The long-awaited moment for all NFL fans has arrived: the Playoffs. And although it is clear that it is not the only element that determines the fate of each franchise, it is usually paid attention to 14 back who will look to guide their teams towards Vince Lombardi.

Who are the best and worst quarterbacks this postseason, and how exactly do these 14 rookies rank? The ranking, according to The Sports Newsbelow, with the clarification that it was considered Tua Tagovailoa and Lamar Jackson (both contested) among starting QBs.

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The 2023 NFL Playoffs Quarterback Rankings

14) Brock Purdy – San Francisco 49ers

Nothing Purdy has done in his short NFL career (9 games) warrants his last-place finish. However, it is a case of seeing is believing. The Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 Plan has taken over the reins of the Niners with great solvency after the Injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lanceadding up 13 touchdowns against 4 interceptions and one spectacular rating of 107.3 in five properties.

Can he keep up those numbers in the postseason, with all eyes on him? We have our doubts.

13) Geno Smith – Seattle Seahawks

If the ratings were compiled at midseason, Smith would likely appear a few spots above that 13th spot. The truth is Geno enjoyed an absolutely phenomenal season with the Seahawks, leading the NFL in completion percentage (69.8%). and finishing with 30 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, with nearly 252 passing yards per game.

The problem? His performance has plummeted over the past five weeks, down to Earth in field goal percentage (63%), touchdowns (8) and turnovers (5). We’ll see which Smith shows up in the Playoffs, which open right up against Purdy’s 49ers.

12) Daniel Jones – New York Giants

Like Smith, Jones also had it best season of his career and like Seattle, New York took advantage of it to surprise and enter the Playoffs. The Giants QB he is not gifted with air (200 yards per game, 15 touchdowns in 16 games) but take care of the ball (only 5 interceptions) and is a constant threat from earth (44 yards per carry).

Brian Daboll managed to get the most out of Jones this seasonhiding its limitations and exploiting its virtues.

11) Kirk Cousins ​​- Minnesota Vikings

Even with the Vikings winning 13 of their 17 games, Cousins ​​didn’t have a good season, at least not with his usual performance: posted his lowest rating since 2014 and his lowest QBR since 2013. Additionally, there are still doubts about his ability to lead the Vikings to big playoff games: his 86.6 rating in four postseason appearances is well below his regular season rating (97.8).

Weapons are not lacking (it has, perhaps, the best receiver in the NFL, Justin Jefferson;), but Cousins ​​must prove he’s up to the task on the most demanding stage.

10) Tua Tagovailoa – Miami Dolphins

Even when healthy, Tua is a watershed quarterback in the NFL like few others. On the one hand, he had a spectacular 2022, in which he led the NFL in so many important categories: touchdown pass percentage (6.3%), yards per attempt (8.9), yards per completion (13.7) and rating (105.5), helped by the arrival of the explosive Tyreek Hill.

Against him, he is a shaky QBcapable of making spectacular plays, but also putting the ball in danger: he had 6 scissors in 13 matches and was the third quarterback with most passes interceptedaccording to Pro Football Focus stats (4.2% of his passes, just ahead of Justin Fields and Matt Ryan).

9) Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys

The usually reliable, if unspectacular, Dak Prescott comes from a 2022 surprisingly unstablein which led the NFL with 15 interceptions and posted the second worst rating (91.1) of his career. Dak has had a pass intercepted in his last seven games. In the past, the playoffs haven’t been kind to Dallas’ quarterback, either 1-3 postseason recordwith a score of 87.9.

His close of the Tactical Phase was undoubtedly forgotten, but Prescott has the talent to make at least the Top 10 of this ranking. Of course: if he doesn’t perform well in the Wild Card Round against Brady’s Bucs, questions will surely start in Dallas about whether he’s the right QB to lead the franchise.

8) Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars

Lawrence made it to the NFL marked as the future of the league at his positionbut he had a disappointing rookie season, albeit an understandable one for them disaster caused by Urban Meyer in those Jaguars. The coaching change and the arrival of Doug Pederson brought out a completely improved version of Lawrence, who finished the regular season with 25 touchdowns against 8 interceptions and had nearly 242 yards per game.

In fact, Lawrence’s numbers could have been higher given a better receiving corps: the Jaguars led the NFL with 34 drops (passes dropped). And speaking of balls, that’s also a topic that brings Jacksonville’s young quarterback back a few scores, as he recorded no less than 12 balls this season.

A very good general, from whom we are probably a few years away from seeing the best version of him.

7) Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens

The 2019 NFL MVP He has been out with an injury since Week 13 and when he did play, not even the best version of him appeared: Averaged under 200 passing yards per game and completed just 62% of his passes. Although of course, always with the asterisk that the Ravens have very little talent at the wide receiver position.

Jackson hasn’t had a good postseason game (more interceptions than touchdowns), but what makes him rank is his skill like play maker from the earth. Until Justin Fields’ arrival in the league, Lamar was probably the the most explosive general he has ever seen of the NFL and 2022 was no exception: he had added nearly 70 yards per game. When healthy, he’s a nightmare for opposing defenses.

6) Tom Brady – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Although 2022 finally showed a decline in Brady’s performance (something reasonable in his 45 years!), o GOAT nfl He continues to earn a spot among the best quarterbacks these Playoffs. not only for them recent postseason recordbut because the Normal Phase closed well, with score of 121 in his last two performances. Have you saved the best for this time of year?

Until we see Brady fall short in the postseason, it’s impossible to dismiss him as one of the best players at his position. Not for nothing led the NFL in completions during that campaign, in which he hit 490 in 17 matches.

5) Justin Herbert – Los Angeles Chargers

Herbert is another one of them quarterbacks who divide opinion in the leaguebetween those who see it as one of the competition’s best and those who think it’s too much publicity around him. We lean more towards the first group, even in 2022 in which was below what was done in the previous campaign.

The problem for Herbert is that his team doesn’t help him much, even when he has great options on offense. However, no quarterback was pressured more times by the defense than the Chargers: 272 occasions in 17 games (in almost 40% of his assignments).

When the Chargers manage to keep the pocket clean, Herbert shows his talent. But as long as he has defenders constantly on him, it will be difficult for him to significantly improve his numbers.

4) Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles

The progress Hurts has shown between last season and this season has been remarkable. He went from a quarterback who left doubts about his status as a starter, to one who will compete for league MVPespecially when one considers what it combines from the offense (101.5 rating) and rushing (nearly 51 yards per game).

The Eagles were able to surround him perfectly, especially with the arrival of AJ Brown, but what Hurts did shouldn’t be diminished. the next step is Show that you can shine in the Playoffsin which he had a memorable debut in 2021 in Philadelphia’s loss to Tampa Bay.

3) Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals

There is a valid argument to support this Strictly speaking in terms of passing the ball, Barrow is the most accurate quarterback in the competition.. And while he doesn’t present the current threat that those who will be above him in this ranking do, he showed last season that those qualities could be enough to carry his team to the Super Bowl.

Burrow finished the regular season with 35 touchdown passes against 12 interceptions and had nearly 280 yards per game. The Bengals protected him better than they did in his first two seasons in the league and look poised for another deep run in the postseason after a 2022 that saw them go from low to high.

2) Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills

Allen’s numbers are quite similar to Barrow’s: 35 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, nearly 270 passing yards per game. The difference goes through two elements: it is much stronger hand and above all his own ground capacity: he averaged nearly 50 yards per carry per game and another 7 touchdowns in doing so.

At times, the Bills quarterback continues to get some tough decisions to justify who put the ball in danger: appears just behind Tua as o 4th quarterback with most interceptions thrown. But Buffalo takes the bad knowing all the good that a super explosive Allen creates and is capable of changing a game with genius at any moment.

1) Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs

Regardless of who wins the MVP every year, for some seasons that is The consensus has Mahomes as the best quarterback and player in the NFL. 2022 was a reminder why: Kansas City lost a great receiver like Tyreek Hill and though he did not replace him with anyone of his caliber, Mahomes was able to improve your numbers and leave the Chiefs as the better offense among the 32 in the league.

Mahomes led NFL in passing yards (5,250), touchdowns (41), yards per game (308.8) and QBR (77.6), except it left Kansas City with the number one seed in the AFC. Another top prize for your collection? Probably, although the Texan’s mind is ready to catch up to his second super bowl ring.