Best NFL Quarterbacks 2018: Ranking All 32 Starting QBs For The Season

It was another big year for offense in the NFL, and quarterbacks around the league put up some incredible numbers. A dozen players threw for more than 4,000 yards and nine signal callers totaled at least 30 touchdown passes.

Below is a ranking of all the starting quarterbacks in the 2018 season. Only players that ended the year with the most starts for their team were eligible to make the list.

1) Patrick Mahomes (5,097 Yards, 50 TD, 12 INT, 113.8 Rating)

The second-year player is the clear NFL MVP. As the third quarterback in history to throw 50 touchdown passes, Mahomes helped the Kansas City Chiefs become the league’s top offense and the No.1 seed in the AFC.

2) Drew Brees (3,992 Yards, 32 TD, 5 INT, 115.7 Rating)

The 39-year-old is the only other true MVP candidate. Brees broke his own record for completion percentage in a single season and led the New Orleans Saints to the NFL’s best record.

3) Philip Rivers (4,308 Yards, 32 TD, 12 INT, 105.5 Rating)

Rivers is one of two quarterbacks that completed more than two-thirds of his passes for over 4,000 yards, at least 30 touchdowns and over 8.0 yards per attempt. The Los Angeles Chargers would have gotten a bye if they played in any other division.

4) Russell Wilson (3,448 Yards, 35 TD, 7 INT, 110.9 Rating)

The Seattle Seahawks were supposed to take a few steps back this season, but Wilson didn’t let that happen. Despite having limited weapons in the passing game, Wilson set a career-high in touchdown passes and a career-low in interceptions.

5) Andrew Luck (4,593 Yards, 39 TD, 15 INT, 98.7 Rating)

The leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year finished second in touchdown passes and fifth in yards. He helped the Indianapolis Colts bounce back from a 1-5 start to make the playoffs.

6) Jared Goff (4,688 Yards, 32 TD, 12 INT, 101.1 Rating)

The former No.1 overall pick was on the periphery of the MVP discussion before throwing one touchdown pass and six interceptions in Weeks 13-15. Goff still finished the season ranked fourth in passing yards and yards per attempt.

7) Deshaun Watson (4,165 Yards, 26 TD, 9 INT, 103.1 Rating)

You could see Watson get better as the season moved along and quickly put last year’s torn ACL behind him. The quarterback was stellar during the Houston Texans’ nine-game winning streak. He avoided an interception in nine of the final 10 games as the team won the division.

8) Tom Brady (4,355 Yards, 29 TD, 11 INT, 97.7 Rating)

Compared to his 2017 MVP campaign and his previous MVP-caliber seasons, Brady had a bad year. He still performed at a relatively high level as the starter for the AFC’s No.2 seed, though he’s no longer playing at a GOAT level.

9) Matt Ryan (4,924 Yards, 35 TD, 7 INT, 108.1 Rating)

The 2016 MVP put up somewhat deceiving numbers, ranking third in yards, passer rating and touchdowns. Ryan padded his stats when Atlanta was eliminated from contention and when games got out of hand, though it was the Falcons’ defense that ultimately failed them.

10) Ben Roethlisberger (5,129 Yards, 34 TD, 16 INT, 96.5 Rating)

The Pittsburgh Steelers missed the playoffs in part because of Roethlisberger’s inconsistency. He posted a passer rating below 90.0 in half of the team’s games and led the NFL in interceptions, though Roethlisberger did engineer the NFL’s No.4 scoring offense while leading the league in passing yards.

11) Aaron Rodgers (4,442 Yards, 25 TD, 2 INT, 97.6 Rating)

Rodgers might have only been picked off twice, but that accomplishment was offset by his 26th-ranked completion percentage. The quarterback was hampered by a knee injury for the first half of the season, and the Green Bay Packers finished with their worst record in a decade.

12) Baker Mayfield (3,725 Yards, 27 TD, 14 INT, 93.7 Rating)

The No.1 draft pick set a rookie record for passing touchdowns even though he didn’t start the first two games. The Cleveland Browns had their best record in 11 years.

13) Kirk Cousins (4,298 Yards, 30 TD, 10 INT, 99.7 Rating)

A year into Cousins’ $84 million deal, the Minnesota Vikings might be having some buyer’s remorse. After setting a record for guaranteed money on one contract, the quarterback went 1-6 against teams that made the playoffs.

14) Dak Prescott (3,885 Yards, 22 TD, 8 INT, 96.9 Rating)

The story remains the same with Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. The quarterback is largely a game manager with the NFL’s leading rusher and one of the league’s best offensive lines, though he deserves credit for leading a few game-winning drives and throwing single-digit interceptions.

15) Cam Newton (3,395 Yards, 24 TD, 13 INT, 94.2 Rating)

It was a tale of two seasons for Newton. After getting MVP buzz with a 6-2 start for the Carolina Panthers, the quarterback started in six straight losses and saw his year end prematurely because of a shoulder injury.

16) Mitchell Trubisky (3,223 Yards, 24 TD, 12 INT, 95.4 Rating)

If you take away Trubisky’s monster Week 4 game against arguably the league’s worst pass defense, he had just 18 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions, The second-year quarterback did make plenty of plays with his legs and went 11-3 as a starter with the NFC’s best defense.

17) Carson Wentz (3,074 Yards, 21 TD, 7 INT, 102.2 Rating)

Wentz had some really impressive numbers, but the Philadelphia Eagles were simply a much better team without him. He posted a 5-6 record in between injuries, while Nick Foles went 4-1 and led the defending champs back to the playoffs.

18) Derek Carr (4,049 Yards, 19 TD, 10 INT, 93.9 Rating)

It’s not Carr’s fault that the Oakland Raiders traded their best wide receiver in addition to their best defensive player. Still, the quarterback wasn’t particularly good as the team scored more than 20 points just once in six games when Amari Cooper was on the roster.

19) Matthew Stafford (3,777 Yards, 21 TD, 11 INT, 89.9 Rating)

Stafford played so poorly in 2018 that there are rumors the Detroit Lions might trade their franchise quarterback. He finished 25th in passer rating, throwing for 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in Detroit’s 10 losses.

20) Ryan Tannehill (1,979 Yards, 17 TD, 9 INT, 92.7 Rating)

It’s probably time for the Ryan Tannehill Experiment in Miami to come to an end. The quarterback averaged just 180 passing yards per game, and he still has never won more than eight games as a starter since being drafted in 2012.

21) Marcus Mariota (2,528 Yards, 11 TD, 8 INT, 92.3 Rating)

The Tennessee Titans could have a hard time justifying giving Mariota a lucrative contract extension this offseason. The quarterback battled injuries all season long, including one that forced him to miss the Week 17 matchup that decided the team’s playoff hopes.

22) Andy Dalton (2,566 Yards, 21 TD, 11 INT, 89.6 Rating)

Dalton didn’t rank higher than 24th in passer rating, completion percentage, yards per attempt or yards per game. The Cincinnati Bengals went 5-6 before an injury ended his season.

23) Eli Manning (4,299 Yards, 21 TD, 11 INT, 92.4 Rating)

New York Giants’ fans can blame the offensive line all they want, but Manning’s days as a good starting quarterback are long gone. With arguably the NFL’s best running back-wide receiver tandem, Manning and the Giants didn’t even sniff the playoffs.

24) Alex Smith (2,180 Yards, 10 TD, 5 INT, 85.7 Rating)

Smith didn’t have impressive numbers before a broken leg ended his season, but there’s something to be said for the way the Washington Redskins played when he was on the field. After he went 6-4 as the starter, the team fell apart with five losses in their final six games

25) Jameis Winston (2,992 Yards, 19 TD, 14 INT, 90.2 Rating)

Winston’s recklessness was at an all-time high this season. He was tied for third in the NFL in interceptions despite missing five games.

26) Case Keenum (3,890 Yards, 18 TD, 15 INT, 81.2 Rating)

The 2017 version of Case Keenum proved to be an aberration. The quarterback threw just three more touchdown passes than interceptions in 2018.

27) Nick Mullens (2,277 Yards, 13 TD, 10 INT, 90.8 Rating)

The quarterback did better than anyone could’ve expected when he was signed from the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad. He went 3-5 with more touchdowns than interceptions.

28) Joe Flacco (2,465 Yards, 12 TD, 6 INT, 84.2 Rating)

Before Lamar Jackson went 6-1 as a starter and led the Baltimore Ravens to the playoffs, Flacco had a 4-5 record and seemed destined to miss the postseason. He finished last among non-rookies in yards per attempt.

29) Josh Allen (2,074 Yards, 10 TD, 12 INT, 67.9 Rating)

Allen might have been the worst passer in 2018 by completing a little more than 50 percent of his attempts and throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. The rookie used his athleticism to keep the Buffalo Bills competitive in most games, running for at least 95 yards four times and going 5-6 as a starter.

30) Sam Darnold (2,865 Yards, 17 TD, 15 INT, 77.6 Rating)

The New York Jets have to be really excited about what they have in Darnold after the quarterback had three impressive performances in the final month of the season. The doesn’t take away the fact that he posted a passer rating below 76.0 in more than half of his 13 starts.

31) Blake Bortles (2,718 Yards, 13 TD, 11 INT, 79.8 Rating)

Bortles started 12 games for maybe the NFL’s most disappointing team. He was bad in all but three of those contests and is almost certainly done in Jacksonville.

32) Josh Rosen (2,278 Yards, 11 TD, 14 INT, 66.7 Rating)

The rookie was hurt by arguably the league’s worst offensive line and poor coaching, but he has to be last on this list. Rosen had the NFL’s worst passer rating and fewer than 200 yards in nine of his 13 starts.