NFL starting quarterbacks ranked by QBR before Week 5: How high will Jayden Daniels rise?
NFL Overreactions Week 4
Mackenzie Salmon breaks down some of the biggest games from NFL week 4.
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Jayden Daniels burst onto the NFL scene the past two weeks by doing something nobody in league history had ever done before.
The Washington Commanders rookie soared into the top five of ESPN’s QBR rankings heading into Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season after a second-straight performance in which he completed at least 85 percent of his passes. That had never been done before in consecutive NFL games. The feat is just as much about the feeling it represents, a feeling that Daniels appears destined for something more with Washington (3-1) positioned well early as a surprise NFC East contender.
Josh Allen continues to lead the NFL in QBR in 2024, despite his worst performance of the season in the Bills’ Week 4 loss to the Ravens. Daniels is one of six quarterbacks, and the only first-time NFL starter, currently ranked among the top 10 in QBR that wasn’t among the group at the end of the 2023 season. He’s joined by Andy Dalton, Sam Darnold, Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray, Derek Carr and Geno Smith.
Here’s how the rest of the NFL’s quarterbacks rank based on QBR for the season, and how they did in terms of QBR during Week 4:
NFL WEEK 5 GAME PICKS: Expert predictions for every game
ESPN’s QBR, explained
Every week, ESPN gives each quarterback a QBR for their latest performance. According to ESPN, the rating is intended to “incorporate all of a quarterback’s contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers and penalties.”
QBR measures each play’s degree of success and how much credit the quarterback deserves for the play. The statistic also takes into account the strength of opposing defenses faced. The final result is an efficiency rating as a number on a 0-to-100-point scale. The cumulative rating is averaged out on a per-play basis across the course of the season.
Ranking NFL quarterbacks by total QBR ahead of Week 5
Here’s how every starting quarterback with at least 50 pass attempts this season stacks up before Week 5 of the NFL season, based on their 2024 QBR:
- Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (QBR: 82.3)
- Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers (76.1)
- Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (73.5)
- Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (73.3)
- Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (73.3)
- Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (70.8)
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (68.8)
- Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (68.1)
- Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (64.4)
- Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (63.9)
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (61.4)
- C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (61.3)
- Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (56.9)
- Daniel Jones, New York Giants (55.7)
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (54.9)
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (53.9)
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (52.9)
- Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (52.1)
- Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (50.1)
- Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (49.5)
- Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (48.2)
- Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (47.2)
- Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (44.4)
- Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (43.0)
- Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots (42.3)
- Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders (41.5)
- Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (41.4)
- Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (40.6)
- Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (31.1)
- Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (29.9)
- Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (24.6)
- Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (23.7)
- Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (9.4)
NFL Week 4 QBR leaders
Here’s how every starting quarterback did in Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season, based on their QBR:
- Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (42-29 win vs. Seahawks) — 95.1
- Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (42-14 win at Cardinals) — 89.4
- Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (34-24 win at Panthers) — 88.2
- Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (33-16 win vs. Eagles) — 74.8
- C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (24-20 win vs. Jaguars) — 74.8
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (20-15 win at Giants) — 73.8
- Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (31-29 win at Packers) — 72.5
- Joe Flacco, Indianapolis Colts (27-24 win vs. Steelers) — 66.8
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (17-10 win at Chargers) — 63.5
- Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (42-29 loss at Lions) — 63.3
- Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (31-29 loss vs. Vikings) — 61.7
- Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers (34-24 loss vs. Bengals) — 61.2
- Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (27-24 loss at Colts) — 60.4
- Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (30-13 win vs. Patriots) — 60.3
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (35-10 win vs. Bills) — 59.7
- Daniel Jones, New York Giants (20-15 loss vs. Cowboys) — 59.6
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (33-16 loss at Bucs) — 56.6
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (24-18 loss at Bears) — 54.0
- Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (24-20 loss at Texans) — 43.0
- Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders (20-16 win vs. Browns) — 40.2
- Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (26-24 loss at Falcons) — 39.7
- Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (24-18 win vs. Rams) — 39.1
- Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (20-16 loss at Raiders) — 36.4
- Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (10-9 win at Jets) — 35.5
- Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (35-10 loss at Ravens) — 32.4
- Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (10-9 loss vs. Broncos) — 31.6
- Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (26-24 win vs. Saints) — 28.5
- Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (42-14 loss vs. Commanders) — 28.2
- Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots (30-13 loss at 49ers) — 26.4
- Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (17-10 loss vs. Chiefs) — 21.4
- Tyler Huntley, Miami Dolphins (31-12 loss vs. Titans) — 12.1
- Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (31-12 win at Dolphins) — 0.8
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