QB Report Cards for 2026 NFL Week 6

The NFL quarterback landscape continues to shift as the 2026 season progresses. The Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford may be the the league's reigning MVP, but he's not playing like it. Caleb Williams looked like one upon his return from a hamstring injury. Conversely, the Philadelphia Eagles will be without their Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Jalen Hurts, for the rest of the season due to a blood clot in his leg. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants surprisingly sit atop their respective divisions with Deshuan Watson and possibly JJ McCarthy leading the way. Due to the ever-evolving nature of quarterbacking, Bleacher Report grades each performance on a weekly basis to see how the game's most position continues to progress.

ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SEA | TB | TEN

Stat Line : 24 of 35 for 218 yards and an interception

In an ironic twist, the Arizona Cardinals didn't need quarterback Jacoby Brissett to throw for 275 or more yards to make a game competitive and secure an upset victory.

For the first time this season, Brissett didn't even throw a touchdown pass. Yet the Cardinals walked away with a stunning victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

The veteran quarterback threw an interception during the Cardinals' initial offensive possession. From that point, Brissett minimized mistakes and allowed the Cardinals defense to keep them in the game.

"We're sustaining drives. We're keeping the other team off the field. I thought the defense played great today," Brissett told reporters . "When you sustain drives, you help them stay rested. They go out there and fire out the ball, and I think they did a really good job. Hats off to them."

During the final drive, the quarterback ripped the contest's most important pass to Jalen Brooks. With an unnecessary roughness tacked onto the play, the Cardinals were within game-winning field goal distance and converted.

Stat Line : 19 of 33 for 225 yards, three touchdowns and a fumble lost

The Chicago Bears devised a very specific gameplan when facing the Atlanta Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. and it involved creating significant pressure.

According to ESPN Research (via Marc Raimondi ), the Bears pressured Penix on a career-high 46 percent of his dropbacks. To Penix's credit, he responded in the second half after being rattled in the first. The quarterback completed eight of 13 passes and connected on two touchdowns when pressured during the third and fourth quarters. But the damage had already been done.

"We just have to come ready to play, and we have to execute," Penix told reporters . "We have to execute the game plan. I always love the game plan we have in. We knew what to expect. It's not like they did too many things that surprised us. We have to go and execute at a high level."

Stat Line : 19 of 31 for 165 yards and a touchdown; five carries for 28 yards

The Baltimore Ravens hoped Lamar Jackson would return from injury this past weekend, but the two-time NFL MVP wasn't cleared and Tyler Huntley led the offense for the second straight week. Huntley wasn't nearly as effective facing the Browns defense as he was a week earlier against the Atlanta Falcons. Cleveland did a much better job on early downs to make life more difficult for Huntley. As a result, the Ravens struggled on third down. Baltimore converted only six of 16 opportunities. The Ravens' QB2 brings a similar skill set as Jackson. Though Huntley is far less dynamic in all areas. He can keep the offense moving, but he can't be relied upon to take the unit on his shoulders and make plays when necessary, which showed up Sunday. Even so, the Ravens were still in a position to win, but Tyler Loop missed a field goal and Derrick Henry lost a fumble in the fourth quarter, which provided the opening Cleveland needed to emerge victorious.

Stat Line : 23 of 33 for 255 yards and two touchdowns

Everyone has gotten so accustomed to Josh Allen's unbelievable feats that a day without 300 yards passing or 100 rushing yards seems mundane. Then, Allen does something extraordinary to remind everyone who he is.

During Sunday's action against the Las Vegas Raiders, Allen made a backhanded toss while being hit by a Raiders defender that went 12 yards (probably closer to 15) for a touchdown.

"It's just f—ing ridiculous, isn't it?" Bills center Connor McGovern told reporters . "I thought he was going to take off, do a little juke, get a couple yards. All the sudden, he just flicks it. I'm thinking, 'What is he doing?' But there's Keon [Coleman], just wide open. It's like playing NFL Street back in the day. Did that just happen?" Allen is the best football player on the planet right now, even if he's not producing Herculean efforts every single contest.

Score : 25-14 win vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Stat Line : 20 of 39 for 281 yards and two touchdowns

The Carolina Panthers had two weeks to prepare for a Philadelphia Eagles squad that didn't have quarterback Jalen Hurts or running back Saquon Barkley in the lineup. Carolina handled its business. Though Bryce Young didn't perform as efficiently as previously seen.

Young's 51.3 completion percentage was his worst effort this season.

However, he became only the fourth quarterback in the last 15 years to open a season with at least 280 passing yards and two touchdown passes in each of his first five games, according to Pro Football Focus . Some guys named Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. To take things one step further, two of those previous three were named MVP during the season they accomplished the same goal. Also, Young's 11 touchdown passes through five games is a new Panthers franchise record.

Stat Line : 30 of 36 for 305 yards and a touchdown

Caleb Williams returned from a three-week layoff due to a hamstring injury and didn't miss a beat against the Atlanta Falcons. Williams may have had finished the contest with six incomplete passes, but his performance was nearly perfect.

The third-year quarterback opened Sunday's contests with 12 straight completions. According to NFL Next Gen Stats , the Bears signal-caller completed all 24 pass attempts from a clean pocket. As ESPN's Courtney Cronin noted , Williams connected on five of six passes that traveled 10 or more air yards. Even a handful of those where he didn't connect were intentional throwaways.

"I was super juiced up to be back out here," Williams told reporters . "But I think it's just completion, completion, completion. That's the focus. That's the mindset. It's being able to keep everybody cool, calm and collected. Even myself. And other than that, it's about giving the guys a shot. Give them a good ball and let them go make plays."

Stat Line : 16 of 26 for 164 yards; eight carries for 29 yards

A pattern has developed as this season progressed. The Cleveland Browns can emerge victorious if their defense keeps them in the game and quarterback Deshaun Watson is handed the ball with an opportunity late in the contest.

Watson goes long stretches where he simply doesn't play well. For example, the Baltimore Ravens had more sacks than Browns first downs through Sunday's first three quarters.

During Cleveland's last three offensive possessions, Watson completed seven of is 10 passes attempts, including a 33-yard strike to Jerry Jeudy to place the Browns in game-winning field-goal position.

"I really don't know what to say. We got a half feeling like, 'did we even meet this week. Did we just take the week off and show up frickin' today?'" head coach Todd Monken told reporters . "...Deshaun, he knows he can play better. We can play better around him...but he's just got something in him, the ability to make a play when needed."

Score : 23-13 loss vs. Green Bay Packers

Stat Line : 34 of 54 for 258 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions

The once-potent Dallas Cowboys offense has stalled in recent weeks. Granted, the unit posted over 300 yards in back-to-back games, but the Cowboys failed to move the ball up and down the field mainly due to numerous mistakes that stall drives.

"I know I had plays out there that I want back that I know directly correlated to a turnover and us getting off the field on third down, and fourth down on one of them," Dak Prescott said Sunday after Dallas' loss to the Green Bay Packers.

"I don't have the answer for the whole team and what that is, but I believe in who we are and I know we have the talent and the men that care. We just have to put it together. Our process is right, but we have to win on Sunday."

Prescott and the entire unit can be far more effective with a little variety added to the mix.

"This season, the Cowboys now profile as dead last in the NFL in motion rate (36.5 percent), 28th out of 32 teams in under-center rate (30.4 percent) and 20th in play action rate," CBS Sports' Garrett Poddell noted .

Sean Payton's return as the Denver Broncos' offensive playcaller made the team's offense more sustainable. Though Bo Nix's continued struggles remain a significant sticking point.

Specifically, Nix is struggling with his mechanics, to work through his progressions on a regular basis and seemingly afraid to push the ball down the field. His limitations continue to stunt the Broncos offense.

"I don't know where the disconnect is right now, to be honest with you," Nix told reporters . "When the shot's called, we read it out, it's not there, you make the right play with the football and check it down and go on to the next play. I just think we're really, for some reason, struggling to find those explosive plays. That's what makes an offense really spectacular is finding explosive plays. Right now, we don't have those."

Stat Line : 23 of 41 for 276 yards, a touchdown and an interception; four carries for 12 yards and a score

Jordan Love is simultaneously playing at a high level, while in need of more help from his receivers.

Granted, Love did throw an interception that nearly turned into an pick-six during Sunday's first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys. From that point, the Green Bay Packers' signal-caller looked stellar.

Love did so while being pressured on a consistent basis. The quarterback responded with his best completion rate and yardage output of his career upon facing the highest pressure rate he's ever experienced, according to ESPN Insights .

Meanwhile, the Packers receivers have dropped more passes than any other group this season, per Pro Football Focus' Daire Carragher .

"I want to make every throw," Love told reporters . "I want these guys to make every catch. That's the expectation. Stuff happens. Drops happen. Obviously, I want those guys to make those plays, and we're capable of making those plays. But for me, it's got to be the next play mindset. You've got to move on."

Score : 34-31 win vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Stat Line : 24 of 34 for 312 yards, three touchdowns and an interception

Quarterback play isn't about being perfect, because a perfect game doesn't exist. In a lot of cases, top quarterback play centers on an individual's reaction to adversity.

Case in point, CJ Stroud threw a costly fourth-quarter, red-zone interception Sunday when the Houston Texans had an opportunity to put away the game. Instead, the Jacksonville Jaguars responded with the game-tying field goal during the subsequent drive.

However, Stroud helped lead the Texans on a game-winning drive during their next possession. Specifically, he connected with running back Woody Marks as his checkdown option on 3rd-and-2 for 19 yards, which placed Houston in field-goal position.

"C.J.'s been hot all year. He's still hot. He's lighting it up," Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters . "He's dishing the ball around to a lot of different people. It doesn't matter who it is. Everybody who has an opportunity, they're all here. They're getting the football. He's doing an outstanding job of just leading his offense."

Stat Line : 22 of 42 for 269 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions; three carries for 30 yards

Reality has smacked the Indianapolis Colts in the face through three six weeks of play. The team is 2-4, and change is almost surely coming if a drastic turnaround doesn't happen.

Daniel Jones was the solution last year. He looked like the perfect fit for Shane Steichen's offensive scheme before a ruptured Achilles tendon ended his season. As a result, the Colts re-signed Jones this offseason.

However, this year's version of Jones has looked far more like the quarterback who eventually left the New York Giants as a first-round bust. His penchant for bad decisions and turnovers has crippled the Colts offense.

"There's some times I forced some stuff that's not there," Jones told reporters . "I gotta be smart about that. Know when it's there, when it's not and when to lay the ball off." After Indianapolis' disappointing start, everyone should start to wonder who will still be with the team a year from now.

Stat Line : 24 of 41 for 306 yards, four touchdowns and an interception

Much like his AFC South counterpart, the Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence produced one significant mistake Sunday. He also threw a red-zone interception. Otherwise, Lawrence did more than enough for his squad to win in London. Ultimately, Jacksonville's defense let the team down.

The Jaguars defense had been stout, particularly against the run, through the first five weeks. But Houston amassed 426 yards against Jacksonville. The Jags allowed a season-high 114 rushing yards after no team managed more than 40 during the previous stretch.

Even so, Lawrence and offense rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game with under two minutes to play. Then, the Jaguars failed to stop CJ Stroud and Co. during Houston's final possession.

Aside from Lawrence's interception—which could have been a touchdown two plays earlier if not for a suspect holding call on a Bhaysul Tuten run—Jacksonville showed tremendous improvement in the red zone by converting its next three trips.

Score : 22-6 win vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Stat Line : 23 of 30 for 272 yards and interception

Patrick Mahomes is living his best life. The Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated and the quarterback no longer has to be Superman on a weekly basis. Instead, Mahomes now enjoys the luxury of turning around and handing the ball to the league's leading rusher, Kenneth Walker III.

"Obviously, having (No.) 9," Mahomes said of Walker's presence in the lineup, "it makes a difference both throwing and running." The Chiefs quarterback can still make all of the throws, though is creativeness has been on display less this season. When Mahomes tried to make a back-foot red-zone throw against the Los Angeles Chargers, he lobbed an awful interception. At that point, the game was still within reach. The quarterback responded during Kansas City's following possession with three completions before Walked scored.

Stat Line : 23 of 41 for 313 yards, two touchdowns and an interception

Kirk Cousins is doing everything in his power to keep the Las Vegas Raiders competitive. The team may have lost three straight after a 3-0 start, but those losses came at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. Only one of those outings got out of hand.

During Sunday's matchup with the Bills, Cousins threw multiple tight window lasers and the Raiders remained within striking distance until the very end.

However, Cousins also threw an ill-advised pass into double-coverage over the middle of the field, which allowed Bills linebacker Dorian Williams to snag an interception.

"It's one of these games where it's hard to sleep afterwards when you kind of think through the plays that you could have should have made," Cousins told reporters . "In a tight game like that, it comes back to haunt you."

Score : 22-6 loss vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Stat Line : 22 of 37 for 204 yards and an interception; five carries for 26 yards

Things aren't getting better for the Justin Herbert and his Los Angeles Chargers.

The team is now 0-6 and Herbert has gone six straight games without completing at least 65 percent of his passes or throwing for at least 230 yards. He's also thrown at least one interception in every single contest.

Last season, this same quarterback produced 11 games with a 65 completion percentage or better, eight outings with over 230 passing yards and six interception-less performances.

To be fair, Herbert continues to be pressured at a high rate. As Tyler Schoon of the Guilty as Charged Podcast noted, defenses have pressured Herbert on nearly 58 percent of his play-action dropback attempts.

The unfortunate part about this particular situation is no one within the organization has any clue how to fix the problems.

"I don't know," Herbert told reporters . "If I had the answers, then we'd definitely be having a different conversation."

Score : 18-16 loss vs. Arizona Cardinals

Stat Line : 25 of 33 for 222 yards and two touchdowns

Either the Los Angeles Rams bought into the hype or they're just not a good football team. According to head coach Sean McVay, it's the latter.

"We won't win a game until we figure out how to not beat ourselves," head coach Sean McVay told reporters . "So many unforced errors. So many things that are not in alignment with what we want to do, specifically on the offensive side of the ball."

When an offensive unit is struggling, the finger tends to be pointed at the quarterback, especially if that signal-caller in question is the NFL's reigning MVP. Matthew Stafford hasn't been anywhere near as sharp this season compared to last. He wasn't as aggressive Sunday as normally expected, either. In fact, his 4.8 air yards per attempt were his third-lowest average since joining the Rams five years ago, according to ESPN's Benjamin Solak .

Stat Line : 18 of 32 for 235 yards and three touchdowns; four carries for 24 yards

Drake Maye's inability to connect regularly with star wide receiver AJ Brown serves as a microcosm for this season. Maye targeted Brown 10 times Sunday but connected on only three of them.

"I'm looking forward to just growing, just building the connection," Maye told reporters . "I think there's some me, there's some plays obviously he wishes he had back. But I was just telling them in the locker room, you ain't gotta worry about No. 1. ... I told him I'm gonna keep coming his way." This season has been all about growth and reacting to adversity. Maye's performance went from playing outright awful to outstanding in a matter of a month. The quarterback and his surrounding cast still aren't clicking on all cylinders, but the entire group is clearly ascending based on recent performances.

Stat Line : 16 of 30 for 144 yards and three touchdowns; five carries for 32 yards and a score

Opportunistic may be the best way to describe Tyler Shough's performance during Sunday's victory over the New York Giants. The second-year quarterback completed 53.3 percent of his passes and threw for 144 yards. The New Orleans Saints punted on its first three offensive possessions and converted only four of 15 third-down attempts. Though 17 points came directly from turnovers. The two touchdowns were courtesy of drives starting inside the Giants' 30-yard line.

"We still have yet to put a complete game together," Shough said during a postgame interview with FOX Sports' Kristina Pink . "We got to show that. We had an opportunity [Sunday]. We're going to do it [eventually]."

New York Giants: Jameis Winston & JJ McCarthy

Score : 34-27 loss vs. New Orleans Saints

Stat Line : Winston, 14 of 26 for 152 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions; McCarthy, 11 of 21 for 243 yards, a touchdown, an interception, two carries for 26 yards

The volatility found within Jameis Winston proved too much for New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh. Harbaugh chose to bench Winston after his second interception. Enter JJ McCarthy, who joined the team three weeks ago after a trade with the Minnesota Vikings.

McCarthy provided a spark. After the third-year quarterback threw his own interception, he then rallied the Giants to 17 unanswered points and a chance to tie the game during New York's final possession.

Harbaugh must now make a decision whether McCarthy will move forward as the starting quarterback until Jaxson Dart is healthy enough to return. The 23-year-old signal-caller provides more upside and expands the Giants' offense.

"I feel like whenever you have a dual-threat quarterback that teams kind of know that it can be in the offense with him running the ball more, maybe it does kind of change their defensive mindset of how they call the game and how the defense plays," fullback Patrick Ricard told reporters . "I played with Lamar and Tyler Huntley, and that's definitely true that teams definitely have to play a running quarterback very differently. So ... we'll see what happens."

Score : 26-19 loss vs. New England Patriots

Stat Line : 20 of 30 for 252 yards, a touchdown and an interception

Geno Smith is the veteran voice of the New York Jets' offense. His standing simply isn't about being the team's starting quarterback. The roster also leans on his experience due to the youth found around him.

"I think we're a very young offense... a lot of guys have been making plays and stepping up," Smith said when asked about New York's offensive inconsistencies. "Getting some guys back and getting healthy again is really going to help us a lot." To the quarterback's point, the team's leading rusher Sunday, as well as its top and third-leading receivers, are all 22 years old. The Jets' starting offensive tackles and first-round tight end all are all 23 or younger. It falls on Smith to get these individuals up to speed and make them competitive. Smith is doing a decent job in his role, but he personally hasn't been consistent enough.

Score : 25-14 loss vs. Carolina Panthers

Stat Line : 26 of 45 for 215 yards and a touchdown

Jalen Hurts' surprise trip to injured reserve due to a blood clot in his calf led to Tanner McKee starting Sunday for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles already had their issues on offense and a transition at quarterback only magnified those problems.

The McKee-led unit managed 222 yards and finished six of 16 during third and fourth downs. The Eagles were one-dimensional and predictable. McKee is better working from shotgun. He also didn't have much help from a run game or playaction passing attack, because Saquon Barkley and Will Shipley didn't play. Furthermore, Carson Steele suffered an injury. Dameon Pierce managed only 35 yards on 12 carries.

McKee could have played better. At the same time, the entire Eagles offense is banged up and not performing well.

"We've got to be able to score more points, period," head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters . "It's on everybody, right? … It's not just one coach on an island. It's not just one player on the island. It's not just one side of the ball that's on an island. It's the ultimate team game. We all have to do better, period."

Score : 26-19 win vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Stat Line : 33 of 49 for 253 yards, two touchdowns and an interception

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers bombarded Aaron Rodgers with pressure throughout Sunday's contest. In the end, the 42-year-old quarterback and his Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to respond and escaped overtime with a victory.

Tampa sacked Rodgers five times and collected 10 quarterback hits. The Steelers trailed 13-3 coming out of halftime. The team response in building a 4-2 record is vital from a macro perspective.

From a micro point of view, Rodgers' growing confidence in second-round rookie wide receiver Germie Bernard can be critical to how the rest of the season progresses. Bernard caught 11 passes Sunday after snagging 13 through the first five games.

"You need to ease expectations," Rogers told reporters , "but there comes a time when the confidence starts to match the potential. And I think we're reaching that time with Germie. Very proud of him. Obviously, the fourth down, probably should just catch it and back up, but he made a lot of nice plays today, a lot of smart plays, a lot of good catches."

Stat Line : 27 of 51 for 278 yards and two interceptions

Prior to Sunday's action, Sam Darnold was tied for the league lead with seven interceptions. Let's keep in mind he missed nearly two full games. He committed at least two turnovers in three of Seattle last four outings.

"I think it's BS for me to keep turning the ball over," Darnold said after Thursday's loss. "It's not fair to our defense. It's not fair to our special teams group. Not fair, really, to the entire team."

To make matter's worse, Darnold's latest turnovers came during the fourth quarter and overtime. The second was particularly egregious, because the veteran signal-caller never recognized the deep defender, who easily undercut a hole-shot along the sideline for the interception. Four plays later, the Broncos kicked the game-winning field goal.

Score : 26-19 loss vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Stat Line : 22 of 43 for 164 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions; four carries for 39 yards

Jalon Daniels is a great story and the type of professional football player everyone wants to see succeed because he's the quintessential underdog story.

"He has like this aura about him," wide receiver Chris Godwin told reporters last week. "He comes in; he's very charismatic. He's got like this childlike enthusiasm that he plays the game with. And it's dope to see. Guys like that, they keep you young, man. It's like when he's out there, he's the star of his own movie." However, the NFL is a bottom-line business. Daniels didn't get the job done Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. His inexperience combined with skill-set limitations cap what the undrafted rookie can do when leading an offense. Daniels does have some playmaking traits, especially as a runner, but he threw for fewer than 190 yards in three straight appearances. During this past weekend's outing, his completion percentage also dropped to 51.2 percent.

Score : 26-20 win vs. Indianapolis Colts

Stat Line : 11 of 22 for 102 yards, a touchdown and an interception

Cam Ward should be happy the Tennessee Titans' defense and special teams played well Sunday, because those efforts will take pressure off the quarterback despite another questionable outing. The Titans are finally in the win column despite Tennessee's offense manufacturing fewer than 190 yards. Ward completed 50 percent of his passes and threw for season-low 102 yards. The Colts were able to key on the second-year quarterback's eyes, knocked down four passes at the line of scrimmage and intercepted another. Indianapolis' own implosion led to the loss more than anything Ward contributed. A win is a win in the NFL. The Titans can't complain after their first victory. But a glaring issue still remains at the game's most important position. The Cleveland Browns will field a much better and more aggressive defense next weekend than the one Ward faced Sunday.