In the NFL, you either have a quarterback or you don’t. There are teams still trying to figure it out, and there are teams that simply have a chance in every game because of the guy they have under center.
The power of the quarterback is more and more prevalent every year in the NFL, it seems, but there have been some fascinating and unexpected developments at that position all over the league this season.
Our latest NFL QB Power Rankings will rank every quarterback in the NFL based on who actually played this past week, their overall body of work this season, as well as a little bit of name value factored in. It's important to remember that this is not a typical ranking of top QBs. These guys are going to be ranked largely based on performance and not just abilities. Who are the biggest risers and fallers at QB after a stellar Week 8 slate of action?
NFL QB Power Rankings, Week 8: Patrick Mahomes on top, Bo Nix rising fast
32. Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers
I think it’s safe to say that the Carolina Panthers felt like they had one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL, but the way Andy Dalton played against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, it looked like he didn’t know where he was half the time. Dalton not only couldn’t get anything going with the Carolina offense – which had been humming during their winning streak – but made egregious mistakes you would not expect from a veteran.
He took a sack right before the end of the first half that cost the Panthers points. With an interception and two lost fumbles on top of it, I’m not even sure the Panthers can justify this guy being their No. 2 going forward. He was worse than atrocious on Sunday.
31. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
We only have one game to gauge how well he’s played this season, but if this was Kirk Cousins’s final audition before the NFL trade deadline, then he’s probably not getting the part of “starting quarterback” elsewhere in the league.
Cousins is the highest-paid clipboard holder in the NFL, and as up-and-down as the Falcons’ offense has been for a large portion of this season, you would have at least though Cousins could come in and just spread the ball around to the playmakers. I mean, this guy had a 500-yard game just last season.
But he didn’t exactly knock the rust off against the Dolphins. It was a rough 2025 debut for Cousins.