The NFL postseason is upon us, and here are our top 5 QBs heading into January football.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
It hasn’t been the two-time MVP and Super Bowl MVP’s best season statistically, but he’s found a way to roll with the punches and lead the Kansas City Chiefs dynasty to its eighth consecutive AFC West title and sixth consecutive with him at the helm.
He ranks No. 1 because of the playoff success he’s enjoyed in his career. With a playoff record of 11-3, including two Super Bowl wins and three Super Sunday appearances, he’s still the guy to beat until proved otherwise.
This season Mahomes’ receivers haven’t helped him much with a league-leading 41 drops. For the season “Mr. Ketchup On Errthang” has passed for 4,183 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, with six of those coming via tipped passes off of his receivers’ hands.
Except for Super Bowls, Mahomes has never played a road playoff game. That definitely will change this season, and it should be fun to see him lead his team in a hostile environment.
2. Lamar Jackson, Ravens
The leading candidate for NFL MVP has led the Ravens to a 13-3 record and the top overall seed in the AFC.
Jackson’s development as a passer has been great to see, as he’s shown a willingness to play from the pocket. He’s no longer considered a run-first QB. In Sunday’s 56-19 blowout of the Miami Dolphins, Jackson had his record-tying third career perfect passer rating game (158.3) by completing 18 of 21 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns.
The dynamic dual-threat has the Ravens peaking at the right time, and with the AFC playoff having to come through Baltimore, he’s never had a better chance of going to the Super Bowl.
This season LJ8 has passed for over 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He’s also rushed for 821 yards and five more touchdowns.
Following Sunday’s win, ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark proclaimed, “The MVP race is over.”
3. Josh Allen, Bills
The dynamic leader of the Bills offense just became the first player in NFL history to have 40 combined touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. For a team that was once 5-6 and fighting for their playoff lives, Allen, an offensive coordinator change, and a very resilient defense have led the Bills to five consecutive wins and an AFC East winner-take-all battle with the Miami Dolphins next Sunday night in South Beach.
Allen has the Bills looking like the most dangerous challenger to the Baltimore Ravens along with the new-look Browns and their 38-year-old QB Joe Flacco. Allen has limited his mistakes since new offensive coordinator Joe Brady took the reins, as he’s running the football much more than former coordinator Ken Dorsey did.
4. Brock Purdy, Niners
Can’t have a list like this and not include the guy who’s in the top three of just about every statistical category at the position. Much has been made about Purdy not being a dynamic signal-caller, and many have attributed his success to the elite talent that surrounds him with the Niners, but he makes the offense go.
“Mr. Irrelevant” has been anything but that this season in leading the NFC’s top seed. The former Iowa State standout has passed for a 49ers single-season record of 4,280 yards with 31 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions this season.
5. Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins
Tagovailoa has enjoyed a breakout season at the helm of the Fins’ speed-based attack. The former Alabama standout has been good just about all season in leading Miami to an 11-5 record and the current No. 2 seed in the AFC heading into Sunday’s showdown with the Bills. The biggest thing for Tagovailoa this season has been avoiding injuries, mainly concussions, after he suffered at least two last season.
Head coach Mike McDaniel has designed an offensive scheme that highlights Tagovailoa’s skill set: his uncanny accuracy and ability to spray the football to all parts of the football field. He’ll need to be at his best going forward during the postseason.
Following a Week 16 win over the Cowboys, McDaniel told reporters this about his QB.
“He has a gift.”
Honorable Mention:
Jared Goff, Lions
Dak Prescott, Cowboys
Jalen Hurts, Eagles
Joe Flacco, Browns
