NFL QB rankings, Week 4: Justin Herbert passes Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes; Caleb Williams climbs

NOTE: Up/down arrows illustrate movement from the Week 3 QB Index.

TIER 1

• It's impossible to analyze the Chargers' 3-0 start without focusing on Justin Herbert, the shining star of Los Angeles' thrilling first month of football. Herbert made an incredible play in a key moment during the Week 3 comeback win when he broke out of a sack, escaped a collapsing pocket, rolled left and swiveled his body just enough to rip a throw through contact to a tightly covered Keenan Allen for a touchdown in the game's final three minutes. Herbert is playing some of the best football of any quarterback on the planet. Those who forgot how special he is have undoubtedly been reminded of it.
• While Derrick Henry battles ball security and consistency issues, Lamar Jackson has proven to be a consistent force. However, he might want to examine his approach in the pocket. His tendency to take deep drops to allow his targets additional time to get open hurt him and the Ravens on Monday night, contributing to seven sacks and a frustrating conclusion to their home loss. It might be the only flaw in his game right now, but it's why I can't move him up any higher, even with his excellent numbers.
• Patrick Mahomes continues to carry Kansas City's offense and falls a couple spots here solely because Herbert deserved to climb. Also, for those keeping track of these kinds of things, the Chiefs finally found someone else to lead them in rushing in Week 3, an encouraging sign for their offense.

TIER 2

• It was nice to see the Eagles take the handcuffs off Jalen Hurts in Week 3, even if it was out of frustration and desperation. We know he has the talent to air it out and I think we'd all appreciate it if he did so more often, perhaps before Philadelphia needs Hurts to lead the team back heroically like he did against the Rams.
• Matthew Stafford was slightly off in Philadelphia, missing some throws he typically nails and costing the Rams some points, which came back to bite them in the second half. That connection with Davante Adams continues to look good, though.
• Dak Prescott's stats didn’t tell the whole story about his performance in Chicago. He's playing excellently through three weeks and is the main reason the Cowboys can compete right now. The weight on Prescott's shoulders only increases with the injuries to CeeDee Lamb and Tyler Booker. A Dallas defense that consistently fails to stop the opposition hurts the cause, too.
• Jared Goff expertly handled his job in the Lions' big win over the Ravens, displaying accuracy, command and, most importantly, poise. His mission was easier to execute thanks to their fantastic running game, but Goff also nailed some crucial throws in the victory.
• After three weeks, it appears as if Daniel Jones' partnership with Shane Steichen has placed him on a 2024 Sam Darnold track toward redemption. Jones continues to show off his arm, command of the offense and athleticism while spreading the ball around in a Colts offense that is humming.
• Jordan Love became the latest quarterback to learn how difficult it is to face Cleveland's defense. He made a crushing mistake that opened the door for the Browns' wild fourth-quarter comeback, but I think it will be a good lesson for the signal-caller.

TIER 3

• Sam Darnold played efficient, clean football in a total team victory over New Orleans. He continues to trend upward.
• Geno Smith's Raiders were overwhelmed by Washington in all three phases, but the QB deserves credit for dropping some dimes on Tre Tucker and Jakobi Meyers in the loss. It was certainly an improvement from Smith’s previous outing.
• Through three weeks, I'm starting to see parallels between Bo Nix’s 2025 season and Trevor Lawrence's 2023 campaign, which looked very solid on paper but included plenty of misses that limited Jacksonville's potential. Nix can make strong throws but isn't doing so on a consistent basis. Some of his narrow misses have produced crushing results.
• Tua Tagovailoa went toe to toe with Buffalo last week and made some impressive throws to keep the Dolphins in the fight. His touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill in the fourth quarter was a work of schematic art. Unfortunately, his game-sealing interception was the opposite.
• As perhaps the NFL's best backup quarterback, Marcus Mariota owned the role in his Week 3 start, using his arm, legs and experience to push Washington's offense forward against a leaky Raiders defense. The Commanders are lucky to have Mariota seated behind Jayden Daniels for those moments.
• Mac Jones deserves credit for overcoming an interception and battling through a knee injury to lead the 49ers to a comeback win over the Cardinals in a game that was a glorified rock fight. He’s done his job filling in for Brock Purdy, leading San Francisco to two wins without committing many crushing mistakes.
• Caleb Williams showed off his big arm plenty in Chicago’s blowout victory over Dallas, making a few excellent throws in a game the Bears absolutely needed to win. If he keeps that up in the weeks ahead, Williams will quickly climb.

TIER 4

• Cam Ward is playing much better than the weekly highlight segment might suggest. Yes, his pick-six was ugly, but he continues to fire plenty of sharp passes and make athletic plays. Despite the losses, Ward is doing his best to overcome what is truly a terrible set of circumstances surrounding him.
• Bryce Young is quickly jelling with Tetairoa McMillan, which is helping Young get back on track after a horrid first six quarters of football this season.
• Houston is failing C.J. Stroud at a rate that almost seems criminal. The Texans can't protect him consistently or establish a reliable running game, their play-calling rhythm is poor and Stroud is expected to bail them out far too often. Predictably, he's falling short of that mark in a situation that is growing uglier with each week.
• Michael Penix Jr. had a terrible, no good, very bad day in Carolina that included plenty of misses and decisions that undercut Atlanta's offense. Accuracy has been an underlying issue through the early going and was a glaring one in Week 3.

TIER 5

• Russell Wilson's shining moment in Week 2 proved to be a glimpse into the past and nothing more. He fell back to earth in Week 3 and justifiably lost his starting job. I'm not taking a victory lap on being correct in my preseason prediction that he'd get benched before October because I don't celebrate demotions, and also because I wish Giants fans weren't subjected to the ugly football they witnessed against the Chiefs. Here’s hoping Jaxson Dart injects new life into the offense -- or at least converts a few more red-zone opportunities than Wilson did.
• Jake Browning is going to throw it to the other team more often than the average quarterback. He proved that again in Week 3, but the blowout loss was more a reflection of a lack of team ball security (the three lost fumbles weren’t on the QB). Browning made a few nice throws but isn’t inspiring much confidence in the Bengals' 2025 outlook with Joe Burrow out for the foreseeable future.