The NFL has seen plenty of great quarterback play through the first two weeks of the season. Some of the performances have been expected, while some signal-callers have sneakily outperformed expectations. As with any ranking list, volatility is high over time, especially two weeks into the season. Below are the top 5 quarterbacks after Week 2 of the NFL season.
Top 5 Quarterbacks Honorable mentions: Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Caleb Williams, Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, and Trevor Lawrence.
5. Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes Week 1 victory against Denver wasn’t the most impressive showing, throwing for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and adding a rushing touchdown. Given the context of his injury, however, and a dominating performance all around from his team, he did enough to win.
Mahomes followed that dominating win with a great performance against the Indianapolis Colts, throwing for almost 400 yards and three touchdowns in an OT win. The two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP seems to have picked up where he left off, dominating his competition and not skipping a beat.
4. Bryce Young
Young is currently tied for the most passing TDs through two weeks, and has the second-most passing yards in the league. He threw for three touchdowns and ran for one against the Chicago Bears in Week 1 for the highest-scoring game that week.
Despite Young’s effort in helping score 37 points, the Panthers still managed to lose that game, allowing 59 points. He continued his great performance in week 2, throwing three more TDs against the Atlanta Falcons and this time winning in dominant fashion, 34-3. Young has looked phenomenal thus far, and if he continues this play throughout the season, the Panthers’ answer on extending him and labeling him their franchise QB becomes clear.
3. Tyler Shough
Shough currently leads the league in passing yards and is coming off a Week 2 upset victory against the Baltimore Ravens. He managed to outduel Lamar Jackson and had two total touchdowns, one passing and one rushing. This is after a week one loss where he went to overtime against the Detroit Lions, throwing for 410 yards and three touchdowns. Despite his slow start in the first half of the Detroit game, the second-round pick has really turned it on as of late. The second-year player has shown great poise so far, with potential to get better as the season goes on.
2. Brock Purdy
Purdy and the 49ers shocked the NFL world in Week 1, upsetting the Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams on primetime in Australia, 27-7. Purdy threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns with a 73% completion percentage. He followed up this performance with another dominating win against the Miami Dolphins, where he completed 90% of his passes for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns, adding another touchdown on the ground. The perception of a system QB surrounding Purdy remains, but if he continues this dominant play throughout the season, he may finally earn respect as an elite quarterback.
1. Josh Allen
Allen currently leads the league in total TDs with nine, and is coming off two impressive wins. His first game this season was against the Houston Texans, a team the Buffalo Bills haven’t beaten in Houston since 2006, and who are considered to have the best defense in the league. Despite this, Allen threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns, and posted two rushing touchdowns. He continued his dominant play against the Lions the next week, throwing for 248 yards and two touchdowns, adding three rushing touchdowns. Allen’s elite play isn’t new, but his fast start to the season may be a sign that he can finally get the Bills over the hump and win a Super Bowl.
