10. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
Sam Darnold/Seahawks were on a bye in Week 8
If not for a late interception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we might be talking about Sam Darnold and the Seahawks having won six straight games going into their bye week this week. The performance of Darnold so far this season, and especially during the six-game stretch following a rough Week 1 outing, has been outstanding.
He’s getting Jaxon Smith-Njigba involved consistently every week, and operating Klint Kubiak’s offense to perfection. So far this year, he’s got 12 touchdowns compared to just four interceptions, and it seems he’s answered the questions about whether or not Kevin O’Connell was just a great puppet master last year when Darnold was with the Vikings.
It looks like he’s really turned a corner as an NFL quarterback, and at the perfect time. He’s got four multi-touchdown performances already this season.
9. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s hard to really be too upset about the way Baker Mayfield played on Sunday when the defense does all the work for you, and simultaneously, Mayfield is missing so many of his targets.
The Buccaneers only issue right now is the fact that they might be missing too many guys over the long haul, but they’ve got young players like Tez Johnson stepping up and getting really meaningful reps right now.
Mayfield needs his guys back to be operating at full capacity, but what we’ve seen from him for the majority of this season is definitely up there among the best quarterbacks in the NFL, especially when it comes to playing well in clutch moments. Mayfield has been arguably the most clutch QB in the league this season.