Week 3 NFL Quarterback Power Rankings
Sep 21, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) rolls out to pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first quarter at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Week 3 featured some stellar quarterback performances from Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins, and a few others. Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, and Johnny Manziel all caught passes (even though Manziel’s got called back), and one of them (Dalton) even recorded a touchdown reception. With one more note, here are Week 3’s edition of quarterback power rankings.
(Note: these QB power rankings are based on how well each quarterback has played so far this season, not just the most recent week. Each player’s improvement or regression from the previous week is indicated.)
1. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos (± 0)
Seattle shut Manning down for three and a half quarters. But even after throwing a bad interception to Kam Chancellor that seemed to end the game, Manning went down the field with a minute left and two timeouts, against Seattle’s all-time great pass defense, nonetheless, and put up a touchdown and a two point conversion to send the game into overtime. Although Denver ended up losing, Manning played a much better game than most quarterbacks play against Seattle. Manning must have learned one lesson in overtime: “tails never fails” isn’t true.
2. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers (± 0)
I came so close to giving Rivers the number one spot. Manning’s interception towards the end of regulation could’ve decided it, but I chose to cut him some slack because of the venue and defense he was playing against. Rivers had another excellent game – he picked up right where he left off last week, and last season. After three weeks, I’d say Rivers is a leading NFL MVP candidate.
3. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts (± 0)
Luck certainly made every one of his fantasy owners happy. He took advantage of a porous Jacksonville defense and put up 44 points in the process. Although Indianapolis is 1-2, Luck has been on fire since the second half of the season opener at Denver. Luck rounds out the top 3, which remains the same as last week’s.
4. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (+2)
After an insubstantial performance at Cincinnati a week and a half ago, Ryan had a huge bounce-back performance against Tampa Bay last Thursday. Ryan arguably has two of the top five quarterback performances this year (Week 1 against New Orleans and Week 3), but a subpar Week 2 prevents him from reaching the top 3.
5. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (+1)
Wilson missed on a few passes, including a third and long play where he missed an open crossing route – he usually hits those. However, besides a two or three errant passes (the interception wasn’t his fault, as it was tipped). Wilson played well and was able to secure a win against perhaps the next-best team in the league.
6. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (+1)
I was a little disappointed that Brees and his high-octane offense failed to put up more than 20 points against an abysmal Vikings secondary. However, Brees definitely got the job done in order to secure the Saints’ first win of the season, and Brees moves up a spot. I started to see the Brees from 2011 come back a little bit, despite the low scoring outcome.
7. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (-3)
Rodgers and the Packers’ offense looked totally lost against Detroit. If not for a valiant comeback against the Jets in the second half (Week 2), Green Bay would be 0-3. Rodgers and company need to figure things out, and it starts with the quarterback himself.
8. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears (+2)
Cutler easily has the strongest arm in the NFL. He was throwing the ball around with ease on Monday night – I still don’t know how he made that touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett in the back of the end zone; I thought it would have been intercepted for sure. But Cutler was somehow able to get the ball to Bennett in time before the defender turned his head. Anyway, Cutler moves up two spots.