will need Goff to play better if they want another Super Bowl run.
Baker Mayfield: C-
Speaking of disappointing starts to the season, Baker Mayfield and the Browns are reminding the world that it’s the Browns and they can’t be that good. Baker’s tossed just three touchdowns while throwing five interceptions, so he needs to improve his decision-making.
Mitchell Trubisky: B+
After two rough weeks with no touchdown passes thrown, Mitch Trubisky hooked up with Taylor Gabriel three times in the second quarter for touchdowns. That being said, I couldn’t place Trubisky in the A range because he threw an atrocious red zone pass into the hands of Josh Norman in the third quarter.
Case Keenum: D-
If it weren’t for two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, Keenum would have gotten an F from me. On paper, he threw for over 300 yards with a pair of touchdown passes, which isn’t terrible. However, he committed five turnovers and looked awful for the first half. It might be time to bring in Dwayne Haskins.
