For the second-straight week, Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock was impressive in victory.
As for Lamar Jackson, he didn't get loose with his legs against the Bills in Buffalo, but he threw three touchdown passes en route to Baltimore's victory.
Each week, I dig deep and grade these quarterbacks on a per-snap basis, taking every individual aspect of their performance into account. And you'll see a season grade for the signal-callers who've played significant snaps in more than one game.
Best Throws: He showed his speed and cutting ability on a 16-yard quarterback keep on the first drive then put one on Mark Andrews' hands with two defenders in close, but the pass was dropped and it was defended well. Later in the first, he shook Matt Milano on a seven-yard run. On that drive, he put one a few inches too far to Andrews in the back corner of the end zone with Levi Wallace all over him. Would've been an amazing catch, but the pass was essentially where it needed to be. His first touchdown was a short but creative flip on an option to Nick Boyle. In the third, he ripped a sidearm throw over the middle to Seth Roberts, who was hit immediately after catching the ball, then stood in against a free rushers and got it to a wide open Hurst for a 61-yard touchdown. After moving out and to his left after being pressured, Jackson fit one into Hurst at the sideline. His last touchdown was a second option off play-action fit just behind Tremaine Edmunds.
Worst Throws: On a third and long in the first, he threw too high on a comeback. His interception was a throw high and behind Willie Snead that was tipped by the receiver as he tried to make the acrobatic catch. Late in a one-score game, Jackson tried the same second option on a play-action bootleg on which he threw his last touchdown, but the ball was knocked away by Lorenzo Alexander.
Summary: In what proved to be Jackson's least-impactful day on the ground since Week 1, and a day in which he never really got into a good rhythm as a passer, against a top-end defense on the road, Jackson did enough creatively in the red zone, and took a shot while delivering a long touchdown.
Grade: B+
Season Grade: B+
The Eagles came back to beat the Giants in OT and tie Dallas atop the NFC East, and there's a lot to go over. Listen to Will Brinson and the Pick Six Podcast Superfriends break down the game and much more in the player below, and be sure to subscribe for daily NFL goodness.
Best Throws: In the first quarter, Darnold placed a deep corner perfectly to Demaryius Thomas through a tight window, but the ball was dropped. Darnold fit one into Robby Anderson down the right sideline for 39 yards. Darnold got to his second read and found Jamison Crowder over over the middle, and there was a nice deep cross to Ty Montgomery in the third. While rolling right on a throw near the end zone, Darnold put it a little out in front of Crowder, but the ball hit him in his hands and fell incomplete. As he was being hit, Darnold somehow got one to Anderson on a deep cross. In the fourth, Darnold moved right away from interior pressure and ripped one to Anderson.
Worst Throws: He sailed a deep corner in the second. Midway through the third, after starting to his left, he came back to the right sideline, threw a touch late down the field and was picked. With under a minute to go in the third, Darnold's long ball attempt hung and should've been intercepted by the safety. In the fourth, Darnold underthrew a flag route near the end zone yet the pick was dropped. On the next drive, he missed a open Anderson in the end zone.
Summary: It wasn't a pretty game for Darnold, and, as usual, a small collection of pinpoint throws at the intermediate range popped up. There were misses deep on a few corner routes, and he nearly had three picks against one of the least impactful secondaries in football at home.
Grade: D+
Season Grade: C-
Best Throws: Allen's first impressive throw against Baltimore came midway through the second quarter when he drifted away from interior pressure and threw a strike to Cole Beasley on third down to move the chains. Then, on the last drive of the first half, against a free rusher from the outside, he quickly zinged another out to Beasley for a first down. On Buffalo's first possession of he third quarter, Allen looked right then came back to the middle to fire a laser to John Brown over the middle for 18. While he did leave a clean pocket on a third and eight, he found Dawson Knox on a throw somewhat across his body, but the pass was dropped. Near the end of the third, after spinning out of pressure and directing Beasley down the field, Allen dropped one in the bucket over the wideout's shoulder. Drop. In the fourth, Allen placed another sideline throw perfectly over the shoulder of his intended target, this time Dawson Knox, for a 37-yard gain. In the red zone, Allen threw a fastball between two defenders to Knox that was dropped (but well defended).
Worst Throws: On the second drive of the game, Allen narrowly missed Robert Foster on a deep corner that could've gone for a long touchdown had the throw been on target. On the next drive, he had Dawson Knox down the field but overthrew him before throwing a tad high on a scramble drill to Foster on third down. Late in the first, while getting taken to the turf by a free rusher, Allen threw a dangerous pass to Beasley in the flat with Marlon Humphrey in tight. In the second, Allen eluded pressure and stayed in the pocket but seemingly didn't have the best grip on the football before releasing a wobbler downfield that fell woefully short. Late in the second, he took a bad sack after holding the ball in a clean pocket that slowly deteriorated. Allen airmailed a shallow cross to Brown and was sacked as he tried to escape late in a third-down situation in the fourth.
Summary: Allen had a panicky start with a handful of overthrows deep and was harassed by the Ravens' blitz-heavy game plan all afternoon. Some impressive displays of his arm strength and athleticism came later in the contest, but the second-year quarterback really never got it going against Baltimore's high-caliber defense.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: B-
Best Throws: In the second, Murray squeezed an in-breaking route to move the chains on third-and-2. After running away from T.J. Watt, Murray threw a strike across his body for for 13 yards. A split second before he was hit inside the pocket, Murray found Christian Kirk down the field for 31. After an eight-yard scramble, Murray lofted a pass to David Johnson in the end zone that just cleared the oncoming defender.
Worst Throws: Late in the first, Murray had Larry Fitzgerald open on drag route on third down, but the throw was too high. After holding the ball for far too long in the red zone, Murray took a sack. On another trip inside the 10, Murray threw behind Fitzgerald on a drag route. He threw an interception on an out from the slot in which he didn't notice Joe Haden lurking behind the route. His second pick came on fourth-and-2 close to the end zone when he could've ran for the first -- or probably scored -- but instead threw it into Watt's arms.
Summary: This was the most screen-heavy, gimmicky game plan I've seen from the Cardinals all season. Murray's pocket presence wasn't great, but he did have many drop backs without pressure. He simply didn't have it against Pittsburgh at home.
Grade: D
Season Grade: C+
Best Throws: One of Allen's best throws of this game actually came on an interception. He threw a gorgeous touch pass down the sideline to Ian Thomas, who didn't have much separation at all, but the ball popped up into the air and into the arms of an Atlanta defensive back. Late in the second, he made a long throw down the left sideline -- from the opposite hash -- to D.J. Moore past a defender in close on a play that went for 39. Another toss from the far hash was on target to Curtis Samuel on a deep comeback. One quality deep ball fell incomplete due to a defensive pass interference, and another looked like pass interference but wasn't called. With the game well out of reach, he ripped a slant to Moore between converging defenders
Worst Throws: While possibly a miscommunication, he threw well behind Moore on a deep cross in the first quarter. Then on a third-and-6 in which he couldn't really step into his throw, Allen's pass on a deep out was wide of the target and fell incomplete. He threw an errant pass toward two Panthers wideouts down the field that dangerously hit the turf near a bunch of Falcons defenders, then on the next play, he had a slant nearly intercepted. In the third, he just missed Samuel downfield for what would've been a touchdown. Allen's second pick of the day was on him. It came when he vacated the pocket to the right and uncorked one deep into traffic. Late in the fourth, a late corner route was almost picked then he missed an open wideout on a long ball that would've resulted in six.
Summary: As per usual, Allen's arm strength was on display a few times in this contest, but the wayward passes were also on full display, and he didn't move well in the pocket whatsoever against a barrage of pressure from Atlanta. He easily could've had a pair of interceptions that were his fault in this blowout.
Grade: D+
Season Grade: C
Best Throws: On the first drive for the Jaguars, Minshew and D.J. Chark hooked up on a pretty back-shoulder toss. He eluded some rushers before finding a completely uncovered Nick O'Leary for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Worst Throws: Late in the second, Minshew well overthrew a deep ball down the left sideline. In the third, he missed on an easy throw into the flat to Leonard Fournette. Late in the fourth, he threw behind Keelan Cole on a back-shoulder attempt.
Summary: As you may be able to tell from the super-short descriptions above, this was a check down/screen game for Minshew, with barely any throws of substance. He and the Jaguars offense didn't get going whatsoever against the Chargers, and the high-caliber throws downfield were simply not there for Minshew after the first drive.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: C+
Best Throws: Mayfield's first throw of the game was a beautiful throw outside the numbers to Odell Beckham for 18. He then ripped a seam throw to David Njoku that was ripped away from him for an interception. On a third-and-19, Mayfield had great timing on a throw to Jarvis Landry over the middle for the first down. After moving in the pocket, he got to his second read to find an open Beckham for 21 then placed it exquisitely down the field to Beckham later in the second but the wideout stepped out of bounds. On the next play, he fired one into Beckham on an in-breaking route with multiple defenders converging, and the pass was knocked away. Off play-action in his own end, Mayfield threw his prettiest pass of the afternoon on a deep out to Landry that was ruled incomplete because of the receiver's feet being out of bounds as he secured the catch.
Worst Throws: Late in the first, Mayfield didn't see an underneath defender on a slant and should've been picked but was intercepted two plays later after a high throw down the field was tipped. In the second, he threw behind a dig route.
Summary: This was another game that was better than that stats indicated for Mayfield, although there were some errant tosses in the first half.
Grade: B-
Season Grade: C+
Best Throws: Lock's first throw of the day went for 48 yards to Noah Fant and was a demonstration of his arm strength, as the ball arrived a split second before a defender could knock it down. Later on that possession, Lock threw a missile down the seam -- and over the shoulder of the coverage defender -- to Fant for a score. While fading away, Lock lofted a gorgeous ball to Tim Patrick down the sideline right before the safety from center field arrived. On a third-and-6, Lock smoked one into Fant into the flat and the speed at which the ball got to the tight end allowed him to pick up extra yardage. Midway through the third, Lock had a really nice scramble after a flea-flicker for 11.
Worst Throws: On the initial drive of the game for Denver, Lock threw one over the head of Courtland Sutton in the flat. He was late -- after pumping -- on his interception down the right sideline. Late in the game, Lock threw high on a slant to DaeSean Hamilton.
Summary: While the Texans pass defense is one of the league's most porous, Lock was impressive in his first road start, especially in the first half. He threw with outstanding velocity and ball placement and was calm inside the pocket.
Grade: A-
Season Grade: B+
Best Throws: Late in the second quarter, Haskins found an open Kelvin Harmon over the middle, and the throw had the perfect trajectory to sail above the head of the underneath defender. With under a minute to go before the half, he stepped up in the pocket nicely to find Steven Sims over the middle. In the third, he moved up into the pocket and slipped as he threw, but hit Sims in the hands on an intermediate crosser that was dropped. With under three minutes to play, Haskins looked right before ripping a deep comeback to Terry McLaurin in traffic.
Worst Throws: While not the worst throw of his life, Haskins overthrew his target on a deep ball in the second quarter. While he started toward the right sideline and ultimately threw toward the left sideline, Haskins' pass was late and picked near the end of the half. Late in the third, a deep cross was underthrown and hit the underneath defender in the back. In the fourth, a pass on a dig route was wide and simply not open.
Summary: In what's been the case in all of his starts this year, Haskins' offensive line was pretty bad for most of this game. There were an assortment of easy passes for Haskins and about as many quality throws as there were inaccurate or late ones.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: C-
Best Throws: Hodges gave Deon Cain a chance on a back-shoulder throw downfield in the second quarter, and the second-year pro brought it in. There was good timing on an out to James Washington from the slot against zone. During the two-minute drill, Hodges threw with good velocity on a deep out to Diontae Johnson. His 2-yard touchdown to Johnson was through a tight window near the front left pylon in the end zone. In the fourth, he rolled left and found an open receiver to pick up a third and 13.
Worst Throws: Hodges threw the ball way too far for Washington down the field in the third quarter, but defensive pass interference was called. However, had it not occurred, it was very unlikely that the second-year wideout would've been able to run under the ball. Late in the fourth, Hodges threw low on a screen that was knocked away.
Summary: Hodges didn't really make any mistakes in this game and only had to make a few plays in order for the Steelers to win. There were plenty of check downs and screens, but he didn't put the ball in harm's way.
Grade: C+
Season Grade: C
Best Throws: Off play-action, Blough had nice timing with Marvin Jones on a deep comeback. Before halftime, he squeezed a fastball into Danny Amendola on a third and short. A few plays later, off play-action, he zipped a gorgeous deep out to Kenny Golladay that needed to be a touch high and it was. For a first down late in the second quarter, Blough threw with anticipation on an out to Amendola. In garbage time in the fourth, Blough zipped one aggressively down the seam to Jesse James through traffic. His late-game touchdown to Golladay was a ripped back-shoulder to the big wideout with a defender in tight.
Worst Throws: Late in the first, Blough threw wide off a toss into the flat then took a bad sack when he drifted into edge pressure. In the third, after moving left and just before he was hit, Blough threw too high over the middle, and the errant pass was picked by Harrison Smith. In the fourth, he had Jones open over the middle against zone coverage, but the ball was too low. Incomplete.
Summary: Blough wasn't asked to do much in this game, especially early, but for the second-straight week against a division foe, he looked like he belonged in the NFL with a handful of anticipation throws and passes with impressive zip and accuracy. He struggled under pressure and the bad miss popped up from time to time.
Grade: C+
Season Grade: B-
