NFL QB Watch: Joe Burrow Falls Below Jordan Love as Josh Allen Leads Week 1 Rankings

Following an instant Sunday night classic between the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills, one in which Josh Allen was able to record 424 total scrimmage yards, Kurt Benkert ranked the reigning MVP as the best quarterback in the league today. Even though the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings have yet to take the field, it’s safe to say that there’s hardly anything that either J.J. McCarthy or Caleb Williams can do to dethrone Allen.

His 394 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 30 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns underlined a historical 15-point comeback, but only after a measurable number of Bills fans had already begun to leave the stadium. Despite the gut-wrenching loss, however, it was still a productive night for Lamar Jackson as well.

The 2024 MVP runner-up was able to record a pair of passing touchdowns himself and needed just 14 pass completions to generate 209 passing yards. In typical “Action” Jackson fashion, he also managed to rush for 70 yards and a touchdown on just six carries.

Suffice to say, the loss wasn’t the result of a lack of effort. One quarterback who did manage to see his efforts pay off, however, was Justin Herbert, who is, rather controversially, ranked as the third-best signal caller heading into Week 2 of the season.

The perennial AFC West hopeful was finally able to find his first win over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs since 2022. His 25 pass completions, which resulted in 318 passing yards and three touchdowns, stole most of the show on Friday night, and his performance was even capped off with a picture-perfect slide for a first down to ice the game.

Then there’s Joe Burrow. Lackluster showings in Week 1 have become the norm in Cincinnati throughout the past several years, and unfortunately, that trend continued on Sunday.

The Bengals’ QB1 provided a measly 113 passing yards, and their $161-million WR1, Ja’Marr Chase, finished third on the team in receiving yards after catching just two passes for a total of 26 receiving yards. Given their tendencies to be slow starters, it doesn’t seem as if Benkert is buying any stock in them right now. As a result, he’s the 10th-best QB in the NFL ahead of Week 2.

Much like Jackson, however, his effort in spite of a loss was enough to land him at the sixth overall spot in Benkert’s power rankings. The reigning AFC Champion was able to create 315 total scrimmage yards and dropped back a total of 39 times.

Nevertheless, an untimely exit for Xavier Worthy proved to be the bane of both Mahomes’ and fantasy footballers’ Friday nights. That seems to be enough for the former Green Bay Packer to warrant removing him from the top five of his personal power rankings.