With the dust now settled on Week 6, let’s take a look at how all 28 starters ranked with their performances. Using PFN’s Insights QB+ metric, we can analyze each performance in the historical context of all individual game performances since the 2019 season.
We look at a handful of metrics, including net yards per attempt (nYPA), third-down conversion rate, passing under pressure, and passing from a clean pocket. Additionally, we have quantified performances in clutch situations using metrics from different key scenarios within a game.
By no means is QB+ the perfect metric, and we will continue to develop it over the course of the season and beyond. However, when we analyzed it against the past five years, the results were extremely indicative of what we saw on the field while providing enough nuance away from traditional statistics for measuring quarterback play.
1) Lamar Jackson, BAL (vs. WAS)
- Score: 76.1 (A-)
Entering Week 6, all the talk was about whether Jayden Daniels was on track to be the superior quarterback to Lamar Jackson. Whether he had listened to that or not, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback proved a point this week, producing the ninth-best QB+ performance of the season and his third top-15 performance in 2024.
After starting the season slowly, Jackson has now put together four straight weeks with a QB+ score of 70 or above, with his worst in that stretch being 70.7 in Week 5. He finished Week 6 second in third-down conversion rate (60%) and net yards per attempt (11.8). Additionally, Jackson was fourth in pressured EPA (expected points added) per dropback (0.1) and clutch performance.
2) Jared Goff, DET (at DAL)
- Score: 76.0 (A-)
Jared Goff has put together two impressive performances in his last two games, both of which rank in the top 10 QB+ performances so far this season. Both games have seen him return a QB+ over 75, with his Week 4 performance having been an incredible 95, ranking fourth in our database since 2019.
Goff did not patch those heady heights, but he was first at the position when throwing out of a clean pocket and in terms of nYPA (11.9). He was also sixth in pressured EPA per dropback, all of which helped him cover up a rather mediocre third-down conversion rate.
Goff is looking in incredible form, and this is helping guide the Lions towards becoming one of the most feared offenses in the NFL.
3) Jalen Hurts, PHI (vs. WAS)
- Score: 74.4 (B+)
Heading into the Philadelphia Eagles’ bye week, Jalen Hurts’ season had been on the decline. He has steadily produced lower QB+ results through each of the first four weeks, but he turned that around in a big way in Week 6 against a good Cleveland Browns defense.
Hurts was particularly good at the end of the game, boosting his overall clutch number to above average for the entire game. He also finished second in passing from a clean pocket and nYPA (10.2). Hurts wasn’t great under pressure or on third downs, though, returning below-average results for both.
A big part of Hurts’ improvement can likely be attributed to getting both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith back. He had been without Brown since the opening game of the season, while Smith had missed Week 4 in the concussion protocol. Having both back considerably improves the Eagles’ passing game and should help Hurts going forward.
4) Caleb Williams, CHI (vs. JAX)
- Score: 73.2 (B+)
Caleb Williams’ steady improvement continued in Week 6, as he produced his second-straight QB+ over 70 this season. Williams did a superb job against the Jacksonville Jaguars, getting the ball out quickly and throwing for four touchdowns in London.
Caleb Williams set career-highs in success rate (58.8%), TD passes (4) and CPOE (+12.5%) in the Bears 35-16 victory over the Jaguars.
Williams excelled on quick passes, completing 13 of 14 passes for 111 yards & 3 TD (9 first downs).
Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/N8B98elTa2
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 13, 2024
The last two games have seen him feast on bad defenses, with the Carolina Panthers and Jaguars ranking in the bottom three of PFN’s Defense+ metric so far this year. Williams was especially excellent on third down, converting 62.5% of the time, and was a top-five quarterback in Week 6 when throwing from a clean pocket.
The good news for Williams is that the Bears’ next game comes against the Commanders, who have the sixth-worst unit according to Defense+ and just gave up a 76.5 to Jackson. After that, he has matchups against the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots, who are both in the bottom eight units according to Defense+.
5) Jordan Love, GB (vs. ARI)
- Score: 72.2 (B+)
Hopefully, Week 6 can be the turning point for Jordan Love’s 2024 season. Through the first five weeks he had not finished with a QB+ above 59 from his three starts. He improved across the board this week but especially excelled when it came to third-down conversion rate (60%), finishing second in the league.
Love was also the best quarterback in the league this week when pressured and backed that up with a top-five ranking when throwing from a clean pocket. All of that led to him finishing sixth in nYPA at 8.1. This was also the second-best performance by QB+ of Love’s relatively short career and a promising sign for the Packers going forward.
6) Baker Mayfield, TB (at NO)
- Score: 69.4 (B)
Baker Mayfield is doing a fantastic job of dispelling any concerns that the departure of Dave Canales would see him take a step back. Week 6 was his third QB+ score over 70, and the Buccaneers advanced to 4-2.
Mayfield was impressive in clutch situations, especially when in the opponent’s half and when it was just a one-score game early in the fourth quarter. He also ranked in the top five when it came to third-down conversion rate (55.6%) and nYPA (8.8).
The combination of Mayfield and offensive coordinator Liam Coen has guided the Buccaneers to a top-five ranking in terms of PFN’s Offense+ this season. While many expected regression, this unit and Mayfield are thriving. He has already matched the number of QB+ scores over 70 (three) that he had in the entirety of last season.
7) Josh Allen, BUF (at NYJ)
- Score: 69.3 (B)
Josh Allen bounced back in a nice way in Week 6 after a tough couple of games in a row. This was his third-best game of the season and he essentially finished as a top-10 quarterback across the board in the individual metrics we look at.
Monday Night Quarterback Spotlight 🎯
Josh Allen: 3rd-highest CPOE in a game in his career (+12.7%); 10/14, 104 yards, 2 TD against man coverage
Aaron Rodgers: 221 of 294 yards against two-high safeties; All 3 sacks against the blitz (18.4% blitz rate)#BUFvsNYJ | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/dNSffhCY13
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 15, 2024
The only thing Allen was top five in was throwing under pressure, with every other element coming in between sixth and 10th. When you compare this performance to the last two, nearly everything was an improvement, with the biggest increases coming in third-down conversion rate and nYPA.
Given that Allen’s performance came against one of the best defenses in the NFL, it’s a promising sign that he’s put the struggles of the last couple of weeks behind him.
8) Brock Purdy, SF (at SEA)
- Score: 68.3 (B)
Brock Purdy produced his second-best performance of the season, a QB+ just below 70, last Thursday. Purdy has been remarkably consistent this season, with all six games grading between 61.4 and 72.4. He’s gone from Mr. Irrelevant to Mr. Reliable for the San Francisco 49ers, and it provides stability for the team.
Purdy ranked inside the top five in EPA per dropback when under pressure and nYPA (9.1). He was also very good in the fourth quarter, an area that the 49ers have struggled in recent weeks.
In the grand scheme of his short career, 2024 has been a bit of a struggle for Purdy. Only his Week 4 performance would rank inside the top 10 of his career single-game QB+ returns, with the rest merely hovering around average or just below. Last season, Purdy produced seven performances with a QB+ of 74.5 or above.
9) Kirk Cousins, ATL (at CAR)
- Score: 66.0 (B)
In the context of finishing last week with a QB+ over 70, this week might seem a little disappointing for Kirk Cousins, yet it was still his second-best performance by QB+ this season. The only area he struggled this week was throwing under pressure, finishing 24th among qualified QBs (26).
Cousins did put together his best performance of the season in clutch situations, which ultimately proved to be the difference in a game that seemed to be in the balance for a long period of time. Overall, Cousins finished in the top 10 this week in clutch performance, passing from a clean pocket, third-down conversion rate, and nYPA.
10) Justin Herbert, LAC (at DEN)
- Score: 64.6 (B-)
Justin Herbert may not have looked 100% healthy in Week 6, but coming off the bye week, he produced his best QB+ of the 2024 season. The Los Angeles Chargers QB finished in the top 10 in terms of passing from a clean pocket and third-down conversion rate.
Herbert is still a little way from producing his very best under the combination of Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman. During his career, he has produced 14 games with a QB+ over 70. The improvement is there, and the positive for the Chargers is that they are 3-2 without yet getting the very best from their quarterback under the new system.
11) Aaron Rodgers, NYJ (vs. BUF)
- Score: 63.3 (B-)
Much like his opponent (Allen), Aaron Rodgers also improved under the bright lights of Monday Night Football. However, he did not match his best performance of the season, which came in Week 3 against the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football.
Clearly, Rodgers enjoys playing under the glare of a prime-time audience because his best three outings this year have all been in those situations. In earlier kickoffs, whether in London or the 1 p.m. window, he’s failed to produce a QB+ of 60 or above.
Despite the improvement this week compared to last, Rodgers’ game still has plenty to improve. He finished the week second in throwing under pressure, but compared to our full database, his performance was only slightly above average. He was eighth in nYPA (7.8) on the week, but that was actually a below-average performance in our database.
Rodgers really struggled when it came to converting on third downs, doing so at a rate of just 27.3%, which ranked 22nd out of 28 qualifying quarterbacks.
There are two ways to look at this performance. You can either view it as a promise of more to come or as close to his upside-type performance, which isn’t all that exciting for Jets fans.
12) Jayden Daniels, WAS (at BAL)
- Score: 63.1 (B-)
A slightly worrying trend has started to form for Daniels over the last month. His QB+ has now dropped for four games in a row, a trend he will hope to reverse this week. Daniels still returned a score above 60, but compared to the heights of scores in the 70+ area in Weeks 3 and 4, there has been a drop off in performance.
The only thing Daniels excelled at this week was passing from a clean pocket, where he finished third. However, other than finishing 11th in nYPA (7.2), he was average or below in all of our other metrics.
There is no immediate cause for alarm, but while we are seeing Williams improve week over week, Daniels saw his peak in Week 3 and has regressed since then. We’re still talking about a relatively small sample size, and we have no historical context for where Daniels’ average QB+ may end up settling.
13) C.J. Stroud, HOU (at NE)
- Score: 59.2 (C+)
Given the way the Houston Texans dominated the Patriots this week, you may have expected to find C.J. Stroud higher on this list. However, he didn’t have a great game in any aspect.
Stroud only threw for 192 yards and completed 20 of 31 throws. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t excellent, either.
Stroud didn’t rank inside the top 10 in any of our metrics and was as low as 21st out of the 28 qualified quarterbacks this week when it came to nYPA (5.7). The fact he threw for three touchdowns and the team put up 41 points is probably more telling about the Patriots’ defense this year than anything Stroud did.
Other than nYPA, Stroud wasn’t particularly bad in any particular metric. He did a solid job from a clean pocket but was mediocre under pressure, which is something he will need to improve as time goes on.
14) Joe Burrow, CIN (at NYG)
- Score: 57.2 (C+)
Joe Burrow’s continuous improvement as a passer came to a screeching halt in Week 6. He did provide a fantastic moment with his 47-yard scamper for a touchdown, but that’s not heavily factored into his QB+ score.
Aside from that, Burrow did a solid job, but nothing in the passing game anyone will particularly remember.
Joe Burrow completed every pass he threw in the quick passing game, but was less effective when holding for 2.5 seconds.
🔸 Quick (U2.5): 12/12, 99 yards (+17.1% CPOE)
🔸 Long (O2.5): 7/16, 109 yards (-2.7% CPOE)Burrow averaged the 2nd-longest TTT of his career (3.10 seconds). pic.twitter.com/3f2zPQOujA
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 14, 2024
For the most part, Burrow’s numbers are perfectly fine. They’re not the top-10 returns we would expect from a player of his quality, but not every game can be incredible. The only slight area of concern will be that this was his worst performance when pressured this season.
It’s concerning because Burrow has now posted four games in which his performance under pressure was below average. In terms of historical context, he’s only performed above average against pressure on 12 occasions in his 58 qualifying games. It’s not Burrow’s strongest trait, so it becomes imperative that the offensive line can keep rushers out of his face.
15) Trevor Lawrence, JAX (vs. CHI)
- Score: 56.9 (C+)
Trevor Lawrence typically ups his game a little when he goes to London, and in some ways, that was true this week against the Bears. This was Lawrence’s second-best game of the season, but it was a significant downgrade on his performance in Week 5.
The biggest concern in Lawrence’s numbers is that he was 27th out of 28 quarterbacks when throwing out of a clean pocket. Granted, there were a number of drops, including four potential touchdowns that slipped through the grasp of receivers. Those could have made a significant impact on Lawrence’s numbers this week.
Lawrence was actually relatively good in clutch situations, but it could have been even better if those TD opportunities had been taken. There are still major concerns about Lawrence’s performance, so we’re not making excuses for him. He needs a big game against the Patriots this week.
16) Geno Smith, SEA (vs. SF)
- Score: 56.2 (C+)
There’s not much to really say about Geno Smith’s performance. As the 17th-placed ranking out of 28 qualified quarterbacks, it largely reflects what the numbers say — average.
Once again, it fell in the 54-to-65 region of QB+ scoring that all six of Smith’s outings have been within this season.
Ultimately, when you consider who Smith is, he is a league-average QB who won’t cost you games but won’t win you many on his own. The biggest outlier in his performance this week was a 23rd-ranked passing performance from a clean pocket, and it was his lowest return out of those situations this season.
17) Joe Flacco, IND (at TEN)
- Score: 56.2 (C+)
Week 6 couldn’t have gone much better for the Indianapolis Colts. They got the win, but Joe Flacco didn’t look as good as he had in previous victories. That may seem odd to be a positive, but another strong performance from Flacco and there may have been questions raised over who should start going forward. That noise will be a little quieter this week.
Flacco particularly struggled when throwing out of a clean pocket, ranking 22nd in Week 6. That had been his strength in the previous weeks and, combined with a 24th ranking in nYPA (5.0), were the biggest difference-makers in his performance compared to his previous two qualifying appearances.
18) Drake Maye, NE (vs. HOU)
- Score: 55.6 (C+)
There are certainly some positives to take from Drake Maye’s first start of the season. We didn’t expect it to be perfect and it wasn’t, but there are certainly elements of good, especially how he performed in clutch spots throughout the game.
When we compare it to the first starts from other rookie quarterbacks this season, Maye’s 56.6 QB+ score is above the Week 1 performances from Williams and Bo Nix and only marginally below that of Daniels. Given the relative lack of talent he has around him compared to Williams and Daniels, plus being without his starting RB, this is an encouraging beginning.
Maye’s biggest area for improvement is playing under pressure. This week, he ranked 25th in that category. He will then need to be more consistent on third downs, having converted on just 23.1% of opportunities. Perhaps the most important thing for New England and Maye is that this was a better QB+ score than Jacoby Brissett recorded in his five weeks as the starter.
19) Deshaun Watson, CLE (at PHI)
- Score: 55.5 (C+)
Deshaun Watson may have posted his best QB+ score of the season, but the context will tell you that it was still a pretty mediocre performance. Watson’s Week 6 outing ranked 104th out of 178 qualified quarterback performances this season and 1,680th out of 2,838 in our database.
There is nothing to point to that Watson did particularly well, especially relative to the rest of the league. There is also nothing you can say he made a massive improvement in this week, which is not ideal. The best thing you can say is that it was Watson’s most complete performance of the season to date.
While the focus here is on Week 6, it’s worth pointing out that Watson is on pace to post the worst season-long QB+ of any qualified quarterback since 2019. His 9.6 QB+ is below that of Alex Smith (2020; 17.9), Brissett (2024; 20.9), Zach Wilson (2021; 21.2), and Bryce Young (2023; 21.3).
20) Bo Nix, DEN (vs. LAC)
- Score: 55.5 (C+)
We’re starting to see something that resembles consistency from Nix in recent weeks. Three of his last four performances have finished with a QB+ above 50, and all of them have very similar profiles in terms of where he succeeded or struggled.
The biggest positive from Week 6 is that Nix was eighth in the league at passing when pressured. That was his best performance when pressured this season, and hopefully, it’s something he can build on in the coming weeks.
We still need to see improvement from him in his third-down conversion rate. Nix’s 27.3% ranked 22nd on the week, yet it was tied for his second-best performance in that metric. With a high of just 36.4%, Nix needs to figure out his go-to third-down options. Granted, that’s not easy with a relatively inexperienced group around him.
21) Justin Fields, PIT (at LV)
- Score: 55.3 (C+)
Yes, Justin Fields finished 22nd this week in QB+, and this was his second-worst performance of the season within our metric. Yet, this is a player who has posted QB+ scores between 55 and 66.2 this season — which is a higher floor and ceiling than we’ve seen from Smith.
2️⃣ for 2️⃣
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/W1WlGJDvvR
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 13, 2024
Taking further positives, Fields posted his best performance when pressured this season, having posted his lowest last week. He ranked seventh in the league in pressured EPA per dropback this week. Additionally, he added 59 yards and two touchdowns with his legs, an element that is not heavily weighted in QB+.
Just to point out where the improvements could come, he was 22nd in the league in third-down conversion rate (27.3%), which was also a season-low. Additionally, Fields was second from last in nYPA (4.6), posting his second-lowest number of the season there as well. Both areas should hopefully see some regression in the coming weeks.
22) Kyler Murray, ARI (at GB)
- Score: 54.6 (C)
The good news for Kyler Murray is that his Week 6 performance stopped a downward trend that has seen his QB+ scores slipping toward the 30s. His last three games prior to Week 6 all had a QB+ below 50, with some particularly alarming numbers creeping in.
This week, Murray improved his passing from a clean pocket and finished with his second-best nYPA (6.7) of the year. He continued to struggle on third downs, converting just 14.3% (27th). In the last four weeks, his highest conversion rate has been 30%, which is a long way from the 62.5% and 63.6% he converted in the first two weeks.
Outside of that Week 2 explosion against the Los Angeles Rams, Murray’s best QB+ has been 61.2 in Week 1, which would have ranked outside the top 12 quarterbacks this week.
23) Andy Dalton, CAR (vs. ATL)
- Score: 53.0 (C)
Andy Dalton bounced back a little in Week 6 after his performance dropped off sharply in Week 5. However, even with that bounce back, he still finished 23rd among 28 qualified quarterbacks this week.
We’ve seen a wide spectrum of results from Dalton in 2024. After posting a QB+ of 69 in his first start, he sunk as low as 44 last week. Nothing really stood out as an aberration from previous results, with his third-down conversion rate and performances in the clutch being areas that could improve.
Dalton finished the week 20th in nYPA (5.8), 21st in passing from a clean pocket, and 22nd in passing under pressure. Those are all areas he needs to improve, but whether he can improve significantly at this stage of his career is a different question.
24) Will Levis, TEN (vs. IND)
- Score: 49.7 (C-)
There’s not much to be overly enthusiastic about with Will Levis’ performances to this point of the season. This was his third-best QB+ of his four qualified starts in 2024, but there’s a lot left to be improved. This was also Levis’ third-worst performance in QB+ in his short career, with two of the bottom three coming this season.
He was fine when passing under pressure, and his passing from a clean pocket was average for him this year. The problem is that Levis’ average this year is 20th in the league, showing where he is right now as a passer. He was also last in nYPA at 3.5, nearly a full yard below Fields’ 27th. Amazingly, that wasn’t even his worst performance by that metric this season.
The pressure is starting to grow on Levis and the Titans’ coaches. The problem is that we have a second-year QB learning a new system, compounding any concerns around his game. If we don’t see improvement in the second half of the season, Tennessee is potentially going to be a team linked to drafting a quarterback this offseason.
25) Aidan O’Connell, LV (vs. PIT)
- Score: 48.4 (C-)
Aidan O’Connell’s first start of the season did not offer much encouragement that he could be the future of the Las Vegas Raiders. The only performance worse than this from Gardner Minshew II was in Week 4 when he posted a QB+ of 46.7 in a narrow victory over the Cleveland Browns.
O’Connell held up okay when pressured but struggled mightily when passing from a clean pocket, posting the 25th-ranked result in those situations. He was also 23rd in terms of nYPA (5.5) and dead last in third-down conversion rate (12.5%).
Taking over mid-season is not easy, and the Steelers are a tough matchup for opposing quarterbacks. O’Connell should get a run as a starter, but things need to improve considerably if he is to make a case for this job beyond just 2024.
26) Daniel Jones, NYG (vs. CIN)
- Score: 47.4 (C-)
After a promising run of four games with a QB+ above 50, Daniel Jones struggled in Week 6, posting his second score below 50 this season. He was especially bad under pressure, posting by far his worst result of the season and the second-worst performance of the week.
Jones also finished third from last in passing from a clean pocket and fourth from last in nYPA (4.6). Those were his second-worst performances in those metrics this season. Add in that he posted a negative result in clutch situations, and it was just a messy game all around.
27) Spencer Rattler, NO (vs. TB)
- Score: 45.2 (C-)
Spencer Rattler certainly had promising moments in his first NFL start, even if the overall outcome was messy in terms of the result and QB+. The numbers look ugly, ranking 22nd in nYPA (5.5), 23rd when pressured, and 24th when passing from a clean pocket, but nYPA was really the only one where it was fairly poor in a historical context.
The other area Rattler struggled with was in clutch situations, especially early in the fourth quarter when the New Orleans Saints were still in the game. However, the Saints are dealing with several injuries on offense, and Rattler was thrown into the fire. Hopefully, he can improve as he plays more.
28) Dak Prescott, DAL (vs. DET)
- Score: 39.3 (D+)
Sunday of Week 6 was almost as bad as it could get for the Dallas Cowboys. They got blown out again at home, losing their third straight home game this season and their fourth dating back to last year. On top of that, Dak Prescott put in the worst performance of his career by QB+.
There’s no reason to start panicking at this stage. We’ve seen poor performances from Prescott before, and he’s usually bounced back. (He had a game in 2022 with a QB+ of 40.7 and a game in 2023 with a QB+ of 41.7.)
The bigger issue is that Prescott is on pace for the worst year of his career by some distance. Prior to this year, his worst season in QB+ since 2019 was 65.4 in 2021. He’s currently sitting at a QB+ of 42.6 this season. Hopefully, the bye week can be a chance for him to get back on track.
Just finishing on this past week, Prescott was last in the league when passing under pressure and from a clean pocket. He was third from last in third-down conversion rate (18.2%) and nYPA (4.6). Basically, everything that could go wrong for the Cowboys’ QB did.
