3. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs -- Winner
Before his injury last season, Patrick Mahomes looked as human as we've ever seen him. He had been struggling with downfield accuracy on his throws, teams were beating the Chiefs in one-score games, and it felt like the Kansas City dynasty was crumbling a bit.
After his major knee injury, it really felt like there was good reason to bury the Chiefs. How would Mahomes look coming back from that injury? Would he get destroyed behind an offensive line with major concerns at tackle?
Mahomes has answered questions in a big way through the first two games of the season. After playing more of a point guard position against Denver in Week 1, Mahomes was a dynamic playmaker in Week 2 against the Colts. He was pushing the ball to all levels of the field, playing with the level of confidence we were used to seeing during his best years in the league.
Essentially, watching Mahomes the first two weeks of the season has made one thing abundantly clear: Mahomes is back.
He threw for 382 yards, 3 TDs, and no interceptions in the overtime win against the Colts.
4. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers -- Loser
They say quarterbacks often retire a year too late in the NFL, and that might be unfortunately proving to be true for Aaron Rodgers.
After helping get the Steelers to a division title and the playoffs last season, Rodgers has looked absolutely awful through the first two games of the 2026 season. He's completing less than 60 percent of his passes (79 pass attempts in two games), he has 1 TD compared to 1 interception, and he's been sacked 6 times already.
We're not seeing the efficiency he played with at times last season. His mobility is non-existent compared to what it used to be, or even what it was a season ago.
It might just be two games, and there is still plenty of time to turn things around, but Rodgers got wrecked against the Patriots in Week 2.
5. Drew Lock, Seattle Seahawks -- Winner
We could have gone a number of different directions with this one, because there are a handful of quarterbacks who are outplaying expectations early on this season.
One of them is Drew Lock, who was forced into action after Sam Darnold suffered a hip injury in the Seahawks' season opener against the Patriots.
After leading Seattle to a come-from-behind win against the Patriots, Lock got a full week of practice to prepare for the Cardinals in Week 2, and had one of the best games of his NFL career.
He completed 19-of-26 pass attempts for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was also only sacked one time. Even with a change at offensive coordinator with Klint Kubiak now off to the Las Vegas Raiders (where Kirk Cousins is thriving again), Lock has done a tremendous job of running the offense and doing it without great balance in the running game.
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