NFL Quarterback Power Rankings Week 4: Brock Purdy Takes No. 1, Jared Goff Surges

Stafford remains in the top 10 by a thread. He threw for 390 yards against Denver, but it required 55 attempts and came with two interceptions as the Rams lost 30-26. He now has 872 passing yards — among the league leaders — but also four interceptions and an 88.1 passer rating. The 327-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Giants showed exactly why Stafford's ceiling still commands respect, but the opener against San Francisco and the turnovers in Denver prevent him from staying seventh. He's capable of climbing back quickly; right now the quarterbacks immediately ahead of him have simply been cleaner.

Smith finally forces his way onto the board despite the Jets sitting at 1-2. He was excellent against Detroit, completing 31 of 37 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. His late fumble ended New York's comeback attempt, but Smith has now completed 75.5 percent of his passes for 783 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions this season, good for a 110.0 passer rating. The Jets' record makes the résumé look less impressive at first glance; Smith's actual quarterback play does not. Three increasingly convincing performances are enough to earn a top-10 spot.

Lawrence rebounded nicely from his rough afternoon in Denver. Jacksonville overwhelmed New England 35-6 while Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, giving him seven through the opening three games. His 182 passing yards weren't spectacular and he did throw an interception, but he finished with a 103.0 passer rating and added 25 rushing yards. The inconsistency from week to week remains the reason he isn't higher, but a 7-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 107.8 season passer rating are difficult to dismiss.

Dallas is only 1-2, but Prescott's individual play has been better than the record suggests. He threw for 276 yards without an interception against Baltimore and helped Dallas erase a deficit before the Ravens stole the game with a field goal at the buzzer. Prescott has seven passing touchdowns against only one interception this season and owns a 107.2 passer rating. There were opportunities late in the Ravens game that Dallas failed to maximize, although offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer accepted responsibility for the clock-management issues. Prescott isn't getting a victory bonus, but his body of work deserves a small promotion.

Cincinnati lost in Pittsburgh, but Burrow wasn't the primary reason. He completed 28 of 37 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns and gave the Bengals a fourth-quarter lead before the Steelers rallied. The blemish was significant: Burrow's fumble on Cincinnati's final possession ended any chance of answering the winning field goal. Still, he has six touchdown passes against only one interception through three games and continues to look considerably more comfortable than he did during Cincinnati's uneven start to 2025. Goff passes him because of the cleaner resume through three games, not because Burrow suddenly played poorly.

No quarterback makes a bigger jump this week. Goff completed 25 of 32 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns against the Jets, giving him eight touchdown passes without an interception through three games. His passer rating sits at 116.1, and he has now produced ratings of 130.0 and 122.5 in consecutive weeks. Detroit's defense has made life complicated, which makes Goff's consistency even more valuable. The Lions are asking their offense to score every week, and their quarterback has responded. Moving from 10th to fifth is aggressive, but eight touchdowns and zero interceptions warrants it.

Jackson didn't produce huge passing numbers in Baltimore's 34-31 win over Dallas, but he again showed why judging him solely through the passing column misses half the equation. He threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns, added 50 rushing yards and then completed the critical 27-yard pass that put Baltimore in position for the game-winning field goal. Through three games, Jackson is averaging 9.8 yards per attempt and owns a 113.1 passer rating while adding 124 yards on the ground. The explosive plays are still there, and Baltimore continues to put the game in his hands when it matters most.

This is much more about Purdy's rise than a problem with Mahomes. Kansas City improved to 3-0 with a 24-10 win in Miami, and Mahomes delivered 246 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He has now thrown for 812 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions while posting a 108.9 passer rating. The Chiefs haven't needed another 380-yard overtime rescue like the one Mahomes supplied against Indianapolis, but his command of the offense remains unmistakable. There is very little separating the top three right now.

Allen finally looked human against the Chargers. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 204 yards, threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and finished with a 54.0 passer rating. Yet Buffalo still won 24-16 because Allen remains capable of changing games without throwing the football; he rushed for two more touchdowns and now has six rushing scores through three games. One ugly outing isn't enough to erase what he did against Houston and Detroit, when he accounted for nine combined touchdowns. Purdy's sustained efficiency earns the switch at No. 1, but Allen remains firmly in the conversation.

There isn't much left for Purdy to prove through the first three games. He followed his 20-of-22 masterpiece against Miami with 297 yards, four touchdown passes and zero interceptions in San Francisco's 36-30 win over Arizona. Through three games, Purdy has 789 passing yards, nine touchdowns against one interception, a 72.3 percent completion rate and a 133.1 passer rating — while averaging 9.5 yards per attempt. Most remarkably, he has yet to be sacked. The talent around him is excellent, but eventually overwhelming efficiency has to be credited to the quarterback executing the offense. Right now, nobody is doing that better.