NFL Analysis
1/24/24
8 min read
NFL Championship Weekend Quarterback Power Rankings: Mahomes, Jackson Show Why They're Elite
Championship weekend leaves us with just four quarterbacks left in the race. As has been the case for most of the playoffs, the difference in quarterback play between the two conferences could not be any clearer.
In the AFC, you have two MVP-caliber quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes has won the award multiple times, and Lamar Jackson is about to join him. Mahomes and Jackson are the conductors for their teams — singular forces who moved their offenses along and got them to this point in the season.
The NFC, by contrast, has two competent yet flawed quarterbacks who are well-functioning parts of a larger system. Jared Goff is as dangerous as anyone throwing over the middle of the field, and he's grown in his ability to handle pure dropback concepts, but he still isn't as dynamic as his peers. Brock Purdy, though not as polished, is still an effective distributor and has some of the creativity and dynamism that Goff lacks.
Regardless of who comes out of each conference this weekend, we will get a juggernaut vs. a cog in the machine — a god vs. a mortal.
Championship Weekend QB Rankings
1. PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 
Divisional Round Ranking: 1
The 2023 Kansas City Chiefs are the "worst" team of Mahomes' career and it doesn't seem to matter. Here they are again, moving on to the AFC Championship game for the sixth time in a row.
Mahomes was excellent vs. the Buffalo Bills. In a rare turn of events compared to most of this season, Mahomes' efforts showed up in the box score. Mahomes went 17 of 23 for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bills failed to sack him.
Mahomes himself didn't do anything differently. The scheme and the skill players did.
Schematically, the Chiefs leaned into heavy personnel. They spent more than half their snaps with two or three tight ends on the field. Not only did that enable them to run the ball and sustain drives, but it set Mahomes up for success by allowing him to throw against more vanilla coverage looks. Mahomes, of course, took full advantage.
More than that, his skill players showed up. Everyone but Mecole Hardman was the best version of themselves.
Travis Kelce seemed rejuvenated. Rashee Rice was as explosive as ever. Even Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who has failed down the field time and time again this season, came through with two huge catches in traffic on deep routes. Those were his only two receptions, but he gained 62 yards, second-most on the team behind Kelce.
This game was the perfect marriage of Mahomes' ability and the offense finally coming together. Mahomes' pocket management, decision-making, and accuracy were exquisite, and the pieces around him finally made the most of it.
2. LAMAR JACKSON, BALTIMORE RAVENS 
Divisional Round Ranking: 2
Jackson is special.
He is genuinely a one-of-a-kind player. The tale of two halves against the Houston Texans details what makes Jackson one of the best players in the league.
The Baltimore Ravens started the game with a decent first quarter, but the offense got shut out in the second half. Texans coach Demeco Ryans was sending blitz after blitz, something he hardly ever does. Ryans' curveball threw the Ravens' offense for a loop. They had no answers for it, especially in the second quarter when free rushers continued to get through to Jackson and kill drives before they ever got going.
Jackson and the Ravens regrouped at halftime. The Ravens turned to more short passes rather than stick to the same old approach. The passing offense came to rely on quick game concepts and "hot" answers vs. the blitz to give Jackson ways to beat the heat aside from using his legs. Several Ravens players and coaches, including Jackson, credited the quarterback for directing that approach in the second half.
And boy, did it work out.
The Ravens rattled off 24 points in the second half. They strung out drive after drive with quick, efficient gains, most of which were either short passes from Jackson or designed runs for Jackson in "gotta have it" situations, including a rollout keeper on fourth-and-1.
Jackson's performance was a testament to his adaptability and versatility. To this day, Jackson still gets pinned as a run-first quarterback, but he is one of the best passers in the league. Few other quarterbacks can rival Jackson's ability to attack any area of the field depending on the game or match the unique movement ability he shows in the pocket.
Jackson is going to be the MVP. Saturday's Divisional Round win over the Texans was a reminder of why he deserves it.
3. JARED GOFF, DETROIT LIONS 
Divisional Round Ranking: 6
The book on Jared Goff says he wants to use play-action, preferably from under center, and target the middle of the field. He is a confident, laser-accurate passer within a specific set of conditions. Goff has grown to be a little more than that with the Detroit Lions than in Los Angeles, but that's still largely descriptive of how he plays when he's at his best.
Sunday's divisional game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the opposite of that. For a good chunk of the game, Goff was in shotgun sets operating as a dropback passer against Todd Bowles' blitz-heavy defense. In a show of growth from years past, Goff was incredibly effective in playing that style against the Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay sent at least five pass-rushers on 21 of Goff's 45 dropbacks, according to TruMedia. That's a lot. Most of those dropbacks were with Goff in the gun. Plays in which he had to decipher the blitz pre-snap and get a quick answer before one of Tampa Bay's pass-rushers tore his face off. Goff and his offensive line did an excellent job handling it.
Before getting to Goff, you must hand it to the Lions' offensive line. Center Frank Ragnow does an excellent job setting everyone up for success, and the other four guys are so well-coached that they rarely blow assignments. Even rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who couldn't pass block in college, was knocking blitzers out of the way in this game.
Of course, it's still on Goff to take advantage of that, and he did. Goff was 13 of 21 against the blitz in this game. He could have been even better had Detroit's pass-catchers not dropped a few that hit them in the hands in tight coverage. Goff trusted his protection and receivers to win, and they often did. Mix that in with a few cheeky blitz beaters, like a flare screen to Gibbs in the red zone, and you get a smooth day of sailing for the Lions' offense against the blitz.
I say all of that because Goff will surely get heated up again. Whether it's the 49ers this weekend or the Ravens or Chiefs in the Super Bowl, these defensive coordinators will try to rattle him with extra pass-rushers.
Goff has to be ready for it and execute again. His performance in the Divisional Round provides a little extra hope that he can.
4. BROCK PURDY, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 
Divisional Round Ranking: 7
It's okay to separate what Purdy did for the first 55 minutes against the Green Bay Packers vs. what he did on the final drive. I promise.
Purdy was not good for most of this game. He tried to throw a pick-six directly to safety Darnell Savage on the first drive. Some other misfires could have also been intercepted, including a third-and-5 overthrow to Jauan Jennings in the third quarter.
It's not just the potential interceptions, though. Purdy was rattled all game long for one reason or another. Perhaps because of the rainy conditions, Purdy wasn't ripping throws with the same timing and confidence we typically see from him in this offense. He hesitated a fraction later than usual on too many throws.
Frankly, Purdy wasn't impressive under pressure either. Many of Purdy's misfires came when the pocket deteriorated, and he couldn't throw with a squeaky clean platform. Again, part of that surely has to do with the rain being a factor, but still.
All that aside, Purdy got his act together at the end of the game to get the San Francisco 49ers the win. Purdy made a few sweet throws on the final drive, including a low tight-window throw to Brandon Aiyuk and a sideline throw to Chris Conley. Purdy even got active with his legs, scrambling for a six-yard gain in the red zone when he was forced out of the pocket to his left. He should have just hit McCaffrey out of the backfield, but whatever.
Purdy is still the best, most dynamic quarterback we have seen in San Francisco since Kyle Shanahan took over, but they will need more from him than they got in this game to finish the job.
