2022 NFL QB Grades Week 9: Aaron Rodgers Drops Out of the Top Half, Josh Allen Also Falls as Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts Rise
And just like that, the 2022 NFL regular season has reached its halfway point.
Week 9 brought plenty of movement in our season-long NFL quarterback competition, including Aaron Rodgers’ ongoing descent into mediocrity as the two-time reigning MVP fell out of the top 16. Josh Allen also took a tumble, falling out of the top two for the first time since Week 1.
Justin Fields took the biggest leap of the week following his record-breaking performance, and with Allen’s fall, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts made jumps of their own.
Before we dive into the featured section, let’s first take a quick look at those still hanging out in the reserve room.
- Bailey Zappe: 86.4
- Teddy Bridgewater: 81
- Matt Ryan: 78.4
- Carson Wentz: 77.7
- Cooper Rush: 77
- Joe Flacco: 76.2
- PJ Walker: 75.9
- Jameis Winston: 75.5
- Mitch Trubisky: 74.5
- Skylar Thompson: 72.2
- Brett Rypien: 68
- Malik Willis: 60.8
And without further ado, let’s get into the featured section, starting with a new No. 32.
32. Sam Ehlinger, Indianapolis Colts (0-2)
Week 9 Stats: 15-29, 103 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 5 rushes, 39 yards
Week 9 Grade: F
So, Colts fans, are you missing Matt Ryan yet?
Starting his second game since newly-fired Frank Reich benched the 2016 NFL MVP, Sam Ehlinger had an atrocious outing against the Patriots in an ugly 26-3 loss, Indy’s third straight defeat after winning three of their previous four with Ryan under center.
Bill Belichick’s defense sacked Ehlinger nine times and never let him get comfortable, which could be why the 24-year-old completed just 51.7% of his passes, a massive downturn from his 73.9% clip a week ago against Washington.
The 2021 sixth-round pick has yet to throw his first NFL touchdown but did throw his first interception, which Jonathan Jones returned 17 yards for a touchdown.
Is it time to give Nick Foles a shot? Interim head coach Jeff Saturday doesn’t think so. He’s already announced Ehlinger as Indy’s starter in Week 10 against the Raiders.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 32-52, 0 TD, 1 INT; 11 rushes, 54 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 66.4
31. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3)
Week 9 Stats: N/A
Week 9 Grade: N/A
Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers were on a bye in Week 9 and return in Week 10 for a matchup with the New Orleans Saints. And Pickett should send Sam Ehlinger a thank you note for getting him out of the cellar.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 112-165, 962 yards, 2 TD, 8 INT; 19 rushes, 98 yards, 2 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 69.1
30. Baker Mayfield, Carolina Panthers (1-4)
Week 9 Stats: 14-20, 155 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Week 9 Grade: B+
Look, everyone! Baker Mayfield is back in the featured section, and he’s not in the No. 32 spot.
With PJ Walker getting yanked at halftime as the Panthers were being embarrassed by the Bengals, Mayfield stepped in and at least made the final score look a bit better. And that’s pretty bad, as the final was 42-21.
With absolutely zero pressure on him, Mayfield played his best football in a Carolina uniform, completing 70% of his passes with a pair of touchdowns.
We’re not even going to pretend to know which Panthers QB will be down here next week, as it seems they don’t even know who’ll take the field on Thursday night against the Falcons.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 98-173, 1,117 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT; 14 rushes, 40 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 71
29. Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos (3-4)
Week 9 Stats: N/A
Week 9 Grade: N/A
Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos were on a bye in Week 9 and return in Week 10 for a matchup with the Tennessee Titans.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 134-228, 1,694 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT; 25 rushes, 113 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 74.6
28. Davis Mills, Houston Texans (1-6-1)
Week 9 Stats: 13-22, 154 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 3 rushes, 18 yards
Week 9 Grade: C
It was a tale of two halves for Texans quarterback Davis Mills on Thursday night. For the first 30 minutes against the unbeaten Eagles, he played near-perfect football, completing eight of nine passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns to earn a passer rating of 147.
But in the final 30 minutes, he completed just five of 13 passes for 64 yards and two interceptions as Houston just couldn’t keep up, ultimately taking a 29-17 loss. But hey, at least Mills & Co. covered the 14-point spread, right?
2022 NFL Season Stats: 162-258, 1,656 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT; 12 rushes, 28 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 75.8
27. Zach Wilson, New York Jets (5-1)
Week 9 Stats: 18-25, 154 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 5 rushes, 24 yards
Week 9 Grade: B+
The New York Jets got the biggest win of their surprising season on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. But unlike most of their other victories, Zach Wilson played a significant role in this 20-17 victory.
While he may not have a monster game in terms of passing yards with only 154, it was still his second-biggest total in the last four weeks. He also completed a career-high 72% of his passes.
And after throwing three picks a week ago in a loss to the Patriots, Wilson was interception-free and only took two sacks against the top-ranked Buffalo defense, although one of them forced a lost fumble, which was really his only mistake.
In addition, his lone touchdown pass of the day, which came in the third quarter to James Robinson, was a big one as it gave the Jets a 17-14 lead. Wilson then led a 13-play, 86-yard drive to set up the game-winning field goal, a drive that took more than six minutes off the clock.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 96-167, 1,202 yards, 4 TD, 5 INT; 21 rushes, 68 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 76.2
26. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (3-5)
Week 9 Stats: 13-27, 165 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 2 rushes, -1 yard
Week 9 Grade: D+
The good news for the Rams in their high-profile matchup with the Buccaneers was that Matthew Stafford was interception-free for the second straight game, keeping his season total at eight, which is still tied for the second-worst in the NFL.
But that’s really about the only positive to take away from Stafford’s outing in the Rams’ 16-13 loss. He threw for 165 yards, but 69 of those came on his lone touchdown pass of the day to Cooper Kupp in the second quarter. He also completed a season-low 48.2% of his passes. Despite the struggles he’s faced this season, Stafford’s lowest clip of the year prior to this game was 66.7%.
So he’s at least been efficient. The strange thing was that his subpar performance was actually almost good enough to get the Rams a win. But that other Super Bowl-winning quarterback on the opposite sideline took that away.
The defending champs are now 3-5 and desperately need a win in Week 10 over Arizona.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 195-285, 1,928 yards, 8 TD, 8 INT; 12 rushes, 5 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 76.8
25. Marcus Mariota, Atlanta Falcons (4-5)
Week 9 Stats: 12-23, 129 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; 5 rushes, 24 yards
Week 9 Grade: C-
A week after a wild outing against the Panthers in which he threw three touchdowns and two interceptions in a three-point win, Marcus Mariota went back to being boring against the Chargers, throwing neither a TD nor a pick in a 20-17 last-second loss.
After three straight weeks of surpassing the 60% mark in completion percentage, the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner hit just 52.2% of his targets on Sunday, his second-lowest clip of the season. The defeat kept the Falcons from moving above .500 for the first time since 2017, and they’re now technically in second place in the NFC South as the 4-5 Buccaneers own the tiebreaker.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 124-201, 1,561 yards, 10 TD, 6 INT; 60 rushes, 304 yards, 3 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 77
24. Mac Jones, New England Patriots (3-3)
Week 9 Stats: 20-30, 147 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 1 rush, -2 yards
Week 9 Grade: B
Mac Jones didn’t have a spectacular game in the Patriots’ 26-3 Week 9 win over the Colts but didn’t need to, as New England’s defense and kicker Nick Folk took care of the majority of the scoring.
Jones was perfectly adequate as he completed two-thirds of his 30 attempts and threw a touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson to give New England a 13-0 lead. But there is reason to celebrate Jones’ effort, as Sunday marked the first of his six appearances of the season in which he hasn’t thrown an interception.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 111-168, 1,140 yards, 4 TD, 7 INT; 25 rushes, 79 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 77.1
23. Jacoby Brissett, Cleveland Browns (3-5)
Week 9 Stats: N/A
Week 9 Grade: N/A
Jacoby Brissett and the Cleveland Browns were on a bye in Week 9 and return in Week 10 for a matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 163-255, 1,862 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT; 31 rushes, 142 yards, 2 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 77.6
22. Justin Fields, Chicago Bears (3-6)
Week 9 Stats: 17-28, 123 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; 15 rushes, 178 yards, 1 TD
Week 9 Grade: A
I’m going to say the same thing about Justin Fields I said a week ago. While Chicago may not have gotten a win, losing 35-32 to the Dolphins, this was a victory for the Bears’ second-year signal-caller.
I’m still not completely sold on the former Ohio State star as an elite NFL quarterback, but he’s getting better with each passing week. And that was the only real point to this season for the Bears, who’ll have a ton of money to spend this upcoming offseason and will be able to surround him with more talent.
After struggling with his accuracy most of the early portion of the season, Fields continues to improve in that department and completed 60.7% of his 28 passes on Sunday and threw a season-high three touchdowns. Perhaps even better was the fact that he was interception-free for the second straight week.
But Fields’ arm certainly wasn’t the star attraction for Chicago as he rushed for 178 yards, the highest-ever total for a quarterback in a regular-season game, breaking Michael Vick’s record, and just three yards shy of Colin Kaepernick’s 181-yard mark, which was set in the postseason. Fields also became the first player since 1950 to throw for three touchdowns at rush for at least 150 yards in the same game.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 110-187, 1,322 yards, 10 TD, 6 INT; 91 rushes, 602 yards, 4 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 78.2
21. Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans (4-2)
Week 9 Stats: N/A
Week 9 Grade: N/A
Ryan Tannehill missed his second straight game for the Titans in Week 9 with an ankle injury. Typically, I’ve put QBs to make two starts down here in the featured section, but as Malik Willis is barely making the minimum number of attempts to even receive a grade (he’s essentially just there to hand the ball to Derrick Henry), I’m holding off one more week.
If Tannehill doesn’t go in Week 10 against the Broncos, you’ll see Willis out of the reserve room.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 95-146, 1,097 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT; 19 rushes, 29 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 79.1
20. Daniel Jones, New York Giants (6-2)
Week 9 Stats: N/A
Week 9 Grade: N/A
Daniel Jones and the New York Giants were on bye in Week 9 and return in Week 10 for a matchup with the Houston Texans.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 143-220, 1,399 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT; 64 rushes, 363 yards, 3 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 79.2
19. Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders (2-6)
Week 9 Stats: 21-36, 259 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Week 9 Grade: B
A week after a dismal outing against the Saints in a shutout loss, Derek Carr and the Vegas offense came out hot in their Week 9 matchup against the Jaguars, scoring on four of their first five possessions to take a 20-10 lead into halftime.
But those same 20 points were all the Raiders could muster as they were shut out the rest of the way, allowing the Jaguars to come back for a 27-20 win. Overall, one would have to say that Carr played well, throwing for 259 yards, his third-highest total of the year, with a pair of touchdowns and no picks.
But once the Jags’ defense shut down Davante Adams, who had nine catches for 146 yards and caught both TD passes in the first half but had just one catch for zero yards in the final 30 minutes, Carr looked lost.
Looking for a fun stat? From their first year of existence in 1960 through 2021, the Raiders blew a total of five leads of 17 points or more. They’ve now done it three times this year alone.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 170-273, 1,880 yards, 11 TD, 5 INT; 15 rushes, 67 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 79.9
18. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
Week 9 Stats: N/A
Week 9 Grade: N/A
Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys were on a bye in Week 9 and return in Week 10 for a high-profile matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 54-81, 591 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT; 10 rushes, 45 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 80.2
17. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (3-6)
Week 9 Stats: 23-43, 291 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT; 4 rushes, 40 yards
Week 9 Grade: D
Packers fans can go ahead and yell at me for this one all they like, but this grade is justified.
Yes, Aaron Rodgers accounted for 331 yards of offense — the only thing keeping him from a failing grade — and threw his 14th touchdown pass of the season, a 20-yard strike to a returning Allen Lazard.
But the two-time reigning NFL MVP, who will not win a third straight, completed a season-low 53.5% of his passes and threw three interceptions in the Packers’ 15-9 loss, Green Bay’s fifth straight defeat.
And, yes, you read that correctly. The guy who threw four picks all of last year threw three against a subpar Lions defense and now has seven on the season, his most since 2016.
And a pair of those picks were in the end zone, marking the first time in Rodgers’ career that he’s thrown two interceptions in the red zone in the same game. His last three-interception game was nearly five years ago in a 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers on December 17, 2017.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 205-317, 2,091 yards, 14 TD, 7 INT; 14 rushes, 60 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 80.3
16. Andy Dalton, New Orleans Saints (2-4)
Week 9 Stats: 19-29, 210 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 2 rushes, 5 yards
Week 9 Grade: C
With a chance to tie the Buccaneers and Falcons atop the NFC South on Monday night, the Saints couldn’t take advantage and took a 27-13 loss to the Ravens, a game during which they were never really competitive.
Andy Dalton threw for 210 yards with a touchdown and a pick, but plenty of those yards and that lone TD pass came in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 124-190, 1,385 yards, 10 TD, 5 INT; 14 rushes, 33 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 80.5
15. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (2-6)
Week 9 Stats: 14-26, 137 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 1 rush, -1 yard
Week 9 Grade: B-
Jared Goff didn’t play the prettiest game of football in the Lions’ Week 9 matchup against the Packers, but he did just enough to get his team its second win of the year, leading Detroit to an ugly 15-9 victory.
Goff completed just 14 passes, but two of them went for touchdowns. The first went to Shane Zylstra, the first of his young career, and the second went to James Mitchell early in the fourth quarter to give the Lions a two-possession lead. And that was enough, as the Detroit defense did the rest.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 173-275, 2,041 yards, 14 TD, 7 INT; 13 rushes, 29 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 80.8
14. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6)
Week 9 Stats: 25-31, 235 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 6 rushes, 53 yards
Week 9 Grade: A
At long last, Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars were on the right side of a close game and got back in the win column after five straight losses with a 27-20 comeback victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Jags trailed 17-0 just over four minutes into the second quarter but cut the lead to 20-10 at the half before scoring 17 unanswered points of their own in the final 30 minutes to complete the second-largest comeback in franchise history.
Lawrence, who got plenty of help in the run game from Clemson teammate Travis Etienne’s two touchdowns, had his best game in weeks, completing 80.7% of his passes for 235 yards and a touchdown. After two picks in last week’s loss to the Broncos, the second-year star was interception-free against the Raiders but did lose a fumble, his 11th turnover of the season.
But it ultimately didn’t matter as Jacksonville moved to 1-6 in one-score games on the year.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 198-308, 2,075 yards, 11 TD, 6 INT; 33 rushes, 152 yards, 3 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 81.4
13. Taylor Heinicke, Washington Commanders (2-1)
Week 9 Stats: 15-28, 149 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 4 rushes, 17 yards
Week 9 Grade: C
For most of Washington’s Sunday afternoon date with the Vikings, it seemed as if Taylor Heinicke would keep his undefeated record for the year and lead the Commanders to their fourth straight victory.
After a sluggish first half, he threw a pair of touchdown passes in the third quarter, the second of which gave Washington a 17-7 lead. But a crucial fourth-quarter interception gave the Vikings a short field to tie the game.
After Heinicke, who completed an abysmal 53.6% of his passes, couldn’t do anything on the ensuing possession, leading to a three-and-out, Minnesota ran the clock down to set up the game-winning field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 58-92, 629 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT; 12 rushes, 50 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 81.8
12. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (3-6)
Week 9 Stats: 25-35, 175 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 8 rushes, 60 yards
Week 9 Grade: B
Kyler Murray continues to play above-average football, but the Cardinals continue to lose football games, dropping their fourth in five outings with a 31-21 defeat at the hands of the surprising Seahawks.
Murray actually earned his highest passer rating of the year (101.5) in the loss, completing 71.4% of his passes for 175 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions, also adding 60 yards on the ground.
But he was also sacked five times and lost a crucial fumble deep in Seattle territory near the end of the first half that likely cost his team at least three points. The Cardinals face the Rams and 49ers the next two weeks and likely need to win both to have any shot at the postseason.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 240-360, 2,168 yards, 12 TD, 6 INT; 59 rushes, 359 yards, 2 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 82.3
11. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (3-3)
Week 9 Stats: N/A
Week 9 Grade: N/A
Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers were on a bye in Week 9 and return in Week 10 for a matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 140-210, 1,691 yards, 11 TD, 4 INT; 13 rushes, 23 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 82.9
10. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (6-3)
Week 9 Stats: 12-22, 133 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 11 rushes, 82 yards
Week 9 Grade: C
After playing five straight games decided by five points or less, the Baltimore Ravens got out ahead of the New Orleans Saints early on Monday night and kept piling on en route to a 27-13 victory.
And they did it despite a bit of a lackluster performance from Lamar Jackson. It’s not that he played poorly, but he certainly didn’t play great, either. The 2019 NFL MVP got further away from winning the award a second time by completing just 54.6% of his passes, his second-worst clip of the year, and throwing for 133 yards, also his second-worst mark of the season.
On a positive note, Jackson rushed for 82 yards, threw a touchdown pass, and was interception-free for the third consecutive week.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 160-257, 1,768 yards, 16 TD, 6 INT; 86 rushes, 635 yards, 2 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 84.1
9. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)
Week 9 Stats: 30-43, 245 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 1 rush, 3 yards
Week 9 Grade: B-
Justin Herbert certainly didn’t have his strongest game of the year against the Falcons, but he did just enough to help the Chargers to a 20-17 win, keeping LA just one game back of the Chiefs in the AFC West.
The Pro Bowler completed 69.8% of his passes, his second-best mark of the season, for 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception and hit Josh Palmer for 22 yards to set up newly-signed kicker Cameron Dicker’s game-winning field goal as time expired.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 233-351, 2,254 yards, 13 TD, 5 INT; 22 rushes, 51 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 84.9
8. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (7-1)
Week 9 Stats: 22-40, 265 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 2 rushes, -2 yards
Week 9 Grade: B-
Playing in Washington for the first time as a visitor, Kirk Cousins made his former team the Vikings’ seventh victim of the year as he led Minnesota to a 20-17 comeback victory.
Cousins certainly wasn’t as sharp as he was a week ago, but he did just enough to get his team to 7-1. He completed a season-low 55% of his passes and tossed his first interception in nearly a month but also threw for 265 yards, his highest total since Week 5, and a pair of touchdowns, the second of which tied the game at 17-17.
He then led a 15-play drive to set up Greg Joseph’s game-winning field goal with 12 seconds remaining. With the Packers losing their fifth straight, the Vikings are now in complete control of the NFC North.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 197-304, 1,999 yards, 13 TD, 6 INT; 15 rushes, 38 yards, 2 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 85.2
7. Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)
Week 9 Stats: 36-58, 280 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Week 9 Grade: A-
Tom Brady had himself a big day on Sunday.
For starters, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 100,000 career passing yards, which is simply absurd. But more importantly for TB12, as he’s not a big stat guy, he led his record 55th game-winning drive, completing five of six passes in 35 seconds in marching the Buccaneers down the field in the final minute for an improbable 16-13 victory, thus avoiding his first four-game losing streak in 20 years.
Overall, Brady completed 62.1% of his passes for 280 yards and a touchdown, which was the game-winner with nine seconds remaining. But imagine what his line would look like had his receivers not dropped as many passes as they did.
This was a season-saving win for Brady and the Bucs, who are right back atop the NFC South at 4-5.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 260-398, 2,547 yards, 10 TD, 1 INT; 12 rushes, -5 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 86.8
6. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (5-4)
Week 9 Stats: 22-28, 206 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 4 rushes, 9 yards, 1 TD
Week 9 Grade: A
Six days after suffering a somewhat embarrassing loss to the Browns, the Bengals came back strong with a lopsided 42-21 win over the Panthers. Okay, maybe there’s no such thing as a “strong” win over Carolina right now, but it was an important victory nonetheless.
Joe Burrow had a solid outing, completing 78.6% of his passes for 206 yards with a touchdown and adding another on the ground. We’ve certainly seen bigger numbers from Burrow recently, but he didn’t need big stats on Sunday, as it was another Joe stuffing the stat sheet.
That, of course, would be Cincinnati running back Joe Mixon, who finally had the breakout game the Bengals have been hoping for, rushing for a season-high 153 yards with a franchise-record five touchdowns.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 233-333, 2,535 yards, 18 TD, 6 INT; 35 rushes, 141 yards, 4 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 87
5. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (6-3)
Week 9 Stats: 26-34, 275 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 6 rushes, 38 yards
Week 9 Grade: A-
Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks are here to stay, folks. And they just might be the best story of this wild 2022 season.
Smith continues to play at an extremely high level and had yet another efficient outing on Sunday in a 31-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals, completing 76.5% of his passes to bring his league-leading total to 73.1%.
While he threw a lousy pick-six in the third quarter, which lost his team the lead, Smith came back to lead touchdown drives of 75, 81, and 85 yards on the Seahawks’ next three possessions. Seattle is now 6-3 and leads the NFC West at the halfway point, which nobody could have predicted.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 207-283, 2,199 yards, 15 TD, 4 INT; 41 rushes, 196 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 89.5
4. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (6-2)
Week 9 Stats: 18-34, 205 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT; 9 rushes, 86 yards, 2 TD
Week 9 Grade: D+
To put it bluntly, Josh Allen didn’t look like Josh Allen in the Bills’ Week 9 20-17 loss to the New York Jets.
For the second straight week, the former No. 1 in our rankings threw a pair of interceptions and simply looked like a middle-of-the-pack QB. Pressured by the Jets’ defense all afternoon long, Allen was sacked a season-high five times and completed just 52.9% of his passes. He completed just 52% a week ago, so his accuracy has certainly taken a hit.
On the plus side, he ran for two touchdowns but failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time since Week 17 of last season. He also fumbled twice.
But the big concern in Buffalo right now is Allen’s right elbow, which was injured during his second fumble. There are concerns about his ulnar collateral ligament and related nerves, and his status for the Bills’ Week 10 matchup with the Vikings is in question.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 191-298, 2,403 yards, 19 TD, 8 INT; 62 rushes, 392 yards, 4 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 89.8
3. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (8-0)
Week 9 Stats: 21-27, 243 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 9 rushes, 23 yards
Week 9 Grade: A+
As the Philadelphia Eagles continue to be perfect, improving to 8-0 with a 29-17 road win over the Houston Texans on Thursday night, so does Jalen Hurts.
After shaking off a bit of a slow start, Hurts settled in and threw multiple touchdowns with zero interceptions for the third consecutive week, completing 77.8% of his passes for 243 yards and a pair of TDs.
The game took on extra meaning for Hurts, who grew up in the Houston area and spent a lot of time in NRG (formerly Reliant) Stadium as his father worked for the Texans for several years.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 163-239, 2,042 yards, 12 TD, 2 INT; 88 rushes, 326 yards, 6 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 90.3
2. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (6-1)
Week 9 Stats: 21-30, 302 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; 5 rushes, 0 yards
Week 9 Grade: A+
Facing a Bears defense that’s been recently gutted, Tua Tagovailoa took full advantage and had another monster day as Miami survived a surprise shootout with Chicago to improve to 6-3, inching closer to the Bills in the AFC East.
Clearly recovered from the concussion that forced him to miss two games a few weeks back, Tagovailoa completed 70% of his passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns in the 35-32 win. It’s also worth noting that he hasn’t thrown an interception since his return.
With a few more outings like this, Tua could certainly make his way into the No. 1 spot in our rankings. But for now, that slot still belongs to the man who’s already held it for much of this season.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 151-216, 1,980 yards, 15 TD, 3 INT; 18 rushes, 35 yards
2022 NFL Season Score: 92.4
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
Week 9 Stats: 43-68, 446 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 6 rushes, 63 yards, 1 TD
Week 9 Grade: A-
I’ve gotta tell you that Patrick Mahomes was extremely difficult to grade this week. I mean, the guy accounted for more than 500 yards of offense, but he also threw the ball an absurd 68 times. So it’s almost as if he should pass for 446 yards. And he damn sure should’ve thrown seven or eight touchdowns, right? But no, he only threw one to make my life difficult.
In the end, it came down to the fact that he — and almost he alone — won that nailbiter with the Texans by himself. Mahomes dealt with quite a few uncharacteristic drops from his receivers, specifically Travis Kelce, although Kelce did make that fantastic catch reaching behind his body when it mattered most.
But even in the end, when Mahomes couldn’t get it done through the air, he stepped out of his comfort zone and got the job done on the ground. He got Kansas City within two on a 14-yard TD run with just under three minutes to go and then tied the game by running the two-point conversion in as well.
2022 NFL Season Stats: 219-331, 2,605 yards, 21 TD, 6 INT; 27 rushes, 176 yards, 1 TD
2022 NFL Season Score: 92.7
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