QB Index, Week 13: Russell Wilson slips out of top three

Where do the starting quarterbacks of each NFL team stand heading into Week 13 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 12. Up-down arrows reflect changes from the previous week's QB Index.

Bhanpuri: For nearly every NFL QB, there's a tipping point when the number of attempts triggers a decline in production. The story has always been that the higher the pass count -- and overall pass-run imbalance -- the more likely something has gone (terribly) wrong for the quarterback (more pressure, hits, turnovers) and the team's overall game plan (run game is failing, defense is struggling, team is losing). And then Patrick Mahomes arrived on set, and, as he does, completely rewrote the script. His production over the past two seasons when throwing 40 or more passes in a game, as he did in Sunday's dismantling of the Bucs' pass defense, is totally absurd:

Patrick Mahomes: 9-2 record (.818) | 67.1% | 373.8 ypg | 8.4 ypa | 30 TD passes | 5 giveaways | 110.9 rating

All other QBs: 59-156-4 (.279) | 63.8% | 312 ypg | 6.9 ypa | 376 TDs | 306 giveaways | 87.0 rating

As historically good as Mahomes has been this year, Aaron Rodgers has done his best to keep pace in the MVP race, adding another four scoring strikes to his total (33) in Week 11. His route to maintaining the league lead in TD passes conveniently travels through three pass defenses currently ranked near the bottom of the NFL: Lions (26th), Panthers (21st), Titans (28th). While these two passers are starting to separate themselves from the pack, I'm not ruling out my preseason MVP pick, Russell WIlson, from making a late run at the trophy. His Monday night performance wasn't as glamorous as some of his early-season outings, but he still added a few clips to his 2020 highlight reel, including this 52-yard beaut to DK Metcalf. I really feel for Deshaun Watson, who's been stellar for about two months now, but still can't escape Pat's shadow. But Mahomes-y Trees is the perfect place for shade, and that's just how I feel. There's not a ton separating Kyler Murray, Ryan Tannehill and Josh Allen at this stage in the season. The Titans QB has been the most consistent of the bunch but benefits from arguably the best complementary back in the NFL. Beyond time to stop holding that against him; the veteran deserves to rank among the best at his position for consistently taking care of the football and making the most of his downfield throws. Justin Herbert continues to demonstrate tremendous poise and resiliency under center. Like Watson, the rookie is playing light-years better than his team's record would suggest.

Filice: Gather 'round, quarterback obsessives, and let's take a trip all the way back to the ancient days of early last week, when Ben Roethlisberger and Lamar Jackson were preparing the main dish for our Thanksgiving football feast: a special Thursday night helping of the NFL's best contemporary rivalry. Definitely something to be thankful for! Then the game was moved to Sunday ... Jackson tested positive for the novel coronavirus ... the game was moved to Tuesday ... more Ravens Pro Bowlers hit the reserve/COVID-19 list ... and the game was moved to Wednesday. After all that, Sunday Night Football: Wednesday Afternoon Edition [trademark pending] gave us unfulfilling quarterbacking on both sides, with Lamar's substitutes proving substandard and Big Ben's pass catchers complementing his erratic ball placement with numerous drops. Thanks, 2020. And thank you, Derek Carr, for instantly invalidating this hack's ringing endorsement from last week. Utterly sublime against the defending Super Bowl champs, Carr turned around and handed the hapless Falcons defense a career-high four turnovers. Tom Brady tossed a pair of picks for the second straight week, giving him 11 on the season -- only Carson Wentz (15) has more. That said, the 43-year-old's performance had encouraging aspects, most prominently in the downfield passing game. We're talkin' throws of 20-plus air yards. After an inexplicable 0-for-22 slump in this area that spanned five games (per Next Gen Stats), Brady completed four such passes on Sunday, including a majestic, pressure-be-damned bomb to Chris Godwin that had Tony Romo throwing verbal bouquets from the booth. How about some praise for Kirk Cousins? He just took the Vikings 75 yards in 65 seconds to secure their fourth win in five games. Just like last year, Cousins initially fueled preconceived skepticism by sputtering out of the gate. And just like last year, he has rolled into the holiday season as a quarterback reborn (SEE: 12:1 TD-to-INT ratio since Nov. 1). Even with Calvin Ridley on pace for his first 1,000-yard season, Matt Ryan just isn't the same quarterback without Julio Jones on the field. Is this understandable or indictable? Philip Rivers and the Colts were blown off their own field by Tennessee, but at least Titans CB Breon Borders' hands showed mercy, allowing a sure pick-six to fall harmlessly to the Lucas Oil Stadium turf. Elsewhere on the human relations front, Teddy Bridgewater and D.J. Moore need to hit the ropes-course circuit in the coming offseason. Their ongoing lack of chemistry almost destroyed the wideout's ankle on Sunday.

Parr: It seems fitting that this QB quadrant is led by a player tied for the spot that's smack dab in the middle of the pack. This group isn't the worst, but it's definitely not the life of the party. In fact, a few of them committed some rather egregious party fouls over the weekend. Matthew Stafford, playing through a torn thumb ligament, tossed a pick-six in the first quarter of the Thanksgiving Day matinee, setting the tone for a lopsided Lions loss with major consequences. He moves up the rankings, though, thanks to some performances from his fellow QBs that were far more troubling. You know who else threw a pass that resulted in six points for the other team? None other than Jared T. Goff. He has 10 giveaways since Week 8, which is the most in the NFL over that span and three more than next-closest players despite the Rams having a bye in Week 9, per NFL Media Research. Baker Mayfield couldn't connect with Rashard Higgins on what should have been an easy TD, but that was a slight blemish on a solid if unspectacular day for a guy who spends some of his free time pretending to serve crescent rolls. Elder statesmen Ryan Fitzpatrick (filling in for the injured Tua Tagovailoa) and Alex Smith played winning football against bad teams, although Smith didn't do much with Antonio Gibson running wild (and Smith would like to have at least one throw back). Cam Newton might want to go ahead and burn the tape from the Cardinals game. He posted the third-lowest passer rating of any QB to attempt 18 or more passes in a game this season (23.6, a career-low). Hey, look, Andy Dalton threw a pick-six, too! As for Taysom Hill, he's now 2-0 as a starter but still has not thrown a TD pass (on 57 career attempts), while just two starting QBs had a worse passer rating than he did in Week 12.

Blair: The bottom of the QB Index is a great place to be if you've been a dedicated clipboard-clutcher the past few years. It's not so hot if you're a former top draft choice with a recent history of spewing ugly interceptions. Carson Wentz's fourth-quarter end-zone pick against Seattle, thrown right to Quandre Diggs, can be described the same way one might Wentz's 2020 season: seemingly inexplicable. (At least Dallas Goedert can try to take the heat for the turnover.) Wentz flailed for too long against the NFL's worst passing defense, averaging less than 2 yards per throw in the first half. Sam Darnold threw it to the wrong team too many times for his trademark glimpses and flashes to feel like anything other than peeks at an alternate universe. Mitchell Trubisky's unfortunate knack for finding Packers safety Darnell Savage was only one part of his terrible Sunday -- he also essentially started the garbage-time clock before the half by giving up a strip-sack fumble that was returned for a 27-3 Green Bay lead. Yes, life is far better in these parts for the backups. Nick Mullens outplayed Jared Goff despite having Aaron Donald in his face for much of his afternoon. Mike Glennon had one of the best starts of his career against a Browns defense missing Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward; whatever else happens with the Jags' QB1 of the moment, no one can take these spicy highlights away from him. Brandon Allen gave the Bengals a chance to win, then cost the Bengals a chance to win. It would be silly to expect much more from someone who, sadly, cannot be Joe Burrow. Colt McCoy, whose last strong NFL start came six years ago, is potentially in line to try for his own Glennon-esque revival against Seattle this Sunday. As for the one player here who is neither a scuffling first-rounder nor former depth-chart fodder: negative COVID-19 tests by Drew Lock and his backups spared the Broncos from receiving the first "N/A" in QB Index history.

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