In the opening week of the 2024 NFL season, all 32 starting quarterbacks had their moment to shine, but the quality of their performances varied significantly.

 

As the season kicked off, several elite quarterbacks quickly returned to their top form, while a handful of rookies made their regular-season debuts, demonstrating their skills at the professional level.

 

Interestingly, some quarterbacks who had previously faced challenges surprised fans with impressive starts to the season. Conversely, there were also a number of players who entered the season with low expectations and failed to dispel the skepticism surrounding them.

 

USA TODAY has compiled a ranking of all 32 starters from Week 1 based on ESPN’s QBR metric.

 

Understanding ESPN’s QBR

 

Each week, ESPN assigns a QBR (quarterback rating) to every quarterback based on their latest performance. This rating aims to “capture all of a quarterback’s contributions to winning, including their impact on passes, rushes, turnovers, and penalties.”

 

QBR evaluates the success of each play and assigns credit to the quarterback accordingly, while also considering the strength of the opposing defenses faced. The outcome is an efficiency rating on a scale from 0 to 100, with the cumulative rating averaged per play throughout the season.

 

Ranking the NFL quarterbacks by QBR

 

Here’s how the 32 NFL starters rank based on their QBR after Week 1 of the 2024 season:

 

• Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (QBR: 89.9)

 

• Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (87.5)

 

• Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (85.9)

 

• Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (84.9)

 

• Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (83.9)

 

• Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (83.2)

 

• Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots (82.2)

 

• Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (81.0)

 

• C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (73.6)

 

• Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (72.2)

 

• Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (69.6)

 

• Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens.

 

• Matt Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (62.9)

 

• Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (62.8)

 

• Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (55.8)

 

• Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (51.1)

 

• Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (48.4)

 

• Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (42.6)

 

• Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (41.5)

 

• Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (38.8)

 

• Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (38.1)

 

• Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (31.5)

 

• Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (31.3)

 

• Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (30.9)

 

• Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (30.8)

 

• Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders (29.5)

 

• Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (28.9)

 

• Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (22.0)

 

• Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (20.4)

 

• Daniel Jones, New York Giants (16.6)

 

• Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (10.5)

 

• Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns