NFL Power Rankings Week 14: Ranking the 10 Best Quarterbacks
Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles proved they belong in the conversation when it comes to true NFC contenders with their 34-24 Thursday night win over the Houston Texans. Vick was as brilliant as he has been all season, passing for over 300 yards and accounting for three total touchdowns. If he is not the best quarterback in the NFL this season, he is certainly the most explosive.
If not Vick, though, who is the top signal-caller in the league? Where do stalwarts like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning fall? What about young guns like Matt Ryan? Read on for the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL today, along with a look at how they did in Week 13 and their matchup for Week 14.
10. Jay Cutler
1 of 10
For all the talk that Mike Martz has remained pass-happy in Chicago this season, Cutler and the Bears have begun to strike a fair balance. Cutler is not turning the ball over as often as he did early in the season, which has helped Chicago develop an offensive rhythm. The improved presence of the running game in recent weeks has kept pass rushers a bit more honest, giving Cutler chances to make better throws and decisions downfield.
The results of that progress were on display Sunday in Detroit, where Cutler completed 21 of 26 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown, all without throwing an interception. He may finally be finding his groove, though the Patriots (whom the Bears play Sunday in Chicago) will have plenty to say about that: They have to be riding high after crushing Mark Sanchez and the Jets on Monday night.
9. Peyton Manning
2 of 10
Manning proponents long scoffed at the notion that he was anything less than a savant, that the arsenal of weapons around him and the stellar offensive line in front of him fed at all into Manning's success. They have to be feeling nervous right about now.
Manning tossed four interceptions in Indianapolis's loss to Dallas this Sunday, the last a dooming pick within the final two minutes that set up the winning field goal for the Cowboys. He has now thrown 11 picks in the last three games, which would be an ugly and unacceptable stretch even for a mere mortal.
For Manning, it is a troubling sign that age and injury catch up to even the best. The Colts face lowly Tennessee Thursday night, and if Manning cannot right the ship, the team can wave goodbye to their playoff streak, which has stretched to nine years.
8. Kyle Orton
3 of 10
Orton played like a top-five quarterback for almost three-fourths of the season, an impressive stretch for an otherwise unimpressive talent. He completed only nine of his 28 passes Sunday in a loss to the Chiefs, though, and Orton's true colors showed: He is occasionally inaccurate and gets lazy on some apparently easy throws.
That said, he throws a great deep ball and makes all the throws necessary in the very aerial Denver system. Staying on pace to break Dan Marino's single-season record for passing yards for even 10 games is a tall order, and Orton has kept afloat an otherwise miserable team.
He also has not turned the ball over, notching 20 touchdowns on the year with only six interceptions. He should get a chance to light up the scoreboard more effectively this week in Arizona, where he and the Broncos take on the awful Cardinals.
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7. Ben Roethlisberger
4 of 10
Quickly developing a rapport with an offensive unit that missed him for the first part of the season, Roethlisberger has thrown 13 touchdown passes and just five interceptions on the season. He makes plays by looking off defenders effectively and throwing his receivers open, and he did enough to win against Baltimore in a key matchup on Sunday night: He completed 22 of 38 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown.
That performance was marred by an interception, too, but it came against one of the league's very best defenses in the Ravens. This Sunday, at home against the lowly Cincinnati Bengals, Roethlisberger should be in for a much bigger day. When he isn't doing despicable things with his offseasons, this guy is rapidly becoming one of the best quarterbacks of his generation.
6. Matt Cassel
5 of 10
When people talk about a quarterback who fits the mold of a game manager, that guy is usually forced to develop that strength in order to offset some shortcoming in his actual skill set as a passer. Not so with Cassel, who can make all the throws and demonstrates tremendous judgment: He acts as a detached game manager because, with the best rushing attack in the league at his back, he can afford not to take many risks.
Cassel completed 17 of 31 passes Sunday, one of which went for the game's only touchdown. Importantly, in a game like that one against Denver, he did not turn the ball over. Only Tom Brady has a touchdown-to-interception ratio better than Cassel's 23-to-four figure for the year. If he can keep the offense moving this week in San Diego without turning it over, the Chiefs could be in really good position to win the AFC West.
5. Aaron Rodgers
6 of 10
Even in his usual green and gold, Rodgers is a lethal presence with the ability to carve up defenses in a dozen different ways. He runs more effectively than any non-Vick quarterback in the game today, but he keeps his eyes downfield in case a big play opens up.
With the Packers decked out in unquestionably cool throwback unis Sunday, Rodgers threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns in a rout of San Francisco. Green Bay is by no means comfortable in its pursuit of a playoff berth, but they control their own destiny and have Detroit on the schedule in Week 14. Rodgers should be able to carve up the Lions just the way Brady and Cutler have the last two weeks: Let the pass rush come, take your licks and get the ball out often enough to burn a bad secondary.
4. Drew Brees
7 of 10
After a really trying start, the defending champion Saints have found put on their winning shoes and are on a tear. Brees has recovered from an early-season stumble to become once again the smart and resilient leader of an elite passing offense.
He completed 24 of 29 passes Sunday, totaling 313 yards and accounting for two touchdowns as the Saints edged the Bengals. New Orleans will now welcome in NFC West-leading St. Louis (try to hold your laughter) for a Week 14 beat-down, and Brees should find that defense nearly as navigable as Cincinnati's.
3. Philip Rivers
8 of 10
For a while there, it looked like Rivers could make history for the Chargers. he was on pace, early on, to break Marino's passing record himself.
That has gone by the boards, as have San Diego's playoff hopes with a second loss to the Raiders Sunday. They can at least spoil the fun for Cassel's Chiefs this Sunday in San Diego, but the Chargers are not viable contenders at this point.
Still, Rivers is not to blame. He completed 23 of 39 passes for 280 yards Sunday, and now has over 3,600 yards for the season. He also has 24 touchdowns, third-most in the league, against 10 interceptions.
2. Michael Vick
9 of 10
Whatever Rodgers might be able to do with his feet, no quarterback in history (and certainly none in the league right now) has brought the kind of chaos to bear against NFL defenses that Vick does.
He can hurt his opponents in every possible way, and his performance on Thursday night proved that. Vick threw for 302 yards, added 48 on the ground and scored three times (twice through the air and once on the ground). He did throw his second interception in as many games, but then, it was also his second interception of the season.
A big-time showdown with the suddenly red-hot Cowboys on Sunday night will go a long way toward determining the Eagles' playoff position (or lack thereof), so Vick has to be ready for yet another prime-time showcase. In fact, Vick will face the Cowboys twice in the final four weeks, so what he learns from Sunday night's skirmish could be crucial in Week 17.
1. Tom Brady
10 of 10
For all Vick's explosiveness, Brady's lethal precision and his ability to make his receivers and running backs better makes him the NFL's signal-caller non pareil. He has 27 touchdowns and only four picks on the season, and his passer rating is a silly-good 109.5.
In the biggest game of the season so far for New England, Brady went off on the Jets for 326 yards, four touchdowns and (or so it seemed watching) not one single true mistake. He was perfect.
If he can do that to the Jets' vaunted defense, he should manage just fine against the Bears this Sunday. He must be careful, though, because Chicago's defense may just be the best in football right now, and the team shut down Vick only two weeks ago.
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