NFL QB stock report, Week 4: Biggest winners and losers after bizarre Week 3

The 2026 NFL season is delivering early on with major drama at the quarterback position.

Some players have wildly exceeded expectations already, and some at the position have been exposed badly. We're only three weeks into the 2026 season, but we've also already seen a ton of backups getting significant work, as well as some of the best players in the league last season struggling to get going.

Our latest NFL QB Power Rankings took a look at the state of the entire league at the position, but we're going to zoom in for this Week 4 QB stock report and look at some of the biggest winners and losers after Week 3 action.

NFL QB stock report, Week 4: Drake Maye falling fast, Deshaun Watson shockingly rising

Drake Maye, Patriots - Loser

To say that it's been an awful start to the 2026 season for Drake Maye would be an understatement at this point.

Maye has been terrible, and the Patriots are lucky to even have one win under their belts at this point. There were a lot of dirty hands for the Patriots loss in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but none dirtier than the hands of Maye, who completed just 14-of-25 passes for 199 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 interceptions.

He also fumbled the ball twice, losing one on an egregious play where he simply let the ball slip out of his hand as he was winding up to throw it.

In baseball terms, Drake Maye has what might be diagnosed as a case of the "yips". He is seemingly letting each mistake compound and affect his next play.

Deshaun Watson, Browns - Winner

What year is it?

Deshaun Watson is playing some really good football right now for the Cleveland Browns. After the first week of the season, it appeared as though we were going to be well on our way to talking about the Browns needing to make an in-season quarterback change.

Now, the discussion has shifted to perhaps this Browns team making some unexpected noise in the AFC North.

The Browns haven't had a winning record since the 2023 season. They haven't had much of a reason to cheer on a quarterback in even longer than that. But over the last two games -- which the Browns have won -- Watson's numbers have been impressive:

• 40-for-60 passing
• 66.7 percent completion rate
• 4 TDs
• 0 INTs
• 382 passing yards
• 67 rushing yards

Have the Browns and head coach Todd Monken unlocked the Deshaun Watson of old? It's too early to say for sure, but the signs are positive.

Jordan Love, Packers - Loser

It might not feel like it after an ugly loss -- at home -- against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football, but the Packers still have reasons to be optimistic as the season rolls along.

Jordan Love is a really good player, but he can only do so much with a brutal offensive line in front of him.

Through the first three games of the season, Love has been sacked 8 times, but it feels like he's been hit every time he drops back to pass. And while Love doesn't deserve to get blamed for how he plays as a result of his offensive line not being able to block, he has to take his share of some of the blame as well.

Love completed just 52.4 percent of his passes against the Falcons, and even when he didn't have the Atlanta defense all over him, he wasn't as accurate with the ball as he needs to be.

Yes, Love is having to overcome a lot, and it's difficult to play the position properly when you can't trust your protection, but he deserves at least one week in the "loser" category after what we saw on Thursday.

Kirk Cousins, Raiders - Winner

Let's go out on a high note here. Kirk Cousins has been doing a fantastic job of leading the Las Vegas Raiders, running Klint Kubiak's offense to near-perfection, and helping the team win.

Although too few people were paying attention, Cousins had himself a great finish to the 2025 season as well with the Atlanta Falcons, stepping in as the starter for the final 7 games of the year. Quietly, Cousins led the Falcons to 4 straight wins to end the 2025 season, and has now led the Raiders to 3 straight wins to open the 2026 season.

Kirko Chainz is balling, I'm afraid.

He's had 3 touchdown passes in each of the Raiders' first three games this season, and he just got to experience his first game with Brock Bowers as the primary target. That proved to be a very beneficial addition to the offense, as you might expect.

Bowers caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, and it looked like he and Cousins had been playing together for years.

After just three games, Raiders fans absolutely have to be enjoying the ride. Some are waiting for the clock to strike midnight, but the way Cousins is playing, this team's success feels sustainable.

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