Week 11 NFL QB Power Rankings
Nov 16, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) passes before the game against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
9. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers (-2)
After a terrific first month and a half, Rivers has dropped from first on this list to ninth. He’s slowly starting to regress to 2012-esque form, and needs to revert to how he was playing last year and the first month of this year.
10. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (± 0)
For the last four games, Wilson has failed to break 200 yards passing in a game. Yes, he’s had some terrific games running the football, but as shown in Seattle’s four losses, Wilson will have to throw the football for the Seahawks to win. This season’s production is nowhere close to last year’s for Wilson, as the Seahawks find themselves three games out of first place in their division.
11. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (-1)
The last two games have arguably been the two worst games of Roethlisberger’s season. It seems as if his pocket awareness has fallen off the map, as he’s simply running into contact.
12. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (+1)
With a severely limited offensive line, Ryan has made the best of a bad situation. Somehow, the Falcons are in first place in the NFC South (at a lackluster 4-6).
13. Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs (+3)
Smith threw for barely over 100 yards against Seattle, but he managed the game well — and it was enough to win.
14. Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers (± 0)
While Kaepernick’s completion percentage over the last two games is under 50 percent, the 49ers have won both games, partly due to the fact that Kap’s been able to play clean games with no turnovers. With two games against Seattle and one against Arizona coming up, San Francisco is still in it in the NFC West, but Kaepernick must become the playmaker of 2012 and 2013 for the ‘Niners to win it.
15. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens (± 0)
The AFC North is the closest divisional race, with every team above .500 and all within half a game of each other. This should go without saying: Flacco must step up for the Ravens to win the division.
16. Drew Stanton, Arizona Cardinals (± –)
Carson Palmer is out for the season, and his career may be over — but Drew Stanton didn’t miss a beat on Sunday. Well, maybe he missed a few beats. The Cardinals’ running game as a whole is lackluster; Stanton’s two touchdowns were enough to beat Detroit. He wasn’t perfect — there were certainly throws he should’ve completed that he didn’t. Arizona didn’t even score in the second half. Stanton was playing against the NFL’s first-ranked defense, however, and I still think Arizona is a legitimate contender with him starting.