QB Index, Week 14: Baker Mayfield vaults into top 15

Where do the starting quarterbacks of each NFL team stand heading into Week 14 of the 2020 season? NFL.com editors Ali Bhanpuri, Tom Blair, Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr provide a composite ranking of all 32 players below. Each editor's individual ranking of each quarterback can be found underneath the player's name; analysis is presented in eight-QB chunks below the players being discussed.

NOTE: The rankings and statistics below reflect what has transpired THROUGH WEEK 13. Up-down arrows reflect changes from the previous week's QB Index.

Blair: Watching Patrick Mahomes is great if you're a quarterback-watcher; it's much less so if your job is stopping Patrick Mahomes. Imagine: You're a world-class athlete who helps the Broncos hold Mahomes to his third-lowest first-half passer rating of the season -- and he still ends up making your team look like the Washington Generals. Not that it's any more enjoyable to face Aaron Rodgers, especially when he's targeting Davante Adams. Rodgers' effortless dismantling of the Eagles gave yet another boost to his MVP case -- and seemed to further validate Green Bay's soft reboot in 2019. The Packers look stable (at least on offense) under Matt LaFleur, and Rodgers is in a groove. The lack of stability around Deshaun Watson has me worried. Watching him nearly heave the Texans past the Colts, only to lose because of a mishap largely beyond his control, underlined how important it is for Houston to get the next coaching hire right -- and avoid wasting any more years of a QB who regularly does stuff like this. Josh Allen and the Bills are showing what's possible when you nurture a gifted passer by providing organizational consistency and a strong supporting cast. It turns out, promising but flawed prospects can grow into coverage-destroying monsters! Ryan Tannehill looked unstoppable at times against Cleveland, covering 74-plus yards in less than 2 minutes on two of his touchdown drives and piling up the fourth-most passing yards of his career (389). Unfortunately, the Titans made Baker Mayfield look more unstoppable. Russell Wilson's surprisingly difficult afternoon makes a bit more sense when you consider the Giants pressured him on roughly a third of his dropbacks (31.3%) and clamped down on DK Metcalf. Wilson's at his lowest spot of the season here, but spare me your cooking puns; there's a juicy get-right matchup with the Jets on tap next. Kyler Murray's day was not highlight-free, but he is now in an official rough patch, reflected by both his QBI fall and Arizona's fading playoff hopes. Still, it reads more like a chance to work through some things than a cause for alarm. Ben Roethlisberger rises despite losing for the first time in 2020 thanks in part to Justin Herbert's drop -- but I'm sure the only drops Big Ben really cares about are the ones where his passes bounce off his receivers' hands. (I am not sorry about doing this.)

Bhanpuri: Nothing like a visit from the Cowboys' defense to cure what ails ya! What a relief to see Lamar Jackson rediscover his hardware-winning, show-stopping, dual-threat skill set in prime time after a string of lackluster performances. The reigning MVP wasn't particularly crisp with his throws throughout the affair, but the Ravens will gladly take the misses in stride when the hits are so damn fun to watch. Speaking of much-needed relief, Derek Carr rebounded in a season-saving way Sunday after his four-turnover debacle from a week earlier. Henry Ruggs III's improbable game-winning 46-yard TD haul -- courtesy of the since-relieved Gregg Williams -- overshadowed Darren Waller's career-shattering effort, which was both the rise and ruin for countless fantasy teams clinging to playoff spots. It took 11 starts, but Justin Herbert's Welcome to the NFL, Rook moment finally arrived in Week 13 at the hands of -- who else? -- rookie-quarterback-destroyer Bill Belichick. Herbert posted career lows basically across the board and failed to reach the end zone for the first time in his young career, while Belichick improved to 21-7 versus first-year passers. Tom Brady returns from the Bucs' week off to host Kirk Cousins, who's been as productive as nearly any QB in the NFL since coming off the bye himself back in Week 8. In fact, the Vikings passer ranks fourth in completion percentage (70.7%), seventh in passing yards (1,598) and third in yards per attempt (8.5) and is tied for second with Patrick Mahomes in TD passes (15) during that span. Hasn't always been pretty, but it's been enough to get Minnesota back into postseason contention. A lot of internal debate about how to rank Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield and Philip Rivers, particularly after Mayfield's mesmerizing and nearly flawless four-score effort against the Titans. Although I'm not totally convinced Baker is a better QB than he is an actor (not as big of a knock as you think; he has legit screen presence!), it'd be foolish to overlook his five straight games without an interception. And it'd be equally short-sighted to ignore that, despite his impressive streak, he still has the third-most giveaways (49) of any QB since 2018.

Filice: Saints-Falcons was supposed to offer an extreme contrast in quarterbacking. Taysom Hill entered the rivalry bout without a touchdown pass in a real game since BYU's win over Utah State on Nov. 26, 2016. In that same span, Matt Ryan piled up 123 TD tosses. Quirky Gadget Guy vs. Quintessential Pocket Passer: Embrace the diametric opposition! But a funny thing happened on the way to Narrative Town ... The game kicked off, and Hill gave his best Ryan impression. OK, Hill didn't quite Spider-Man meme Ryan; the Saints QB exploded down the sideline on one 43-yard scamper and intermittently used his legs in red-zone and short-yardage situations. But he generally looked the part of a traditional quarterback, patiently going through progressions in the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield under duress and slinging well-placed lasers to convert numerous third-and-longs. Oh, and he nipped Ryan in TD passes, 2-1. Jared Goff's long been considered something of a Ryan doppelgänger, as a conventional dropback dealer who can flourish in the right environment. Well, apparently the stars were aligned for Goff on Sunday, as he bounced back from a ghastly performance against San Francisco to carve up Arizona. Teddy Bridgewater's fresh off a bye week; does this mean his body's freshened up and ready to snap the QB's six-game losing streak? Daniel Jones was off last week, too, but for injury purposes. At publishing, Giants coach Joe Judge is "optimistic" the second-year signal-caller will return to action Sunday, but a bum hamstring's a real bummer for Jones, who's a legit weapon in the ground game. No, seriously. I know The Stumble's still burned into your brain, but the man has already eclipsed 400 yards rushing this season, averaging a robust 7.3 yards per carry. Kyler Murray, Jones' electric opponent this Sunday, gains 6.5 a pop. Jones' injury came at a time when he was playing the best football of his young career, leading Big Blue to three straight victories with efficient -- and completely turnover-free! -- play. The G-Men will need this down the stretch if they're to fend off Washington for the division title, as Alex Smith has the power of a ready-made movie script on his side. I still don't really know if Tua Tagovailoa is ready for showtime. And I still don't really know what this version of Cam Newton is -- dude has more than twice as many touchdowns running (11) as he does passing (5).

Parr: If you're a QB in this final quadrant, there's a 100 percent chance you turned the ball over at least once in Week 13 and a 50 percent chance you gave the rock away a minimum of two times. It wasn't all bad, though. Not even close. Andy Dalton has been respectable, with a 90.6 passer rating (14th in the league, min. 50 pass attempts) in three starts since returning from the reserve/COVID-19 list. He just wasn't able to get anything going downfield against the Ravens on Tuesday night. Ready for a mind-blowing stat from NFL Research? Well, buckle up. Among QBs with 10 or more starts since 1950, there are only three players with a higher average in passing yards per game than Nick Mullens (280.4): Patrick Mahomes (307.6), Justin Herbert (293.1) and Drew Brees (280.5). If that's not enough excitement for you, how about the highly celebrated second-half spark that newly crowned starter Jalen Hurts provided to the Eagles on Sunday? He threw a TD pass (the first of his career) on fourth down and helped Philly come within a score of catching Green Bay in the fourth quarter. WARNING: This is where the rankings take a bleak turn. Drew Lock, the only QB with 10 or more INTs and fewer than 10 pass TDs (9:13 TD-INT ratio) in 2020, fittingly ended his night in Kansas City by throwing a pick. Sam Darnold's lack of pocket awareness: Still troubling! He went fumble-INT-fumble on three consecutive second-quarter drives against the Raiders. Mike Glennon and Mitchell Trubisky gave their teams a shot to win on Sunday, but ultimately dealt hope a death blow with a late giveaway. As for Brandon Allen, he never had much of a chance. Joe Burrow's replacement was sacked on four of his last seven dropbacks before exiting against the Dolphins.

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