NFL QB Report Card: Best And Worst Performances In The Season's First Month
Breakdown of every starting NFL quarterback through four games.
Each week of the NFL season, OutKick has given out grades for all 32 starters based on their performance in a given game. This week, we want to take a broader view and break down quarterback play across the first month of the season. Each team has played four games, or nearly one-quarter of the season. That makes it the perfect time to look at where each quarterback stands.
AFC East
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (4-0)
STATS: 85–121 (70%), 964 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT, 7 sacks; 31 carries, 159 yards, 3 TD
Allen is basically even money to win NFL MVP this season and for good reason. The Bills are 4-0; Allen has accounted for 10 touchdowns and only one turnover; and, he's doing damage through the air and on the ground. There's not much to say other than Allen is the best quarterback in the NFL right now.
GRADE: A+
Drake Maye, New England Patriots (2-2)
STATS: 91–123 (74%), 988 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT, 13 sacks; 24 carries, 98 yards, 2 TD, 1 lost fumble
Maye's stats look very good, but it hasn't always been pretty. Still, the Patriots were expected to be among the worst teams in the NFL, and they are currently second in the division (and look better than the Dolphins and Jets). Maye has a big test coming up in Week 5 against Josh Allen and the Bills, so we'll see where they stand after that one.
GRADE: B
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye rolls out of the pocket during the second half against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium.
(Bob DeChiaraImagn Images)
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (1-3)
STATS: 79–114 (69%), 752 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT, 8 sacks, 1 lost fumble
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins finally got a win against the hapless Jets, so that's good. But he just doesn't look good and now has to play the rest of the season without Tyreek Hill. It seems like it's going to get a lot worse for the Dolphins quarterback.
GRADE: D+
Justin Fields, New York Jets (0-4)
STATS: 39–60 (65%), 471 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 5 sacks; 24 carries, 178 yards, 3 TD, 2 lost fumbles
My thoughts on Fields are well documented. He's not good enough to be an NFL starting quarterback. Sure, he makes some great plays with his legs, but he still can't read a defense to save his life. The Jets are likely to have a high draft pick in 2026, and they're going to need to use it on a quarterback.
GRADE: D
AFC North
Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers (3–1)
STATS: 74–108 (69%) passing, 786 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT, 9 sacks
Credit to Aaron Rodgers: he revived his career by signing with the Steelers rather than retiring after a disastrous tenure with the Jets. Obviously, he's not the Rodgers of old, but he's playing at a higher level than many other quarterbacks and the Steelers appear well on their way to yet another playoff appearance. Can Rodgers help Tomlin finally win a postseason game for the first time since 2017?
GRADE: A-
Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals (2–2)
STATS: 54-84 (64%), 506 yards, 3 TD, 5 INT, 7 sacks
When Joe Burrow went down with a long-term injury, so did the hopes for Cincinnati to make the playoffs. Browning performed admirably in relief in Week 2 after Burrow suffered his injury, but his two weeks as the starter have been atrocious. However, part of that is due to the Bengals' horrendous offensive line.
GRADE: D+
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (1–3)
STATS: 68-95 (72%), 869 yards, 10 TD, 1 INT, 15 sacks; 21 carries, 166 yards, 1 TD, 1 lost fumble
It's hard to pin the Ravens' 1-3 record on Jackson, who has been very good through four weeks. John Harbaugh took the ball out of his hands in Week 1, when the team gave up a two-touchdown fourth-quarter lead against Josh Allen and the Bills. The defense has allowed at least 37 points to three of its four opponents this season, and that's not a recipe for success in the NFL. Plus, they've played a brutal schedule.
GRADE: B+
Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns (1–3)
STATS: 93-160 (58%), 815 yards, 2 TD, 6 INT, 9 sacks, 2 lost fumbles
Obviously, this grade is meaningless now that the Browns have announced that they will start rookie Dillon Gabriel in Week 5. The question is why the team thought 40-year-old Flacco was the best option in the first place.
GRADE: F
AFC South
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts (3–1)
STATS: 87–121 (72%), 1,078 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT, 4 sacks; 18 carries, 54 yards, 3 TD
What can I say about Daniel Jones? The guy has played incredibly well for the Colts and deserves all the love he's getting. Can he keep it up for an entire season? That remains to be seen, but he's been nearly flawless thus far.
GRADE: A
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images)
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (3–1)
STATS: 84–144 (58%), 845 yards, 5 TD, 4 INT, 3 sacks
Everyone keeps waiting for the former #1 overall pick to take that big step forward, but it hasn't happened in 2025. Part of that is due to the lack of continuity; Lawrence has had three different head coaches and three completely different offensive schemes in his five NFL seasons. Still, for a guy with as much talent as Lawrence, it's up to him to elevate his game.
GRADE: C
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (1–3)
STATS: 79–117 (68%), 832 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT, 10 sacks; 17 carries, 92 yards
Like Lawrence, Stroud isn't living up to his immense potential right now. His rookie season might have set the bar too high, but he's basically fallen off a cliff since then. The offense is disjointed, and much of that falls on Stroud. Unlike Lawrence, Stroud has had one head coach in his three years, so he needs to start making plays again.
GRADE: D+
Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans (0–4)
STATS: 64–125 (51%), 614 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 17 sacks; 9 carries, 42 yards, 2 lost fumbles
Ward is afforded some grace because he's a rookie playing for a terrible team. However, he's been nothing short of awful through the first four games of his career. His completion percentage is barely over 50 percent; he's taking too many sacks; and, he's not generating big plays (longest completion is 33 yards). Things will get better, but it looks pretty rough right now.
GRADE: F
AFC West
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (3–1)
STATS: 95–149 (64%), 1,063 yards, 7 TD, 3 INT, 12 sacks; 19 carries, 93 yards, 1 lost fumble
Herbert's stats don't jump off the page and the team is coming off a bad loss to the New York Giants. Still, with Mahomes and the Chiefs struggling early, Herbert and the Chargers have taken advantage. There's a long way to go, but the former Oregon gunslinger looks like the best quarterback in the AFC West through four weeks.
GRADE: A-
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert drops back to pass against the New York Giants during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium.
(Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (2–2)
STATS: 87–142 (61%), 939 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT, 7 sacks; 22 carries, 130 yards, 2 TD
Obviously, Mahomes hasn't played his best in 2025. Part of that is due to the lack of weapons, with Rashee Rice still serving a suspension and Xavier Worthy missing essentially three of the first four games (and Travis Kelce looking completely washed, but that's a topic for another day). Still, the expectations are that Mahomes rises above the issues, and he hasn't done enough so far this year.
GRADE: C
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (2–2)
STATS: 90–137 (66%), 861 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT, 3 sacks; 25 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD, 1 lost fumble
I don't think I'll ever quite understand the love for Nix. I just don't think he's that good, and he hasn't been particularly good this year (five turnovers). Denver's two wins came against the Bengals (without Burrow) and the Titans. Both he and Sean Payton must have blackmail on the NFL media, because both are treated as being far better than they are at their jobs.
GRADE: C-
Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders (1–3)
STATS: 81–127 (64%), 948 yards, 6 TD, 7 INT, 12 sacks; 13 carries, 66 yards
Geno Smith is … Geno Smith. He's been around a long time, and you know what you're getting. He's an average NFL starter. Nothing more, nothing less. He looked good in Seattle playing for a good team, and he looks bad in Las Vegas playing for a bad team.
GRADE: C
NFC East
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (4–0)
STATS: 70–101 (69%), 609 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT, 9 sacks; 41 carries, 179 yards, 4 TD, 1 lost fumble
I'm not sure any NFL quarterback is more contentious than Hurts. Not because of anything he's done, but because some in the media believe he's a star and others believe he's just a system QB. To me, it's a little bit of both. He's better than the people who label him a system quarterback believe he is, but he's worse than the people who believe he's elite think he is. Yes, Hurts is a Top 10 NFL quarterback. However, some of that is due to the lack of top quarterbacks in the league right now. That's the bigger issue.
GRADE: B+
Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (2–2)
STATS: 43–72 (60%), 433 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 7 sacks; 18 carries, 85 yards
It's hard to grade Daniels since he's only played two games. Replicating his electric rookie season was always going to be a challenge and the schedule didn't do him any favors. A Thursday Night Football matchup on the road against Green Bay was a tough Week 2 matchup, and he did what he was supposed to do in Week 1 against the Giants. I don't think we have enough information yet to assess his 2025 performance.
GRADE: INC
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (1–2–1)
STATS: 121–166 (73%), 1,119 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT, 6 sacks; 5 carries, 22 yards, 1 TD
The Cowboys defense is probably the worst in the NFL and the only reason Dallas has a win and a tie is because of Prescott. Of course, regular season performance has never really been an issue for the Dallas veteran. Prescott is playing at an MVP-level right now, though, and we have to take that into account.
GRADE: A
Jaxson Dart, New York Giants (1–3)
STATS: 13–20 (65%), 111 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 6 sacks; 12 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD
The Giants mercifully ended the Russell Wilson experiment after three games and turned to Dart in Week 4. It was messy, at times, and electric at others. There are going to be ups and downs, because Dart is a rookie, but head coach Brian Daboll made the right move. If nothing else, the kid brings energy to a team that desperately needs it.
GRADE: B+
NFC North
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (3–1)
STATS: 90–122 (74%), 929 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT, 4 sacks
Goff bounced back from a tough Week 1 against the Packers and the Lions offense appears back to its explosive self. While the run game has dominated the past two weeks, Goff is doing his part by making the throws he needs to make and avoiding big mistakes.
GRADE: A-
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (2–1–1)
STATS: 84–121 (69%), 1,000 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT, 8 sacks; 13 carries, 62 yards, 1 lost fumble
Maybe it's time to give Love his due. I've been hesitant to label him as a Top 10 quarterback, but with the current quality of the position in the NFL, he's very close to that level. Green Bay has Super Bowl aspirations this year, and the Packers are going to need Love to elevate his game to get them there.
GRADE: B
J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (2–2)
STATS: 24–41 (59%), 301 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT, 9 sacks; 7 carries, 50 yards, 1 TD, 1 lost fumble
McCarthy suffered an injury in the team's Week 2 loss against Atlanta, but there's no reason to evaluate Carson Wentz. This team needs McCarthy healthy and playing well to have a shot at making a run in January and February. For now, though, we have to mark McCarthy as "incomplete."
GRADE: INC
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (2–2)
STATS: 81–130 (62%), 927 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT, 7 sacks; 24 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD
Williams had one of the best games of his young career in Week 3 against the Cowboys, but as noted, their defense is pretty atrocious. He struggled in Weeks 1 and 2 but has shown improvement since, even leading the team on a late game-winning touchdown drive against the Raiders in Week 4. I'd like to see that level against better competition, but for now, he's earned a solid grade through four weeks.
GRADE: B
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates after the game against Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
(Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
NFC South
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3–1)
STATS: 83–139 (60%), 904 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT, 8 sacks; 14 carries, 129 yards
The success of Mayfield in Tampa Bay continues, and it only makes Cleveland and Carolina look worse, since he appeared cooked when he played for those two franchises. Mayfield has always had a ton of talent and heart; he finally found a strong organization that could take advantage.
GRADE: A-
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons (2–2)
STATS: 78–125 (62%), 918 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT, 5 sacks; 13 carries, 31 yards, 1 TD
The 30-0 loss against Carolina was ugly and Penix played a poor game. He bounced back in Week 4, but like many signal-callers this year, it's been a pretty mixed bag for Penix. He's doing a nice job avoiding sacks, but he needs to find more big plays and limit the turnovers.
GRADE: C+
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (1–3)
STATS: 87–144 (60%), 753 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT, 6 sacks; 10 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD, 2 lost fumbles
Turnovers continue to haunt Young and the Panthers. He's come a long way from the 62-sack season in 2023 (just six taken this year), but five turnovers in four games is far too many for a team to overcome, especially when that team is the Carolina Panthers.
GRADE: D+
Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints (0–4)
STATS: 98–146 (67%), 765 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT, 9 sacks; 16 carries, 102 yards
Rattler is a clear stopgap quarterback until the Saints can find a long-term answer and his stats aren't that bad. But the truth is that the team is running a very safe, very vanilla offense because Rattler can't execute much more than that. Despite ranking 4th in the NFL in passes attempted (146), he's just 22nd in yards. He's avoiding turnovers, though, so that's a big positive.
GRADE: C-
NFC West
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (3–1)
STATS: 48–73 (66%), 586 yards, 4 TD, 4 INT, 2 sacks, 1 lost fumble
It's hard to grade Purdy since he's been in and out of the lineup. He led the team to a Week 1 victory against the Seahawks, missed Weeks 2 and 3, returned for a loss in Week 4 against the Jaguars and is now slated to miss Week 5 against the Rams. Backup Mac Jones, who started the two games Purdy missed, has looked about equal to Purdy, which is not a good sign. One could argue Jones has been better because he's only turned the ball over twice compared to Purdy's five.
GRADE: D+
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy runs off the field after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Levi's Stadium.
(Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (3–1)
STATS: 70–100 (70%), 905 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT, 6 sacks, 1 lost fumble
Like Geno Smith last year, Darnold is doing his part to not lose games for the Seahawks (except the one against San Francisco). While he'll likely never be the guy that can elevate an offense, he's proven capable of being a decent game manager in a good offense.
GRADE: B
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (3–1)
STATS: 92–136 (68%), 1,114 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT, 8 sacks
Stafford is second in the NFL in passing yards, trailing only Dak Prescott. But Prescott has attempted 30 more passes than Stafford, which shows how efficient the Los Angeles quarterback continues to be in his 17th NFL season.
GRADE: A-
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (2–2)
STATS: 87–130 (67%), 742 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT, 13 sacks; 25 carries, 148 yards
Murray is such an enigma. He has moments and games where he looks like the former #1 overall pick, but games and moments where he looks like he doesn't belong as an NFL starting quarterback. Ultimately, that makes him just average and his grade reflects that.
GRADE: C
NFL Quarterback Power Rankings, Top 8 & Bottom 8
This isn't just based on the first four weeks, but rather how I view the quarterbacks for the rest of the 2025 season.
NOTE: For the purposes of these rankings, injured starting quarterbacks will still count so long as they are not expected to miss more than four games.
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
3. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
4. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
5. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
6. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
7. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
10. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
11. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
12. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
13. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
14. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
15. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
16. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
17. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
18. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
19. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
20. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
21. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
22. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
23. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
24. J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
25. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
26. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
27. Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
28. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints
29. Justin Fields, New York Jets
30. Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals
31. Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns
32. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
That's all for now! We'll come back with fresh grades and rankings following the completion of Week 8 in the NFL season.