Vintage Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. An all-time clutch performance from Bo Nix. The steady progression of Cam Ward.
The quarterback play in the NFL this past week gave us plenty of highs — and an abundance of lows. In a roller-coaster Week 7, we saw the continued brilliance of the likes of Drake Maye, Dak Prescott and Daniel Jones. We also witnessed new depths found by Tua Tagovailoa, Geno Smith and Justin Fields, the latter of whom was benched in the Jets’ loss Sunday to the Panthers.
Welcome to this week’s QB Stock Market, where we track the fluctuations of NFL starting passers throughout the season. That means combining the essence of the performances each week against the totality of each quarterback’s season.
Previous: Preseason, Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Let’s dive in:
The dominant Patrick Mahomes we saw at the beginning of his career as a starter? That’s been back on display as of late, which puts him atop the QB Stock Market for the first time since Week 1.
The two-time NFL MVP got No. 1 wide receiver Rashee Rice back this past week after a six-game suspension to start the season. And Mahomes’ connection with Rice was the big takeaway as he carved up the struggling Raiders for 286 yards and three touchdowns (two to Rice) with no interceptions in just three quarters.
Patrick Mahomes is happy to have WR1 Rashee Rice (left) back on the field for the first time since September 2024. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Sunday marked the first time that the Chiefs’ top three wide receivers — Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown — played together in a regular-season game. What’s scary, though, is that Mahomes was already playing at an elite level before Rice’s return. So with the third-year receiver back in the fold, Mahomes & Co. are resembling Kansas City’s explosive offenses of several years ago.
Since Week 4, when Worthy returned from a dislocated shoulder, Mahomes has completed 71.3% of his passes for 1,131 yards (282.6/game), adding 13 total touchdowns (11 passing, 2 rushing) against just one interception with a 117.2 passer rating. In that span, Mahomes has been sacked only five times. He’s also pacing for a career high in rushing yards.
As a result, the Chiefs have scored at least 28 points in four straight games for the first time since 2021.
Yes, the best quarterback of this era is back playing at an MVP level.
Even with WR1 Puka Nacua sidelined by injury, Matthew Stafford threw five touchdown passes in a Week 7 Rams rout of the Jaguars in London. That’s a first for an NFL international game. (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
Jared Goff is a perfect example of why being a “game manager” isn’t a bad thing.
Sure, he may be a bit scheme-dependent and unable to truly carry an offense. But with the right personnel and coaching around him — like he’s had in Detroit the past several years — he’s as deadly as any passer on the planet. His 74.9% completion rate this season ranks second in the NFL.
He’s perfectly fine managing a game, too, like he did Monday night, when running back Jahmyr Gibbs (218 scrimmage yards) and the Lions’ defense did the heavy lifting against Tampa Bay. Goff had some miscues, including two turnovers and overthrowing rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa on a fourth-and-2 in the end zone in the first half, but made the plays he needed to make.
Monday was one of Goff’s worst performances of the season, but it was still respectable in totality — 20-for-29 for 241 yards and a touchdown with a 91.3 passer rating, plus the two giveaways. “Bad” performances for Goff aren’t the lows they once were in his days with the Rams.
Entering Week 8, Goff leads the NFL with a 116.1 passer rating.
Baker Mayfield was hounded by the Lions’ pressure in Week 7. He had a season-high four sacks and a season-low 66.1 passer rating. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Aaron Rodgers is turning back the clock with the Steelers.
Of course, the four-time MVP doesn’t move all that well at age 41, but you can tell he’s more comfortable navigating the pocket being another year removed from the Achilles injury he suffered in September 2023. And he apparently still has the arm talent that makes him arguably the most gifted thrower ever. His Hail Mary attempt at the end of Pittsburgh’s Week 7 loss to the Bengals traveled 69.8 air yards, the longest recorded pass attempt since at least 2017, according to Next Gen Stats.
Rodgers is playing at a level we haven’t seen since the end of his Green Bay days. He recorded four passing touchdowns against Cincinnati, his second four-TD performance in six games this season. The last time he had at least two games with four passing touchdowns in a season was 2021, when he won his fourth MVP award. His 105.1 passer rating so far this year is also on pace to be his best mark since that MVP year.
By many metrics, Bo Nix has taken a step back from his impressive rookie season, when he finished third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting and helped lead Denver to the playoffs.
But you can’t say he’s not clutch.
In the Broncos’ historic comeback victory on Sunday, when they scored 33 fourth-quarter points (second-most in league history) to stun the Giants, Nix led the charge. Last year’s No. 12 pick had four total touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) and orchestrated the game-winning drive in the final 14:08. It was a masterclass from Nix in resilience, composure and dual-threat quarterbacking down the stretch.
The former Oregon star needs to play high-level football more consistently, though. He’s posted a passer rating above 100 just once this season (Week 2).
Bo Nix celebrates with fans after defeating the Giants 33-32 in a miraculous comeback on Oct. 19. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Caleb Williams still has a long way to go with Ben Johnson.
Last year’s No. 1 pick had his worst performance of the season in Sunday’s win over the Saints, going 15-of-26 (57.7% completion rate) for 172 yards and a touchdown with an interception. It marked his first time throwing for fewer than 200 yards in 2025. And on the pick play, in the first quarter, he telegraphed the pass to Rome Odunze. He also had poor ball placement on the throw, paving the way for an easy interception for New Orleans.
Williams had two fumbles as well, though they were both recovered and weren’t necessarily his fault.
Consistency is the next step for the former USC star, who has elevated his play in Year 1 with Johnson but remains far off from maximizing his potential. He does have a better offensive line and coaching around him than a year ago to help in that pursuit, though.
Joe Flacco has brought hope back to the Bengals after arriving in Cincinnati in the first week of October. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Bryce Young’s NFL career has been a roller-coaster ride, but right now, the Panthers are enjoying their first three-game winning streak since 2021. Young, however, may miss Week 8 with a high ankle sprain. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
The end result may have been the same for the Titans this past week, but Cam Ward showed progress.
The No. 1 pick completed 25 of 34 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown with two turnovers in Tennessee’s loss to New England. Ward had season-highs in completion rate (73.5%), yards per attempt (7.5) and passer rating (92.2). His passing yardage was also his second-highest mark of the season. He was particularly good in the first half — 11-of-16 for 148 yards and the touchdown with no giveaways and a 118.8 passer rating.
Yes, ball security is a very real problem for Ward. For the second week in a row, he had an unforced lost fumble. Against the Patriots, he lost hold of the ball without being touched, and it was recovered by New England linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson for a touchdown. The former Miami star needs to be better about protecting the football, whether it’s an emphasis on holding the ball tighter or using gloves.
But he showed improvement in many other departments. Ward’s 38-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Chimere Dike on a 38-yard deep cross Sunday was a well-placed ball.
With seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions, Geno Smith’s tenure with the Raiders has been a disaster so far. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
There’s a reason why Spencer Rattler has been the Saints’ QB1 to start the year. He has talent.
Before Sunday, he had just one giveaway through six games despite throwing the ball a heavy amount. He entered Week 7 as the only qualified quarterback in the NFL to attempt at least 200 passes with one or fewer interceptions in 2025, per NGS.
But clearly, he can’t lift a New Orleans offense that isn’t as bad as you might think, considering the team’s 1-6 record. The Saints have pieces at the skill positions (Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Juwan Johnson), but they rank fourth-worst in scoring (17.9 points/game). And Rattler is coming off a four-turnover performance.
It begs the question: When will we see second-round rookie Tyler Shough get a shot? After all, there’s a good chance New Orleans will be in the quarterback market next offseason. The Saints are in the running for the No. 1 overall pick. You’d think they’d want to be 100 percent clear on what they have at the quarterback position now before they make a swing at the spot in the spring.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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