NFL QB rankings, Week 4: Brock Purdy climbs to No. 1; Kirk Cousins enters top 10

NOTES:

1. Up/down arrows illustrate movement from the Week 3 QB Index.
2. Stream live local and prime-time games on mobile with NFL+ .

TIER 1

• Brock Purdy is building a strong early case for MVP through three weeks, lighting up defenses with ease and looking completely comfortable directing Kyle Shanahan’s offense. I’m fascinated to see if he can keep it up against Denver’s defense this weekend.
• Patrick Mahomes took care of business against a scrappy Dolphins defense in Week 3. He shook off a big hit that drew a roughing the passer penalty and left him clutching his lower back to help the Chiefs leave Miami with a two-score victory.
• Dak Prescott continues to power a Cowboys offense that can throw it against anyone and will be required to do so as long as their defense continues to lag behind. It was especially nice to see him connect with both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens against the Ravens.
• Josh Allen was a bit of a mess against the Chargers, turning the ball over three times. His second-half fumble should have cost the Bills much more than it did. He’s good for one of these games per year, so I’m not too concerned about what it means going forward.
• After crumbling against the Broncos, Trevor Lawrence got back on the horse and torched the Patriots. He produced a wildly entertaining sequence in which he threw two absurd touchdown passes to Parker Washington (the first was nullified by penalty), but I still wish he wouldn’t have taken a knee when he was six inches from a rushing score and there were still nine minutes left in the game. If you’re not watching him throw the football, you need to catch up before Week 4; it’s among the prettiest displays in the NFL.

Next Gen Stats insight (via NFL Pro): Purdy threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns in the 49ers' Week 3 win over the Cardinals. Purdy was most efficient in the quick passing game, finishing 8 of 10 for 180 yards and two touchdowns. His 18 yards per attempt on quick passes is the highest mark in a game in the NGS era (among QBs with at least 10 quick attempts). Purdy targeted George Kittle on five of his 10 quick throws, with Kittle catching four of those passes for 50 yards and a TD.

TIER 2

• Jared Goff has been excellent in 2026, powering a passing attack that isn’t afraid to rely heavily on Jahmyr Gibbs to open up opportunities elsewhere. It’s similar to what we’ve seen from Goff in recent years, although they’re weathering offensive line challenges better than they did last season.
• Lamar Jackson wasn’t quite stellar against the Cowboys in Rio, but he delivered in key spots and benefitted greatly from the return of Zay Flowers.
• Joe Burrow is making big plays and leaning heavily on Ja’Marr Chase when he’s in need of a completion, but the Steelers’ strip-sack of Burrow cost the Bengals a chance to secure a thrilling win.
• Matthew Stafford’s second-half struggles against the Broncos’ pressure dampened the fun I’ve had watching him connect with Davante Adams. It’s pretty clear Stafford misses Puka Nacua.
• Kirk Cousins is off to a fantastic start, throwing three touchdown passes in each of his first three contests. That ties his longest career streak of games with at least three TD passes and gives him the NFL’s longest active such streak. That’s a sentence I know you didn’t expect to read in 2026. 

Next Gen Stats insight (via NFL Pro): The Broncos generated pressure on 59.3% of dropbacks in the second half against the Rams after doing so on only 23.5% of dropbacks in the first half. Against pressure, Stafford completed just 6-of-20 passes for 81 yards, taking four sacks and throwing a pick-six. From a clean pocket, Stafford finished 24 of 35 for 309 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

TIER 3

• This is admittedly a strange week for the QB Index. Two backups (Case Keenum and Marcus Mariota) excelled in different ways in their first starts of 2026. Both led their teams to thrilling home wins, and Aaron Rodgers played perhaps his best game since he was a Packer.
• Anyone who thinks the Jets have lost two in a row due to quarterback play is very much mistaken. Geno Smith has been very sharp and heroically threw New York back into a game at Detroit that came down to the wire (before he fumbled to end the Jets’ chances). We probably won’t have another week like this for quite some time, so fans of graybeards should soak it up while we’re here.
• Sam Darnold’s return from injury was fraught with turnovers, but between the back-breaking mistakes, he made some fantastic throws (primarily to Jaxon Smith-Njigba) and piled up 379 passing yards.

Next Gen Stats insight (via NFL Pro): Rodgers completed 6-of-11 pass attempts under pressure for 121 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers’ Week 3 win. Rodgers tied for his most passing yards under pressure in a game since Week 10 of 2020; he entered Week 3 with a 43.5% completion percentage and 92 passing yards under pressure this season. Rodgers threw two deep (20+ air yards) TD passes in the first quarter after he had failed to complete a single deep pass on nine attempts through the first two weeks.

TIER 4

• Jacoby Brissett let it fire 52 times out of necessity against the 49ers and is finding consistent success by leaning on Trey McBride. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like he can carry the Cardinals to victory against NFC West competition. By most standards, Brissett is embodying the Dalton Line, which is what the Cardinals likely hoped to get from him in 2026.
• Tyler Shough slips in the rankings after a disastrous fourth quarter against the Raiders. He accounted for three turnovers in the final 13 minutes, reversing course on a reputation that was being built on clutch performances.
• Bo Nix rises after taking what the Rams defense gave him in the second half. He did just enough to help the Broncos mount a wild comeback, although he’s still not reliable enough for me to move him any higher.
• C.J. Stroud is largely playing it safe until he absolutely must find a route to the end zone. The Texans are going to need more from him to dig out of their 0-3 hole.
• Justin Herbert is making a habit of following up remarkable passes with brain-melting mistakes (or as Tom Brady called it during the Chargers-Bills broadcast, serving up a “meatball sub” to the defense).
• Bryce Young’s hot start came to a screeching halt against a feisty Browns defense, and Jalen Coker’s injury-related departure didn’t help matters.
• Daniel Jones accounted for three turnovers and nearly gave the game against the Texans away with a fumble before helping the Colts move into range for the game-winning field goal.
• Michael Penix Jr. started slowly but found a nice rhythm in his first start of 2026. He can thank the football gods for putting him on the same team as Bijan Robinson.
• Deshaun Watson hasn’t been close to consistent over four quarters, but he has made the plays the Browns needed late in the last two games. He continues to build a promising rapport with rookie receiver Denzel Boston, giving Browns fans hope heading into Week 4.

Next Gen Stats insight (via NFL Pro): Herbert finished 20 of 34 for 226 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Week 3 against the Bills. On deep throws (20+ air yards), Herbert was 1 of 7 for 29 yards and an interception. Herbert has now thrown more interceptions on deep balls this season (3) than he did in each of the previous two seasons (2 in 2024, 2 in 2025).

TIER 5

• This tier pains me to assemble because I know two of these three quarterbacks (Hurts and Love) are much better than their current rankings indicate. That might be why they’ve dropped so precipitously, as their struggles have been especially frustrating to watch.
• Jalen Hurts began the season by pushing the Eagles to two wins with largely positive play while sprinkling in a few errors, but his showing in Chicago on Monday night was downright abysmal. It wasn’t just the interception; Hurts reverted to the indecisive quarterback who was unwilling to play aggressively enough to lift the Eagles out of the hole they’d dug for themselves (his coach’s crunch-time decisions didn’t help much, either).
• Jordan Love is in a similarly tough spot. His offense lacks a running game, his offensive line is banged up and the entire operation is stuck in first gear. Love will rip a few beautiful throws every week, but all it does is tease us, because the rest of the experience is filled with nothing but disappointment.
• Malik Willis is operating in an offense that lost De'Von Achane (torn ACL) and is leaning on a collection of pass catchers that is undoubtedly the worst in the NFL. He and the Dolphins’ offense can move the ball, but they still have a hard time finishing drives. I appreciate the effort he’s made, but the results remain underwhelming.

Next Gen Stats insight via NFL Pro: Hurts completed 16-of-25 pass attempts but averaged just 6.1 yards per attempt Monday night, throwing only six passes (24%) 10+ air yards downfield. On those throws, he completed two (33.3%) for 49 yards, all season lows. The Eagles went three-and-out on three straight drives to start the third quarter, with Hurts completing three of five attempts for six yards -- none of those attempts traveled more than 10 air yards.

TIER 6

• I’m calling this the “searching for answers” tier because it’s filled with quarterbacks who don’t seem to have many right now. Kyler Murray looked unsettled at best in his first game back, and Justin Jefferson’s departure due to injury didn’t help matters.
• Baker Mayfield spent another Sunday appearing uncomfortable in Zac Robinson’s offense while trying his best to play hero before suffering a thumb injury that will cost him multiple weeks.
• Cam Ward was the latest to fall victim to a downpour at MetLife Stadium, although he also had a collection of pass catchers drop on-target passes before he threw away the Titans' last chance to win by tossing an interception in the end zone.
• Drake Maye is the most lost of all, accounting for three giveaways (an unforced fumble and two ghastly interceptions) that tanked the Patriots’ chances of competing in Jacksonville -- seriously throwing their season into uncertain waters. Of all of these quarterbacks, I’m most concerned about Maye, who looks nothing like the NFL MVP finalist he was in 2025 and seems completely adrift (and sapped of his confidence).
• Jameis Winston, meanwhile, is who he is: a cart ride down a mine shaft with no guarantee it leads to daylight (but will include a few exciting twists and turns).

Next Gen Stats insight via NFL Pro: Against pressure, Maye went 6 of 11 for 81 yards and an interception in Week 3; without pressure, he went 8 of 14 for 118 yards and an interception. Maye averaged a 3.42-second time to throw, the second-longest of his career, with 25% of his attempts coming outside the pocket, the fourth-highest rate of his career. Outside the pocket, Maye went 3 of 7 for 57 yards and an interception, totaling eight scramble dropbacks.