NFL Quarterback Power Rankings Week 6: Brock Purdy Stays No. 1, Jared Goff Surges

Nobody benefited more from us evaluating two weeks at once.
Maye entered Week 4 having thrown just one touchdown against six interceptions.

Since then? He has been spectacular.

He went into Buffalo and produced 269 passing yards, three touchdowns and 54 rushing yards in New England's upset win. Then he dismantled Las Vegas: 26-of-34, 374 yards, four passing touchdowns and another touchdown on the ground in a 45-17 rout.

That's 643 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns and one interception over two games. The awful opening three weeks still count, which is why he enters at No. 10 rather than flying straight into the top five. But no quarterback in football has changed the conversation around himself more dramatically over the last two weeks.

Smith stays put after two much quieter games than the performance that initially put him in our top 10.

The Jets struggled offensively in Chicago, then leaned heavily on Braelon Allen and their defense to beat Cleveland. Smith threw for 182 yards and a touchdown in the Browns win.

Still, his season-long efficiency is impressive. Smith has 1,084 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions, completing 69.4 percent of his passes with a 104.2 rating. NFL.com The Jets need more explosiveness from the passing game, but Smith hasn't given the football away.

Stafford has been wildly uneven, but Monday night's game reminded everyone why his ceiling remains so high.

His Week 4 performance against Philadelphia was rough, following the turnover problems that had already pushed him toward the bottom of our previous top 10. Then Stafford threw for 383 yards and three touchdowns against Buffalo and nearly carried the Rams to an overtime upset.

The season numbers — six touchdowns and six interceptions — still aren't pretty. But quarterback power rankings aren't fantasy-stat sorting. When Stafford plays the way he did against Buffalo, there still aren't many quarterbacks I'd rather have trying to win a game late.

Prescott's two-week sample provides a perfect example of why we're not ranking strictly off one Sunday.

He was excellent during Dallas' comeback victory over Houston, completing 32 of 45 passes for 335 yards without an interception. Then he followed it with 316 yards and a touchdown against Tampa Bay but threw two interceptions in a disappointing 24-16 loss.

The overall resume remains strong enough to keep him seventh: 1,381 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions through five games.

But the turnovers against an 0-4 Buccaneers team prevented a move upward.

Burrow holds steady after a two-week stretch that finished much better than it started.

Cincinnati lost to Jacksonville in Week 4, but Burrow responded by throwing four touchdown passes in the Bengals' 31-24 win over Miami. Reuters Through five games, he's completing 71.4 percent of his passes with 1,361 yards, 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

Burrow hasn't had the week-to-week dominance of Goff, but his accuracy and touchdown production are exactly where Cincinnati needs them. Another performance like the Miami game could put him back into the top five quickly.

Allen's ranking is tricky because his quarterbacking over the last two weeks has been uneven while his overall impact remains enormous.

New England handed Buffalo its first loss in Week 4, with Allen throwing a costly interception and being held to just four rushing yards.

Then came Monday night against the Rams: 210 passing yards, one touchdown and an interception — but also 121 rushing yards and another rushing touchdown in Buffalo's 37-34 overtime win.

That is why Allen doesn't fall farther. His passing numbers haven't matched Purdy, Goff or Lawrence lately, but very few quarterbacks can completely alter a game with their legs the way Allen did against Los Angeles.

Lawrence is the other major riser.

Jacksonville is now 4-1 after Lawrence threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns in the Jaguars' dramatic 19-17 victory over Philadelphia in London.

He is up to 1,174 yards, 10 touchdowns against three interceptions and a 106.8 passer rating while averaging 8.2 yards per attempt.

The difference between Lawrence now and Lawrence a few weeks ago is consistency. The explosive throws have always been there. We're finally seeing them paired with better decision-making and winning football from week to week.

Mahomes doesn't move, largely because Kansas City's bye removes one game from this two-week evaluation.

The Chiefs remained unbeaten through four games, and Mahomes entered the break with 1,037 yards, nine touchdowns, two interceptions and a 106.2 rating.

Goff passes him because Detroit's quarterback has simply produced more during the period we're evaluating. Nothing about Mahomes' play warrants a drop beyond that. If anything, Kansas City's undefeated start means the gap between Nos. 2 and 3 is extremely small.

Goff makes the biggest jump among the established top quarterbacks.

Over the last two games he threw for 683 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions, including 412 yards in Detroit's loss to Carolina and 271 yards with three passing touchdowns in the blowout of Arizona. He also added a rushing score against the Cardinals.

For the season, Goff has thrown for 1,485 yards, 12 touchdowns and still has zero interceptions, with a 111.3 passer rating. That's no longer just a nice start. Five games without throwing an interception while consistently pushing the ball downfield puts him squarely in the early MVP conversation.

Purdy stays at No. 1, and the last two weeks actually strengthen his case.

He wasn't as statistically overwhelming as he was during his scorching start, but he went 2-0, threw four touchdowns against one interception and helped San Francisco remain undefeated. Against Seattle, his 189 passing yards were modest, but he made enough late plays to escape with a 32-29 win.

That's part of the evolution here. Purdy no longer needs a 140-plus passer rating every week to justify the top spot. He has built enough of a résumé through five games that winning efficiently against good defenses counts, too.