Ranking NFL starting quarterbacks by QBR before Week 3: Derek Carr, Kyler Murray soar

Posted by September 16, 2024 NFL
Ranking NFL starting quarterbacks by QBR before Week 3: Derek Carr, Kyler Murray soar

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If there’s a theme to the first two weeks of the 2024 NFL season, perhaps it’s quarterback redemption stories. That, at least, is the story ESPN’s QBR is telling after Week 2.

Among the top five quarterbacks in the league thus far using this metric, only Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills finished ranked among the top five in QBR last season. Derek Carr takes over the top spot for the season after Week 2’s best performance in terms of QBR during the New Orleans Saints 44-19 shellacking of the Dallas Cowboys. He’s joined by Kyler Murray, Geno Smith and Sam Darnold – or a quartet of names nobody expected to be among the league’s passing leaders at any point this season.

Here’s how the rest of the NFL’s starting quarterbacks rank based on QBR heading into Week 3, and how they did in terms of QBR during Week 2:

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ESPN’s QBR explained

Every week, ESPN gives each quarterback a QBR (quarterback rating) 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 all NFL quarterbacks by total QBR ahead of Week 3

Here’s how every starting quarterback stacks up before Week 3 of the NFL season based on their 2024 QBR:

  1. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (QBR: 96.2)
  2. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (91.2)
  3. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (84.0)
  4. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (71.2)
  5. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (71.2)
  6. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccanneers (69.3)
  7. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (62.9)
  8. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (62.6)
  9. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (62.4)
  10. Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots (62.1)
  11. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (57.9)
  12. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (57.8)
  13. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (56.2)
  14. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (55.2)
  15. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (48.9)
  16. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (47.4)
  17. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (46.7)
  18. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (46.4)
  19. Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (45.9)
  20. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (45.9)*
  21. Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders (43.8)
  22. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (42.4)
  23. Daniel Jones, New York Giants (40.1)
  24. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (37.1)
  25. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (35.8)*
  26. Tua Tagovailova, Miami Dolphins (35.6)
  27. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (35.4)
  28. Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (35.3)
  29. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (25.1)
  30. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (24.0)
  31. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (23.9)
  32. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (8.9)

*Does not include Week 2 ‘Monday Night Football’ game

NFL Week 2 QBR leaders

Here’s how every starting quarterback did in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season based on their QBR:

  1. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (44-19 win at Dallas Cowboys) — QBR: 99.4
  2. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (41-10 win vs. Los Angeles Rams) — 98.2
  3. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (26-3 win at Carolina Panthers) — 87.9
  4. Malik Willis, Green Bay Packers (16-10 win vs. Indianapolis Colts) — 82.4
  5. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (31-10 win at Miami Dolphins) — 78.9
  6. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (23-20 OT win at New England Patriots) — 72.8
  7. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (26-25 loss at Kansas City Chiefs) — 65.9
  8. Daniel Jones, New York Giants (21-18 loss at Washington Commanders) — 63.3
  9. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (23-17 win vs. San Francisco 49ers) — 62.9
  10. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (19-13 win vs. Chicago Bears) — 57.7
  11. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (18-13 loss vs. Cleveland Browns) — 54.5
  12. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (44-19 loss vs. New Orleans Saints) — 52.9
  13. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (26-23 loss vs. Las Vegas Raiders) — 52.7
  14. Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders (26-23 win at Baltimore Ravens) — 51.4
  15. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccanneers (20-16 win at Detroit Lions) — 50.7
  16. Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (13-6 win at Denver Broncos) — 48.5
  17. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (24-17 win at Tennessee Titans) — 46.3
  18. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (23-17 loss at Minnesota Vikings) — 46.1
  19. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (21-18 win vs. New York Giants) — 45.9
  20. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (18-13 win at Jacksonville Jaguars) — 42.4
  21. Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots (23-20 OT loss vs. Seattle Seahawks) — 39.9
  22. Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (24-17 loss vs. New York Jets) — 37.9
  23. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (20-16 loss vs. Tampa Bay Buccanneers) — 36.1
  24. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (13-6 loss vs. Pittsburgh Steelers) — 32.1
  25. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (26-25 win vs. Cincinnati Bengals) — 30.6
  26. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (16-10 loss at Green Bay Packers) — 28.7
  27. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (41-10 loss at Arizona Cardinals) — 23
  28. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (19-13 loss at Houston Texans) — 21.4
  29. Tua Tagovailova, Miami Dolphins (31-10 loss vs. Buffalo Bills) — 17.8
  30. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (26-3 loss vs. Los Angeles Chargers) — 6.4

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