NFL Power Rankings Week 4: Michael Vick Proves Andy Reid Made the Right Call
Michael Vick totaled four touchdowns, three through the air and one on the ground, as his Philadelphia Eagles tore apart the Jacksonville Jaguars. And that was only one example of a multitude of stellar quarterback performances in Week 3 of the NFL season.
Whereas Week 2 was filled with quarterbacks throwing interceptions and balls into the dirt, Week 3 saw the signal-callers put up a bevy of points.
Gone were the quarterbacks being benched for their former clipboard holders. Gone were the frustrated looks and exchanges with coaches on the sideline.
Well, not completely. Week 3 still saw its fair share of clunkers.
Read on to see who rose and who fell in the fourth edition of the NFL Power Rankings for quarterbacks!
No. 32 Jimmy Clausen (Last Week: No. 30)
1 of 34
Last Week:
7-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals
16/33, 188 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception
6 carries, 10 yards
This Season:
23/48, 247 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
7 carries, 10 yards
The Reaction:
Jimmy Clausen's first start in the NFL went pretty much as expected. Not very well.
Clausen couldn't even complete half of his passes, didn't throw for a touchdown, and threw a pick. He also failed to get the ball to Steve Smith, one of the game's most dynamic receivers.
After Clausen's final pass fell to the ground, he was reprimanded by Smith. The rookie out of Notre Dame had this to say about Smith after the game, "I'm trying to get Smitty the ball as many times as we can. He's our big playmaker on offense. It's tough sometimes trying to get him the ball when there are two guys doubling Steve."
Clausen only passed for six yards in the first half, a span which saw the Panthers get as many first downs as quarters played. The rookie only completed one pass in the first half and had a paltry 0.0 quarterback rating.
Even though he made the quarterback switch in just three weeks, head coach John Fox was left so unimpressed by Clausen's debut that he wouldn't commit to starting Clausen next week.
No. 31 David Garrard (Last Week: No. 22)
2 of 34
Last Week:
3-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles
13/30, 105 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception
8 carries, 23 yards
This Season:
44/74, 448 yards, 4 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
16 carries, 32 yards
The Reaction:
As a Jaguars fan (and yes, don't laugh, we do exist), having to write about David Garrard's performance, if you can even call it that, is literally making me sick.
Remember that in Week 2 he threw four picks. Somehow he was even worse this week. The stat line only shows one interception, but he threw at least four more passes that should have been intercepted.
Jack Del Rio, the front-runner for the Obvious Statement of the Year Award, simply said, "He was ineffective today."
I'm going to stop writing about him now so I can go throw up.
No. 30 Bruce Gradkowski (Last Week: Unranked)
3 of 34
Last Week:
23-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals
17/34, 255 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
This Season:
18/56, 417 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
4 carries, 0 yards
The Reaction:
Somehow, some way, the Oakland Raiders should have won the game against the Arizona Cardinals. Unfortunately for the team clad in black, Sebastian Janikowski missed a 32-yard field goal as time expired and the Cardinals escaped with a victory.
But truth be told, it wasn't really thanks to Gradkowski's performance that they were even in a position to have a shot at a win.
The quarterback who only just replaced Jason Campbell struggled throughout the game and only completed half of his passes.
His most egregious error was a delay of game penalty that pushed the Raiders back from a first-and-goal at the Arizona on1-yard line to the 6-yard line. The drive culminated in a field goal instead of a touchdown.
Gradkowski was an upgrade over Campbell, but many other quarterbacks in the league would be an upgrade over No. 5.
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No. 29 Derek Anderson (Last Week: 29)
4 of 34
Last Week:
24-23 win over the Oakland Raiders
12/26, 122 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception
This Season:
51/98, 580 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
1 carry, 9 yards
The Reaction:
Derek Anderson was better than he was the past two weeks, but still not great.
He did go three-for-three on a third-quarter drive that resulted in an eight-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald, a play that would prove to be the game-winner. But, if that drive is taken away from his stat line, Anderson would have only completed a rather pedestrian nine passes.
The Cardinals did get the W, but that was more because of the return of Beanie Wells to the lineup and the return game of LaRod Stephens-Howling. In fact, had Sebastian Janikowski made a chip shot on the final play, the Cardinals would have lost.
Anderson is far from an elite quarterback. It may be only a matter of time until he's permanently replaced by Max Hall.
No. 28 Shaun Hill (Last Week: No. 25)
5 of 34
Last Week:
10-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings
29/43, 237 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions
2 carries, 4 yards
This Season:
64/107, 660 yards, 3 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
8 carries, 16 yards
The Reaction:
Shaun Hill continued his string of losses while starting in place of injured franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford.
He gave the Lions a chance to stay in the game, but eventually doomed them by throwing two interceptions, both of which were caught by Vikings defenders in the end zone.
As head coach Jim Schwartz said after the game, "Shaun battled his way through it, but when it's one-dimensional you're going to get sacks and you're going to get interceptions because you don't have a run game."
Unfortunately for the Lions, you're also going to get sacks and interceptions when Shaun Hill is your starting quarterback.
No. 27 Alex Smith (Last Week: No. 24)
6 of 34
Last Week:
10-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
23/42, 232 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
This Season:
72/119, 732 yards, 2 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
4 carries, 28 yards
The Reaction:
After taking a big step forward against the New Orleans Saints last week, Smith promptly took two steps backwards in this debacle against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The quarterback summed up the performance after the game, saying, "We were pretty ineffective the entire game. I don't know if there is anything to point to. I think it is everything. We were pretty inept all the way around, throwing the ball, running the ball, protecting, penalties, it was all in there."
Smith's stats are somewhat deceiving as well. Fifty-three of his passing yards came in what can only be called garbage time. He hit Frank Gore for 41 yards on the penultimate play and then Josh Morgan for a 12-yard touchdown as time expired.
So, hypothetically, let's say the 49ers just ran the ball to end a game they had no hope of winning. Smith would have been 21/40 with 181 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. Ouch.
No. 26 Seneca Wallace (Last Week: No. 28)
7 of 34
Last Week:
17-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens
18/24, 141 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions
1 carry, 0 yards
This Season:
34/55, 370 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception
2 carries, 4 yards
The Reaction:
While the Browns are holding out hope that injured quarterback Jake Delhomme will return this Sunday, they now know that they have a very serviceable backup in Seneca Wallace.
Filling in for the second straight week, Wallace tossed for an efficient 141 yards, but couldn't lead the team to victory.
He also proved to be enough of a threat that the Ravens couldn't load up the box against Peyton Hillis. Hillis went on to have a monster game, rushing for 144 yards and a touchdown to go along with his seven catches and 36 receiving yards.
The main culprit in this loss was the defense, which allowed opposing quarterback Joe Flacco to have a huge game.
No. 25 Matt Cassel (Last Week: No. 27)
8 of 34
Last Week:
31-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers
16/27, 250 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception
2 carries, 7 yards
This Season:
42/77, 494 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
8 carries, 16 yards
The Reaction:
In one week, Cassel managed to more than double his season's passing yardage total. That probably speaks more about his previous two games than his most recent one, but still...
Cassel did have three touchdown passes and managed to lead his team to a third straight win. The Kansas City Chiefs are definitely the most surprising 3-0 team in the league.
All three of his touchdown passes, though, need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
The first came on a 31-yard catch-and-run to Dexter McCluster. The second on a fake end-around where the 49ers defense neglected to cover Dwyane Bowe and left him wide open for a 45-yard touchdown. The third only happened because Tony Moeaki made an incredible one-handed catch to bail out Cassel on a poor throw.
So once again, Cassel wasn't that great.
No. 24 Charlie Batch (Last Week: Unranked)
9 of 34
Last Week:
38-13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12/17, 186 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
5 carries, 26 yards
This Season:
17/28, 211 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
6 carries, 26 yards
The Reaction:
All you need to know about Charlie Batch is that this will be his last start, barring an unforeseen injury to Ben Roethlisberger.
If Batch somehow threw 20 touchdown passes this week, he would still be benched.
That said, he performed admirably as a fill-in against the Bucs.
No. 23 Carson Palmer (Last Week: No. 20)
10 of 34
Last Week:
20-7 win over the Carolina Panthers
19/37, 195 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions
5 carries, 8 yards
This Season:
69/125, 707 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
12 carries, 16 yards
The Reaction:
Well, Carson Palmer was definitely the best quarterback on the field when his Bengals played the Carolina Panthers, but that's not saying much because the opposing starter was Jimmy Clausen.
Terrell Owens, one of the Bengals many receiving threats, said the following after the game: "You try to take pride in our passing game. Obviously, the weather conditions prohibited us from doing some things down the field."
But the weather can't excuse Palmer for a boneheaded decision at the end of the first half. The quarterback threw a pass over the middle of the field to Jermaine Gresham at the 5-yard line, but the clock ran out before the Bengals could snap the ball again.
Palmer played well enough to get the win, but only because it was the Panthers.
No. 22 Brett Favre (Last Week: No. 19)
11 of 34
Last Week:
24-10 win over the Detroit Lions
23/34, 201 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions
2 carries, -2 yards
This Season:
60/97, 597 yards, 2 touchdowns, 6 interceptions
2 carries, -2 yards
The Reaction:
For the third straight week, Brett Favre went out and played poorly. Thus, he is going to drop in the quarterback rankings yet again.
Favre himself admitted after the victory that the game was quite simply won by the Vikings ground game, especially by Adrian Peterson.
The stat line only shows that Favre threw two interceptions. It fails to show that Favre lost a fumble and threw another pick, but both were nullified by Detroit penalties.
No. 21 Ryan Fitzpatrick (Last Week: No. 31)
12 of 34
Last Week:
30-38 loss to the New England Patriots
20/28, 247 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
3 carries, 18 yards
This Season:
20/28, 247 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
3 carries, 18 yards
The Reaction:
Despite the two interceptions and the loss to the Patriots, Fitzpatrick played quite well. Well enough that the Bills even decided to cut former starter Trent Edwards.
Fitzpatrick needs to improve his performance in the clutch moments, though, as both interceptions came in the decisive fourth quarter. One was at the hands of Patrick Chung while the other was reeled in by Brandon Meriweather.
The quarterback did provide the spark that the Bills were looking for, but he was still left in the shadow cast by C.J. Spiller's two-touchdown performance.
No. 20 Matt Hasselbeck (Last Week: No. 21)
13 of 34
Last Week:
27-20 win over the San Diego Chargers
19/32, 220 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
3 carries, 5 yards
This Season:
57/90, 623 yards, 4 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
8 carries, 30 yards, 2 touchdowns
The Reaction:
The Seattle Seahawks may have beaten the San Diego Chargers in Week 3, but it was not because of Matt Hasselbeck's arm. He performed fairly well and should have had a second touchdown, but Deion Branch had the ball knocked loose at the goal line following a reception.
Hasselbeck did make one egregious error when he threw an interception at the goal line.
The real reason the Seahawks won this game was the dynamic play of Leon Washington, the Seahawks offseason acquisition who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, becoming the 10th player in NFL history to do so.
The Seahawks are now 2-1, though, and that's what counts.
No. 19 Sam Bradford (Last Week: No. 23)
14 of 34
Last Week:
30-16 win over the Washington Redskins
23/37, 235 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
1 carry, 2 yards
This Season:
69/117, 655 yards, 4 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
1 carry, 2 yards
The Reaction:
Playing against the Washington Redskins, Sam Bradford had an impressive showing and it paid off as he got his first NFL win.
Bradford, who completed passes to nine different receivers, said the following after the game, "We've put in a lot of hard work for this. To get to celebrate with those guys, it was a great feeling."
Even playing without star running back Steven Jackson, the Rams still got the victory, thanks to a suffocating defense and the golden arm of the Oklahoma product.
Bradford is now officially on the rise.
No. 18 Vince Young (Last Week: No. 17)
15 of 34
Last Week:
29-10 win over the New York Giants
10/16, 118 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions
3 carries, 6 yards
This Season:
30/43, 338 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
12 carries, 48 yards
The Reaction:
Vince Young recovered nicely from a poor outing in Week 2 by getting the win over the turnover-prone New York Giants.
Young and the Titans managed to hold onto the ball the entire game, as opposed to last week when Young turned the ball over so many times in the first half that he was benched for Kerry Collins.
This was the Chris Johnson and Titans defense show, though; Young was merely a "game manager" in this contest.
He performed sufficiently in that role, but didn't really do anything special.
No. 17 Donovan McNabb (Last Week: No. 14)
16 of 34
Last Week:
16-30 loss to the St. Louis Rams
19/32, 236 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
2 carries, 25 yards
This Season:
62/102, 833 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception
3 carries, 42 yards
The Reaction:
One week after the slugfest with the Houston Texans, Donovan McNabb couldn't get much going in a disappointing loss to Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams.
McNabb loved being able to throw to Santana Moss, who caught six passes for 124 yards and a touchdown, but he didn't march the Redskins up and down the field as he wanted to.
You can be sure that he'll want to be on top of his game for the upcoming showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles.
No. 16 Kyle Orton (Last Week: No. 13)
17 of 34
Last Week:
13-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts
37/57, 476 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
2 carries, 11 yards
This Season:
83/125, 1078 yards, 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
7 carries, 18 yards
The Reaction:
The Broncos got smoked by the Colts in this game, thanks in part to five empty trips to the red zone by Orton's offense.
It's great to throw for 476 yards, but marching up and down the field without producing points isn't going to cut it in the NFL.
After two field goals and three turnovers inside the Colts 20-yard line, Orton said, "That's a good red zone football team. That's what their team is built around. Their defense is very fast. They play tough coverage to throw the ball against down there. We just didn't execute. Everything has to happen fast. Everybody has to be on the same page."
The quarterback showed that he has the ability to do great things, but he just didn't get the job done this last week.
No. 15 Josh Freeman (Last Week: No. 12)
18 of 34
Last Week:
13-38 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers
20/31, 184 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception
6 carries, 15 yards
This Season:
49/83, 534 yards, 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
12 carries, 92 yards
The Reaction:
It's hard to judge Freeman based on this performance because the Steelers defense is playing like the Steel Curtain of old.
Freeman wasn't all that bad, but he couldn't lead his offense to any touchdowns, and was eventually replaced by Josh Johnson late in the game.
The benching was simply because the score had gotten out of hand; it was by no means because of Freeman's performance.
Remember that the Pittsburgh defense already shut down Matt Ryan and made Vince Young look so awful that he was benched at halftime.
Freeman still gets the benefit of the doubt here and should bounce back in his next game.
No. 14 Eli Manning (Last Week: No. 9)
19 of 34
Last Week:
10-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans
34/48, 386 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
1 carry, 2 yards
This Season:
67/102, 810 yards, 5 touchdowns, 6 interceptions
6 carries, 6 yards
The Reaction:
For the second straight week, Eli Manning was underwhelming. And in related news, the New York Giants lost for the second straight week.
"Sometimes you are going to get beat and that is one thing, and sometimes the other team makes a play, but when you hurt yourself it is hard to overcome those things," was the quote that Manning offered after the game.
These interceptions are starting to pile up and become quite problematic for the Giants and their quarterback.
Eli is going to have to start making better decisions, but until he proves that he can, the gap between him and his older brother is just going to get wider.
No. 13 Joe Flacco (Last Week: No. 18)
20 of 34
Last Week:
24-17 win over the Cleveland Browns
22/31, 262 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
4 carries, -4 yards
This Season:
59/108, 664 yards, 4 touchdowns, 5 interceptions
11 carries, 7 yards
The Reaction:
Joe Flacco was on fire as he rebounded from a dreadful four-interception performance. Truthfully, he needed to be to get the victory over a shockingly impressive Browns attack.
The best part of the game, though, for the Ravens was the chemistry that Flacco and Boldin showed. If those two form a successful connection, the Ravens become a very hard team to beat. Such was the case in Week 3, as Boldin hauled in eight catches for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
The young quarterback also showed his mental toughness by recovering from his Week 2 interception-fest after he was lambasted by what seemed like everyone in the country.
No. 12 Chad Henne (Last Week: No. 15)
21 of 34
Last Week:
23-31 loss to the New York Jets
26/44, 363 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception
1 carry, 1 yard
This Season:
56/93, 659 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception
5 carries, 0 yards
The Reaction:
Chad Henne may have been handed his first loss of this still-young NFL season, but this was his most impressive performance of the season by far.
He showed a great rapport with standout wide receiver Brandon Marshall and delivered the ball with great success to Davone Bess, Brian Hartline, and Anthony Fasano.
This was the first game in which the ex-Wolverine was asked to throw the ball often, and he didn't disappoint. In fact, his one interception came on a fourth-and-goal play with 0:27 left in the fourth quarter. He had to throw the ball, but all his receivers were smothered by the Jets secondary.
Keep your eyes on Henne because he showed Sunday night that he can do it all.
No. 11 Mark Sanchez (Last Week: No. 16)
22 of 34
Last Week:
31-23 win over the Miami Dolphins
15/28, 256 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
1 carry, -1 yard
This Season:
46/79, 476 yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
7 carries, 6 cards
The Reaction:
Mark Sanchez looked very impressive in his Sunday night victory over the Miami Dolphins. It was the second straight standout performance for the young quarterback.
The USC product led quite a few long drives and showed great chemistry with both tight end Dustin Keller and controversial wide receiver Braylon Edwards.
This was the second straight game with three touchdown passes for Sanchez, who is enjoying quite the sophomore season thus far.
We could be watching a star in the making here.
No. 10 Matt Schaub (Last Week: No. 6)
23 of 34
Last Week:
13-27 loss to the Dallas Cowboys
23/32, 241 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions
This Season:
70/101, 645 yards, 5 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
4 carries, -1 yard
The Reaction:
A week after shredding the Washington secondary, the Texans quarterback was not that great.
He made one very un-Schaublike throw when he completely overthrew Andre Johnson and was picked off.
The only reason the Texans even scored a touchdown was because they were throwing in garbage time. With 1:17 left, Schaub found Kevin Walter for a seven-yard touchdown. Other than that, the Texans offense was pretty putrid.
Schaub always puts up great numbers and his team is already 2-1. Keep your heads up, Houston fans, he'll do better than this next week. And the week after that. And so on.
No. 9 Matt Ryan (Last Week: No. 10)
24 of 34
Last Week:
27-24 win over the New Orleans Saints
19/30, 228 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
6 carries, 26 yards
This Season:
67/106, 705 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 interception
14 carries, 36 yards
The Reaction:
Thanks to Matt Ryan, the defending champs have finally been defeated. It took overtime and a missed chip shot by Garrett Hartley, but the Falcons laid claim to the NFC South with a defeat of the New Orleans Saints.
Ryan showed off his decision-making skills by holding onto the ball all game, and showed off his arm and his feet. The Falcons converted on third down all day long against the Saints.
This should be an impressive season for Ryan, and he's off to a great start.
No. 8 Jay Cutler (Last Week: No. 7)
25 of 34
Last Week:
20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers
16/27, 221 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
3 carries, 37 yards
This Season:
60/91, 870 yards, 6 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
13 carries, 62 yards
The Reaction:
Cutler may have gotten the win over the hated Packers, but he wasn't really all that impressive.
The quarterback only ended up throwing one interception, but there were at least three other passes that should have been picked off. Cutler benefited from the self-implosion of Green Bay.
He still had a decent game, but not a great one.
The overthrows, underthrows, and poor decisions just don't leave good impressions on viewers of his performance.
No. 7 Tony Romo (Last Week: No. 8)
26 of 34
Last Week:
27-13 win over the Houston Texans
23/30, 284 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
1 carry, -1 yard
This Season:
88/128, 940 yards, 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
2 carries, -2 yards
The Reaction:
Last week I was pretty harsh on Romo, but this week I have to apologize.
The glamorous quarterback was the spark that ignited Dallas in their victory over the Houston Texans.
Romo showed great chemistry with Roy Williams as the ex-Longhorn hauled in two touchdown catches. He played well and was efficient throughout the game.
One caveat, though, before we let Romo re-establish himself as one of the elite quarterbacks in the game—we have to see another performance like this one.
The Houston secondary has been awful this season. In fact, this was the first week that they held the opposing quarterback to under 400 yards of passing.
No. 6 Michael Vick (Last Week: No. 11)
27 of 34
Last Week:
28-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars
17/31, 291 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
4 carries, 30 yards, 1 touchdown
This Season:
54/89, 750 yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
22 carries, 170 yards, 1 touchdown
The Reaction:
Michael Vick looks really really really good. Almost scary good.
The passes are tight spirals that find the small gaps in the defense and wind up in his talented receivers' hands. The runs are well-timed and successful. His pocket presence actually exists, unlike the Michael Vick who played for the Falcons.
He looks like an elite quarterback and is performing like one.
There is still reason to be skeptical. After all, Vick is under two years removed from prison, but he is starting to erase the doubt in my mind.
No. 5 Philip Rivers (Last Week: No. 5)
28 of 34
Last Week:
20-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks
29/53, 455 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
1 carry, 2 yards
This Season:
73/121, 1087 yards, 7 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
4 carries, 7 yards
The Reaction:
If only Philip Rivers could have played special teams and defense for the San Diego Chargers. Those were the units that lost the game for the Chargers, not the offense.
Rivers played very well throughout the game and set a new career-high and franchise record for passing yardage. He almost single-handedly kept his team in the game.
However, he did throw two interceptions and had to watch as his team fumbled the ball away three times. He also looked on in frustration as Leon Washington returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Rivers is good, but no one is good enough to make up for that many mistakes.
No. 4 Tom Brady (Last Week: No. 4)
29 of 34
Last Week:
38-30 win over the Buffalo Bills
21/27, 252 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
4 carries, 6 yards
This Season:
66/98, 758 yards, 8 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
4 carries, 6 yards
The Reaction:
Tom Brady bounced back from a bad outing as only Tom Brady can.
As Randy Moss said, "Coming in after making your halftime adjustments, it's just will and determination and wanting to do it. In the past, we stubbed our toe, but today was just good from all angles." The mercurial wide receiver caught just two passes for 42 yards, but both catches went for touchdowns.
Brady spread the ball around well, hitting seven different receivers during the game. He also had the benefit of a ground attack that rushed for 200 yards.
When Tom Brady is on, he's on. This was one of those days.
No. 3 Drew Brees (Last Week: No. 1)
30 of 34
Last Week:
24-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons
30/38, 365 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
This Season:
85/112, 856 yards, 6 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
4 carries, -6 yards
The Reaction:
The New Orleans Saints should have won this game, but Garrett Hartley failed to make a 32-yard field goal for the win.
Once again, Brees showed off his incredible accuracy, completing 30 of 38 passes for 365 yards against a good Falcons defense.
There's not too much to say here as one of the best quarterbacks in the game performed up to his normal standards.
No. 2 Aaron Rodgers (Last Week: No. 3)
31 of 34
Last Week:
17-20 loss to the Chicago Bears
34/45, 316 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
2 carries, 20 yards, 1 touchdown
This Season:
72/105, 759 yards, 5 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
12 carries, 49 yards, 2 touchdowns
The Reaction:
Aaron Rodgers turned in an MVP-quality performance on Monday Night Football, but somehow didn't come away with a win. That was thanks to his special teams, defense, and the franchise record-tying 17 penalties on the Green Bay Packers.
The quarterback still was unbelievable. His accuracy was impeccable and he showed off the wheels on a hard-nosed touchdown run towards the end of the game.
His interception shouldn't really be counted against him as it came on a desperation Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half.
Finally, his team should have won the game at the end, but James Jones fumbled away the ball, setting up the winning field goal for the Bears.
No. 1 Peyton Manning (Last Week: No. 2)
32 of 34
Last Week:
27-13 win over the Denver Broncos
27/43, 325 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
2 carries, -1 yard
This Season:
87/126, 1013 yards, 9 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
5 carries, -4 yards
The Reaction:
Searching for something negative to say about Peyton Manning...
Still searching...
Got it! Peyton Manning had negative rushing yards! He hurt his team in that area!
Seriously, though, Manning was pretty incredible for the third straight week. Look at those numbers and tell me that he doesn't belong at the top of the rankings now that Brees and the Saints are no longer undefeated.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Overall Rankings
33 of 34
1. Peyton Manning
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Drew Brees
4. Tom Brady
5. Philip Rivers
6. Michael Vick
7. Tony Romo
8. Jay Cutler
9. Matt Ryan
10. Matt Schaub
11. Mark Sanchez
12. Chad Henne
13. Joe Flacco
14. Eli Manning
15. Josh Freeman
16. Kyle Orton
17. Donovan McNabb
18. Vince Young
19. Sam Bradford
20. Matt Hasselbeck
21. Ryan Fitzpatrick
22. Brett Favre
23. Carson Palmer
24. Charlie Batch
25. Matt Cassel
26. Seneca Wallace
27. Alex Smith
28. Shaun Hill
29. Derek Anderson
30. Bruce Gradkowski
31. David Garrard
32. Jimmy Clausen
The Big Movers
34 of 34
Jumping Into The Rankings:
No. 30 Bruce Gradkowski
No. 24 Charlie Batch
Falling Out Of The Rankings:
Jason Campbell (Last Week: No. 32)
Byron Leftwich (Last Week: No. 26)
Biggest Risers:
Ryan Fitzpatrick: up 10 spots from No. 31 to No. 21
Michael Vick: up five spots from No. 11 to No. 6
Mark Sanchez: up five spots from No. 16 to No. 11
Joe Flacco: up five spots from No. 18 to No. 13
Sam Bradford: up four spots from No. 23 to No. 19
Biggest Fallers:
David Garrard: down nine spots from No. 22 to No. 31
Eli Manning: down five spots from No. 9 to No. 14
Matt Schaub: down four spots from No. 6 to No. 10
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