I saw the real Patrick Mahomes on Sunday, not the one we’ve seen for the better part of the past couple of years. And the rest of the NFL should be very afraid.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I saw a brutally honest Cam Ward in no mood to sugarcoat his own struggles — or those of the Titans overall.
“If we’re keeping it a buck right now,” the No. 1 pick said postgame, “we ass.”
Also in Week 4, I saw 37-year-old Matthew Stafford execute his 50th career game-winning drive and rookie Jaxson Dart give Giants fans hope in his first NFL start.
Welcome to the latest edition of the QB Stock Market, where we monitor the performance fluctuations of quarterbacks throughout the season. This is a weekly pulse of the starting passers in the NFL, as opposed to a pure ranking on their talent and pedigree.
Previous:Preseason, Week 1, 2, 3, 4
Now, let’s dive in to the rankings for Week 5:
Josh Allen threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns in an easy win over the Saints on Sunday. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Lamar Jackson had a bad week.
He was having his worst performance of the season against Kansas City up until the third quarter, when he suffered a hamstring injury and did not return. He reportedly could miss up to three games.
Before exiting Sunday’s game, Jackson committed his first two turnovers of the season (one interception, one lost fumble). According to Next Gen Stats, he was pressured on 48.1% of his dropbacks, the highest rate he had faced in a game since Week 4 of 2023. And he struggled against that pressure, going 4-for-9 for 62 yards and an interception.
Injuries happen. But while Jackson was available, once again he failed to rise to the occasion against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. The Ravens were trailing 27-14 when Jackson exited the game, which just further feeds into the narrative that surrounds him. The two-time MVP is now 1-6 against Mahomes, including playoffs.
Jackson is still a top-three quarterback. He’s arguably the NFL’s most talented player pound-for-pound. But his shortcomings against his elite peers, the uncertainty around his injury and the Ravens’ struggles threaten to bring his stock down moving forward.
Mahomes put together a vintage performance in Sunday’s blowout victory over the Ravens, throwing for 270 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and an impressive 124.3 passer rating. In the process, he became the fastest player in NFL history to throw for 250 touchdowns.
It all served as a reminder that when Mahomes has adequate help around him, he is still that quarterback — the greatest of his era. Kansas City had wide receiver Xavier Worthy back after missing two games with a dislocated shoulder, and his speed and downfield ability helped open up the field for Mahomes. Meanwhile, rookie left tackle Josh Simmons is helping the offensive line make steady improvement — all four of Mahomes’ touchdown passes came from a clean pocket, per NGS. He was pressured on just 22.0% of his dropbacks against Baltimore, his lowest rate in a game this year.
Yes, Mahomes’ best performance of the season came against a banged-up Baltimore defense that has been terrible to start the year. But the arrow is pointing up for him. He has Worthy back. Rashee Rice, his top receiver, has just two weeks left of his suspension. Kansas City is coming off a game in which nine different receivers caught passes. Four had touchdowns. The offensive line is making strides.
After an ugly start to the season, the Chiefs are figuring it out on offense. Mahomes looking like his old self moving forward is a good bet.
It’s difficult not to marvel at Matthew Stafford.
Just two months ago, we were forced to think seriously about the Rams’ future at quarterback. Stafford was sidelined at training camp, a result of aggravating a disk in his back during the offseason. Add being 37 years old on top of that, and with the beating his body has taken over 16 years in the NFL, the end seemed rapidly approaching.
But now, no one is thinking about that. Stafford is showing us all that he’s still an elite quarterback. His performance Sunday was the best of his several great showings to start 2025 — a 70.7% completion rate for 375 yards (a career-high with the Rams) and three touchdowns, including the game-winning 88-yarder to receiver Tutu Atwell (the longest touchdown throw of Stafford’s career).
Stafford’s greatness was on full display, as he completed 9 of 10 passes for 172 yards and both scores with a perfect 158.3 passer rating on the Rams’ final two possessions. He’s now up to 50 game-winning drives for his career, fifth-most all time. For the season, he’s second in passing yards (1,114) and tied for third in touchdown passes (8).
The Rams will eventually have to address the quarterback of the future question. But if Stafford keeps playing like this, they can kick that can farther down the road.
Prescott has been playing at a high level to start this season, and he had his best performance yet in the Cowboys’ 40-40 tie with the Packers on Sunday night.
The three-time Pro Bowler completed 77.5% of his passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions and a 124.9 passer rating. He led three scoring drives in the fourth quarter and overtime, including two touchdowns. He stepped up to the occasion with his No. 1 receiver, CeeDee Lamb, out due to injury.
After missing nine games last season with a hamstring injury, Prescott has quickly reminded the NFL world that he can put up numbers with the best quarterbacks in football. Leading Dallas’ No. 1 passing offense through four weeks, he currently ranks first in passing yards (1,119) and completions (121), ranks third in completion rate (72.9%) and tied for 12th in touchdown passes (6).
Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hurts went toe to toe in Tampa on Sunday, with Hurts’ running ability being the deciding factor in the Eagles’ 31-25 victory. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Daniel Jones’ win streak as Colts QB came to an end as he threw two interceptions against the Rams. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
With Jayden Daniels out the past couple of weeks due to injury, Drake Maye has stolen the spotlight of the second-year quarterback class.
Last year’s No. 3 overall pick had arguably his best game as a pro in New England’s 42-13 thrashing of the Panthers on Sunday, completing 82.4% of his passes for 203 yards and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) with no interceptions and a career-high 155.6 passer rating.
The leap that Maye has made from a promising rookie year hasn’t been big. It’s been massive. He’s operating Josh McDaniels’ offense at an extremely high level, despite the below-average supporting cast surrounding him. Plus, he’s been more vocal as a leader.
Among the 33 qualified passers, Maye ranks first in completion rate (74.0%), fourth in EPA per dropback, fifth in passer rating (109.4), tied for eight in touchdown passes (8) and sixth in completions (91), passing yards (988) and yards per attempt (8.0), according to Next Gen Stats.
He has completed at least 75% of his passes and thrown at least two passing touchdowns in each of the last three games. Only Tom Brady (2007) has had a longer single-season streak in league history.
Maye is shaping to be a mainstay in the top half of the QB Stock Market.
Caleb Williams was hounded by Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby all day, but the second-year QB did just enough to help the Bears beat Las Vegas 25-24. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
Tua Tagovailoa threw two touchdown passes to lead the Dolphins to their first win, but he lost his WR1 for the rest of the season when Tyreek Hill suffered a dislocated left knee and torn ligaments. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
Jaxson Dart’s first NFL start was very encouraging.
He showed toughness and moxy against a very good Chargers’ defense. He did plenty of damage with his legs, showing his athleticism. He helped the Giants seal the game with a third-and-5 passing conversion with just over two minutes remaining, forcing Los Angeles to use its final timeout.
Coach Brian Daboll needed a positive outcome from Dart’s first start, with pressure continuing to mount on his job security, and his faith in the first-round rookie was rewarded. Daboll and Dart shared a very cool moment on the field postgame.
Jaxson Dart and Giants coach Brian Daboll celebrate New York’s win over the Chargers in the rookie quarterback’s first NFL start. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
But it’s fair to be concerned about what will happen next.
Dart won’t have No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers, who tore his ACL Sunday and will miss the rest of the season. That’s obviously a big blow to an offense that already wasn’t very good around Dart.
And as a rookie, the former Ole Miss standout has a long way to go in his development. He wasn’t particularly impressive as a passer in his debut. His footwork is a work in progress. He appeared to miss a protection check early in Sunday’s game, leading to him taking a big hit for a sack.
The Saints, up next on New York’s schedule, aren’t particularly intimidating. But then the Giants have the Eagles twice, the Broncos (elite defense) and the 49ers in a four-week span. Talk about a gauntlet for a rookie quarterback.
We’re going to quickly learn what Dart is made of.
The Jaguars have started the season 3-1, but that’s mostly because of Travis Etienne Jr. and the running game rather than anything Trevor Lawrence is doing. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Isolating Cam Ward’s performance from the surrounding ineptitude in Tennessee’s 26-0 loss to the Texans is very difficult. But when you do, he still played poorly this past week.
Early in the fourth quarter, the No. 1 pick put a bit too much mustard on a side-arm throw to rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, who had to reach behind his body to try to make the catch. The ball bounced off his hands and into the grasp of Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. for the pick.
When he was not pressured by Houston, Ward completed just 43.8% of his passes for 42 yards (he had 108 for the game), according to Next Gen Stats.
At the same time, he showed that throwing across his body just might be second nature to him. On Tennessee’s opening drive, he hit Ayomanor for 33 yards — a play that was awfully similar to their touchdown connection in Week 2 against the Rams.
This has been Ward’s rookie season in a nutshell: one or two jaw-dropping plays a game, the kind that make you believe in his upside, amid the Titans’ sloppy offensive football. That sloppiness is mostly due to those around Ward (coaching, personnel), but also occasionally because of him, too.
Among the 33 qualified quarterbacks, Ward is last in completion rate (51.2%) and touchdown passes (2), 32nd in passer rating (63.9) and 31st in EPA per dropback through four weeks. His play should improve with reps, but clawing out of the bottom third of quarterback play in the NFL as a rookie seems like a stretch.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox?Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
What did you consider this story?
really useful
Merchandise 1 of three
Get more from the National Football LeagueFollow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
