Ranking All 14 NFL Playoff Quarterbacks

Despite concern before the season that a bad back would derail his season, the 37-year-old Stafford started all 17 games, leading the league with 4,707 yards and a career-best 47 TD passes. As for Stafford’s playoff prowess, let’s parse out the three playoff games he played with the Lions a decade ago. Since 2021 with the Rams, Stafford has completed 68% of his passes with 15 TD passes against three interceptions.

3. Trevor Lawrence

Lawrence is playing like the generational quarterback he was projected to be when the Jacksonville Jaguars made him the No. 1 pick in 2021. Lawrence finished in the top six in passing yards and touchdown passes, and has been particularly dominant during the Jags’ current eight-game winning streak. In that span, he’s thrown 21 touchdowns and five interceptions, adding another five touchdowns rushing.

4. Drake Maye

Can Maye follow in the footsteps of Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Tom Brady, soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger and current 49ers starter Brock Purdy? All four of those greats led their teams to the Super Bowl in their second NFL season, and now Maye’s New England Patriots are the AFC’s No. 2 seed. His MVP candidacy is no fluke. In this MVP debate, Farrar cites an amazing statistic for Maye: He is one of the only quarterbacks ever to lead the league in both completion percentage and yards per attempt.

5. Justin Herbert

Herbert has been among the most prolific passers since getting to the NFL in 2020, but the Los Angeles Chargers are 0-2 in the playoffs since then and Herbert’s numbers in those two games have been disappointing: 52% completion rate, two touchdowns and four interceptions. But he’s certainly shown what he’s capable of over six full seasons: a completion rate of 66.5% with 163 TDs and 58 INTs. Herbert is tough, has one of the best arms in the game and runs better than people think. He's an elite quarterback — but another early exit would add to a negative playoff reputation.

6. Jalen Hurts

Coming into the 2025 season as Super Bowl LIX MVP may have created unfair expectations for the Hurts. His production has been spotty, but his big-game experience — he was even better in a losing effort in Super Bowl LXVII than it was in victory — is undeniable. His completion rate (64.8%) is ninth among the 14 playoff quarterbacks. His passing yards (3,224) are 11th among playoff QBs. But in nine career playoff games, Hurts has produced 20 touchdowns (10 passing, 10 rushing).

7. Brock Purdy

Purdy missed eight games with injuries this season, but he was 7-2 as the starter and — prior to the subpar regular-season finale against the Seatle Seahawks — he went on a three-game bender in December. He was anything but a game manager, throwing 11 TDs against two picks. He helped the 49ers reach the NFC title game as a rookie (before getting hurt in that game), then led them to a Super Bowl in his second season.

8. Jordan Love

Love has had his moments in three seasons as the Green Bay Packers’ starter, but it feels like we’re still waiting for the “coming out party.” There was the big playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys after the 2023 season — in which he threw three TD passes and had a near-perfect passer rating of 157.2 — but he’s 0-2 in playoff games since then. He’s played well for most of this season. Then again, so did backup Malik Willis in the two games Love missed.

9. Aaron Rodgers

It’s not that long ago that Rodgers would have been a no-brainer to sit atop this list. But Rodgers is 42 now. He’s not the athlete he once was, and he doesn’t have the kind of supporting cast Tom Brady had in his 40s. Rodgers hasn’t passed for 300 yards in any game this season — he only topped 250 three times, and not since Week 5. Given Rodgers’ Hall of Fame resume, nothing is impossible… but a Rodgers renaissance at this point would be pretty surprising.

10. Caleb Williams

Williams made great strides in his second season and first under offensive guru Ben Johnson. He came oh-so close to becoming the first 4,000-yard passer in Bears history (reminder: they are the only team that’s never done that), finishing seventh in the NFL with 3,942 yards. His completion rate of 58.1%, however, is the lowest among the playoff quarterbacks. He’s been inconsistent, but he makes a bunch of big plays and clutch plays and has been excellent at extending plays with his feet.

11. C.J. Stroud

After his terrific rookie season, Stroud took a big step backward in 2024. A slow start this year added to the negative narrative, but Stroud has made a very nice rebound and is playing as well right now as he did in 2023. Since Week 14, he’s thrown eight TD passes against two picks, and he’s done a nice job mixing it up between veteran Nico Collins and some young receivers.

12. Bo Nix

One of the reasons this year’s playoff field is considered wide open is because the quarterbacks for both No. 1 seeds are this low in these rankings. Nix is an odd situation, because he’s shown a propensity to make clutch plays when needed. But he’s also been very pedestrian much of the time, which is why he has a passer rating of 87.8, which is tied with Bryce Young for the lowest among the playoff quarterbacks.

13. Sam Darnold

The former draft bust has strung together two good seasons. But fair or not, he will not get his due until he wins a playoff game. Last season’s loss as Vikings quarterback was the first postseason game of his career. He hasn’t played many big games, but he’s looked average at best in most of them. Darnold’s 14 interceptions this season were third-most in the league, and most among the 14 playoff quarterbacks.

14. Bryce Young

Young had a solid season and has probably quelled much of the rumblings that Carolina should go in a different direction at quarterback. He converted clutch fourth downs and led several fourth-quarter comebacks. Still, he was not consistently productive. Young’s passer rating of 87.8 is tied with Nix for the lowest among the 14 playoff quarterbacks. His 6.3 yards per attempt was last among the playoff quarterbacks and 30th in the league overall.