The quarterback position is arguably the most consequential position in sports, and with that comes added scrutiny and analysis. I’ve come up with a formula to help determine the quarterbacks who are performing at the highest level in 2022, and those that are going to need to improve if their teams are going anywhere this season. I included the key stats for the 15 players you see here, but to come up with this list I wanted to account for the consistency at the position. To help adjust for that, I removed the longest completion from each quarterback, meaning eliminating one completion, one attempt, and the yards gained from the completion. I then found the quarterback’s Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt (formulat at Profootballreference.com) using the updated numbers. You’ll be surprised by some of the names on these lists, but each earned their spot this week.

The Best Quarterback Play Of Week One

1	Patrick Mahomes	30-39	360 yards	5 TD
2	Justin Herbert	26-34	279 yards	3 TD
3	Ryan Tannehill	20-33	266 yards	2 TD
4	Kirk Cousins	23-32	277 yards	2 TD
5	Jameis Winston	23-34	269 yards	2 TD
6	Geno Smith	23-28	195 yards	2 TD
7	Davis Mills	23-37	240 yards	2 TD
8	Kyler Murray	22-34	193 yards	2 TD
9	Lamar Jackson	17-30	213 yards	3 TD	1 INT
10	Carson Wentz	27-41	313 yards	4 TD	2 INT

No surprises at the top, as Patrick Mahomes was as brilliant as ever in his team’s victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Justin Herbert showed why his team has so much hype around them for 2022, as he was another standout this weekend. In a bit of a surprise, the numbers have Ryan Tannehill, Kirk Cousins, and Jameis Winston rounding out the top five QB performances for the week. The three put up nearly identical numbers this week, Winston having the most dropbacks at 38 (he was sacked four times.) Both Cousins and Tannehill were sacked once each, yet Tannehill’s sack lost the team zero yards while the sack on Cousins produced an eight-yard loss.

The Worst Quarterback Play Of Week One

33	Matthew Stafford	29-41	240 yards	1 TD	3 INT
32	Dak Prescott	14-29	134 yards		1 INT
31	Joe Burrow	33-53	338 yards	2 TD	4 INT
30	Trey Lance	13-28	164 yards		1 INT
29	Aaron Rodgers	22-34	195 yards		1 INT

This list goes to show just how random week one truly is in the NFL. Absolutely no one suspects that Joe Burrow or Aaron Rodgers will finish the year among the bottom five in all quarterbacks, while injuries or inexperience could potentially crater the abilities of Stafford, Prescott, or Lance. But I wouldn’t count on it. What’s more likely is Stafford will bounce back, as will Prescott when he returns from the injury list. Trey Lance is the biggest mystery of the bunch but is aided by one of the brightest play callers in the league and some elite playmakers, meaning brighter days are likely ahead for Lance.