<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1gJwj6_0wOg9ga900" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1gJwj6_0wOg9ga900" width="960" height="540" >One of the hottest debated topics coming out of NFL games each week is the quarterbacks’ performances. The most highly scrutinized positions are among the hardest to judge with traditional statistics. Therefore, we here at PFN Insights have created a metric to produce QB ranks based on the areas we believe are the most important in analyzing their performance and their contribution to the team.Our QB+ metric looks at several statistics, including net yards per attempt (nYPA), third-down conversion rate, passing under pressure, and passing from a clean pocket. Additionally, we have quantified performances in clutch situations using statistics from different key scenarios within a game.By no means is QB+ the perfect metric, and we will continue to develop it throughout the season and beyond. However, when we analyzed it against the past five years, the results were extremely indicative of what we saw on the field while providing enough nuance away from traditional statistics for measuring quarterback play.All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated. <h2>Week 8 QB Grades</h2>First, you will find a full list of all quarterbacks from Week 8, listed in order of their QB+ grade and score. Below, you will find an analysis of all qualified quarterbacks and the context for their grades.They will be listed alphabetically by first name rather than by grade or score. This will allow readers to quickly find the QB they are looking for in the writeups.<ol><li>Jalen Hurts | A (80.5)</li><li>Kirk Cousins | A- (76.6)</li><li>Matthew Stafford | B+ (73.5)</li><li>Kyler Murray | B+ (73)</li><li>Joe Burrow | B (69.9)</li><li>Baker Mayfield | B (68.1)</li><li>Jameis Winston | B (67.3)</li><li>Sam Darnold | B (67)</li><li>Tua Tagovailoa | B (66.7)</li><li>Aaron Rodgers| C+ (58.9)</li><li>C.J. Stroud | C+ (58.5)</li><li>Trevor Lawrence | C+ (57.1)</li><li>Lamar Jackson | C+ (56.8)</li><li>Jordan Love | C+ (55.4)</li><li>Jacoby Brissett | C (54.3)</li><li>Jared Goff | C (53.9)</li><li>Mason Rudolph | C- (47.7)</li><li>Anthony Richardson | D- (33.6)</li></ol><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Week EightJameis Winston Passing TD (4) to <a href="https://www.profootballnetwork.com/players/cedric-tillman" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1385" title="Cedric Tillman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cedric Tillman</a> (2) <a href="https://t.co/bBn2hbQPDl" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/bBn2hbQPDl</a>— NFL TD Videos (@NFLTDVids) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLTDVids/status/1850630682386809110?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">October 27, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote><h2>Week 8 QB Analysis</h2>Aaron Rodgers, NYJ (at NE)<ul><li>Grade: C-</li><li>Score: 58.9</li></ul>Rodgers was nearly flawless when given time to throw (15-21 for 199 yards and two scores when not under duress), but the veteran completed just two of his seven pressured passes, and that led to struggles on third downs (Jets: 4-of-10). A few big plays to Garrett Wilson were nice, but Davante Adams was supposed to elevate this offense and he turned six targets into just 54 yards.Anthony Richardson, IND (at HOU)<ul><li>Grade: D-</li><li>Score: 33.6</li></ul>Richardson completed just five of his 12 passes on Houston’s side of the field, continuing a disturbing trend of the second-year QB struggling to sustain drives. The big plays have been fun (69-yard touchdown to Josh Downs, his third of 50+ yards this season), but the NFL is a game of stability, and Richardson’s drive-to-drive consistency is lacking across the board.Baker Mayfield, TB (vs. ATL)<ul><li>Grade: B</li><li>Score: 68.1</li></ul>Say what you will about Mayfield, but his 117.5 passer rating when pressured, without either of his two top receivers, was impressive. He turned five red-zone pass attempts into three scores, a level of efficiency that helped keep this game competitive until the very end despite entering with an underwhelming supporting cast compared to the Falcons.C.J. Stroud, HOU (vs. IND)<ul><li>Grade: C+</li><li>Score: 58.5</li></ul>Stroud had a chance to put points on the board at the end of the first half, but only one of his passes gained more than six yards, and a nine-yard sack on third down knocked the Texans out of field goal range. Houston struggled to put the Colts away (4-of-13 on third downs), and while they ultimately won, their franchise QB is going to have to grade out better than this for this team to have lasting success.Jacoby Brissett, NE (vs. NYJ)<ul><li>Grade: C</li><li>Score: 54.3</li></ul>Brissett owned the second-lowest clean-pocket completion percentage on the early slate, as he misfired on eight of his 19 passes when the offensive line dominated, a rate that isn’t going to get it done given the limitations of this offense long-term.Jalen Hurts, PHI (at CIN)<ul><li>Grade: A</li><li>Score: 80.5</li></ul>Hurts gets credit for the three rushing scores, but don’t let those fantasy points distract you from him averaging 11.8 yards per pass, his third straight week north of 8.0. The offensive line has come together around him, and that is certainly helping (pressured on just two of 20 attempts).However, he’s held up his end of the bargain (14-of-18 inside of the pocket) and, for four quarters, this offense looked like the juggernaut that we saw in the first half of last season from this team.Jameis Winston, CLE (vs. BAL)<ul><li>Grade: B</li><li>Score: 67.3</li></ul>Winston has as many multi-TD pass games this season as Deshaun Watson, and he showed the difference confidence makes under center. Winston posted a 117.0 passer rating (10-of-14 for 106 yards and a touchdown) when this game was within a single score in the final quarter, leading the Cleveland Browns to the upset victory.There are limitations on the offense due to personnel, but there is no question that they have a better chance at reaching their ceiling with Winston under center, something that was evident against the Ravens.Jared Goff, DET (vs. TEN)<ul><li>Grade: C</li><li>Score: 53.9</li></ul>Goff was a victim of his team’s own success in Week 8. His 12 completions netted just 85 yards, in part because the end zone kept getting in the way (three touchdowns). Detroit’s six pressured dropbacks led this offense to just four yards, but everything is a small sample in this game because of the score (Goff spent the fourth quarter on the bench).Joe Burrow, CIN(vs. PHI)<ul><li>Grade: B</li><li>Score: 69.9</li></ul>The Cincinnati Bengals were on the wrong side of a 37-17 result, but their quarterback largely performed well. Burrow guided this offense to an impressive 10-of-13 showing on third downs as he completed over 70% of his passes for the fifth time this season. Half of his completions against the Eagles from a clean pocket resulted in a first down — Burrow is the rare example where QB play isn’t as tied to a team’s success.Jordan Love, GB (at JAX)<ul><li>Grade: C+</li><li>Score: 55.4</li></ul>Love left with a groin injury, but that doesn’t excuse his struggles in enemy territory, something that has become a troubling trend. Green Bay’s signal caller picked up just 1.8 yards per pass when on Jacksonville’s half of the field, and that included a bad red-zone interception.He can do a lot of things on the football field, but he has thrown an interception in every game this season, something that could derail the Green Bay Packers’ hopes this winter.Kirk Cousins, ATL (at TB)<ul><li>Grade: A-</li><li>Score: 76.6</li></ul>Cousins graded as a plus producer nearly across the board, highlighted by turning 16 pass attempts on the positive side of midfield into 179 yards and four scores. Simply taking what the defense gives you sounds simple, but it’s something of a lost art these days — Cousins fed four different players 5-7 targets in the road win, keeping the defense guessing and allowing him to thrive across this metric.Kyler Murray, ARI (at MIA)<ul><li>Grade: B+</li><li>Score: 73</li></ul>Murray was nearly perfect when on Miami’s side, completing 12 of his 15 passes for 123 yards and a pair of scores (140.4 passer rating). Both of his passing touchdowns came from inside the pocket, and if his efficiency in standard passing spots is here to stay, the rest of the league better take notice.Lamar Jackson, BAL (at CLE)<ul><li>Grade: C+</li><li>Score: 56.8</li></ul>Jackson’s lofty expectations weren’t met during Week 8, and this team isn’t built to survive any struggles from the reigning MVP. He was worse than the NFL average in terms of passer rating, completion percentage, and yards per attempt when on Cleveland’s half of the field, issues that allowed the Browns to hang around. His 7.6 yards per pass isn’t a bad showing, but it qualifies as his second-worst of the season.Mason Rudolph, TEN (at DET)<ul><li>Grade: C-</li><li>Score: 47.7</li></ul>Rudolph led the Tennessee Titans to a 3-of-11 showing on third down and completed just three of his seven passes inside the 20. He averaged 7.0 yards per pass (Will Levis this season: 5.6), but that number was inflated by an outlier first quarter from Calvin Ridley. With DeAndre Hopkins now in Kansas City, there is almost no room for error under center in Tennessee — something that this QB room is going to struggle to do.Matthew Stafford, LAR (vs.MIN)<ul><li>Grade: B</li><li>Score: 67</li></ul>Stafford posted a perfect passer rating when the game was within a single score over the final 15 minutes, completing all six of his passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Two of his best three grades this season have come in Week 1 and Week 8, the two instances in which he’s had both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua at his disposal.With four scores against the Vikings on Thursday night, Stafford had more touchdowns in four quarters this week than in his first six games this season.Sam Darnold, MIN (at LAR)<ul><li>Grade: B</li><li>Score: 67</li></ul>Darnold continued to excel from a clean pocket (11-of-15 for 145 yards and a pair of scores) on Thursday night against the Rams. He looked ordinary after a strong first quarter, though the team didn’t give him much in the way of balance (22 carries for 64 yards).Darnold is likely to live in this grade range moving forward — he’s not the MVP candidate he looked like in early September but clearly more comfortable in this Kevin O’Connell offense than he ever was during his time in New York.Trevor Lawrence, JAX (vs. GB)<ul><li>Grade: C+</li><li>Score: 57.1</li></ul>Lawrence showed some flashes, and the game-tying touchdown to Evan Engram showed confidence in his playmakers, but Lawrence struggled again when the chips were in the middle of the table. The Jacksonville Jaguars converted just one of their nine third downs, and Lawrence completed just 68.4% of his short passes. A spike play here and there is nice, but our grades reward consistency, a box Lawrence has regularly failed to check.Tua Tagovailoa, MIA (vs. ARI)<ul><li>Grade: B</li><li>Score: 66.7</li></ul>Tagovailoa’s style requires elite timing on all ends, and while we saw glimpses of why he makes this offense work, we didn’t see it for all four quarters. His 28 completions resulted in just 234 yards (8.4 yards per completion). Without the chunk plays, Tagovailoa is going to struggle to grade out much higher than this.The Week 8 performance should be viewed as a nice welcome back but will need to improve in short order if this team is going to win games.</div></body>

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Week 8 QB Rankings: Grading the Performances of Jameis Winston, Tua Tagovailoa, Kirk Cousins, and Others

One of the hottest debated topics coming out of NFL games each week is the quarterbacks’ performances. The most highly scrutinized positions are among the hardest to judge with traditional statistics. Therefore, we here at PFN Insights have created a metric to produce QB ranks based on the areas we believe are the most important in analyzing their performance and their contribution to the team.