Well, Week 1 of the 2026 NFL Season is now about over, as Denver and Kansas City are the two teams left that will officially close us out in the first week of the 2026 campaign. With that came some awesome quarterback performances, but the opposite is also true.
Week 1 is sometimes a bit misleading in the NFL, as it is not a stretch to call it a fourth preseason game. Over the next month or so, we'll begin to see the best and worst teams in the NFL play like it, so while there were some shocking results this week, things should sort out as we expect.
Now that we're into the regular season, let's get into our first 'official' QB power rankings with Week 1 coming to an end.
NFL QB Rankings, Week 1: Latest rankings with Week 1 ending
32. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
I have a feeling that the Deshaun Watson experiment is going to end very soon. The Cleveland Browns lost by 24 points in Week 1 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and while certain Week 1 outcomes aren’t always indicative of how a team is going to perform in a given year, what we saw from Watson and the Browns is absolutely how good (or bad) this team is.
Watson tossed 16 completions, one touchdown, and one interception. Cleveland put up 10 points and might struggle to win a single game all year, and if this is how Watson looks most weeks, the Browns are going to send him to the bench in favor of Shedeur Sanders, but I am not sure he’s going to be any better.
The veteran QB takes the bottom spot in our QB power rankings as Week 1 closes out.
31. Cooper Rush, Atlanta Falcons
You really can’t blame Cooper Rush for what has transpired with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. Rush was a late offseason addition and likely wasn’t expecting to start, but Tua Tagovailoa got hurt, so Rush got inserted into the starting lineup.
He wasn’t able to hit 150 passing yards and tossed two interceptions. The Falcons did only lose by seven points, which I guess is a bit of a win, but as long as Rush is starting games for any team at this point, their chances of winning will remain low.
But that also paints a bigger picture for the Falcons - Rush might not even be the worst QB on the roster, which is telling. The Falcons are honestly in a lost year, as none of Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., or Rush will provide any sort of long-term optimism. Rush will remain low on these rankings as long as he’s starting.
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