NFL Week 10 QB Power Rankings Matthew St

If only the Lions weren't the Lions. Because if the Lions weren't the Lions -- and by that I mean, if the Lions weren't 3-4-1 after blowing a 17-point lead to the Cardinals in Week 1, becoming a victim of Patrick Mahomes' wizardry in a tight lo s to the Chiefs in Week 4, getting screwed by the officials in a narrow lo s to the Packers in Week 6, and falling a lousy yard short against the Raiders on Sunday -- Matthew Stafford would be in the MVP conversation. We're halfway through the season and Stafford, the king of hollow stats, is playing at an MVP level -- the only problem being, the Lions are 3-4-1 and the Lions being 3-4-1 renders Stafford's MVP level of Sterling Shepard Jersey play unimportant when it comes to the actual MVP conversation. He won't win. But since this is a story about quarterbacks -- not MVPs -- let's take a few moments to appreciate just how well Stafford is actually playing in his 11th NFL season. It's been eight games and Stafford has thrown for 2,499 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions, which means he's on pace to throw for 4,998 yards, 38 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He's second in touchdown pa ses behind only Ru sell Wilson -- the rightful frontrunner to win MVP. He's second in touchdown percentage behind only Wilson. He's fourth in yards per attempt behind only Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Dak Prescott. He's fifth in pa ser rating behind only Wilson, Mahomes, Cousins, and Deshaun Watson. He's also . By most measures, he's a top-five quarterback. So, what's changed? It was only a year ago that we were lamenting and talking about how it would hold back the Lions in the years to come considering they won't be able to get out from underneath it until 2021 at the absolute earliest. Now? Stafford Evan Engram Jersey is still paid handsomely ($29.5 million this year, $31.5 million next year, and $30 million in 2021), but he actually looks like a quarterback the Lions can win a title with provided they find a way to fix the defense -- we're looking at you, Matt Patricia, and current defensive mastermind (probably not). What's changed is that the Lions replaced Jim Bob Cooter with Darrell Bevell at offensive coordinator and Bevell has allowed Stafford to use his arm talent to throw the ball downfield with frequency. Cooter tried to limit the mistakes that Stafford has a habit of making by forcing him to get the ball out quickly to underneath receivers -- . In 2016, Stafford averaged 8 air yards per attempt, which was the league's eighth-lowest average. In 2017, he also averaged 8 air yards per attempt. In 2018, he averaged 7 air yards per attempt, which was the league's sixth-lowest average. This year, under Bevell, Satfford is averaging 10.7 air yards per attempt. Only Jameis Winston ranks ahead of him. As a result, he's averaging 8.6 yards per attempt after averaging 7.1 yards per attempt during the first decade of his career Will Hernandez Jersey . It turns out, letting Stafford use his God-given arm strength is actually a good idea. That doesn't mean Stafford has eliminated the kind of mistakes that have often plagued his career. While he's managed to keep his interception count down -- his interception rate of 1.7 would be the second lowest of his career, not including his injury-shortened 2010 season -- he's still making mistakes. We saw that against the Raiders on Sunday and against the Giants two Sundays ago. Unreal.Worley's diving one-handed INT gets us the ball back. Oakland Raiders (@Raiders) GOT 'EM | New York Giants (@Giants) But with Stafford remaining aggre sive, he's able to offset those mistakes with big plays downfield. We also saw that against the Raiders on Sunday and against the Giants two Sundays ago. WOW. Detroit Lions (@Lions) PER-FEC-TION.9 throws a 49-yard dime to for the TD. Detroit Lions (@Lions) Stafford is throwing a touchdown on 6.5 percent of his pa ses. His career touchdown rate entering the season was 4.4 percent. While that number is bound to regre s, it's indicative of how aggre sive the Lions have been. They're letting Stafford sling it and Stafford is letting Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones go up and get the ball. So far, it's working. At 3-4-1, the Lions probably aren't good enough to make a playoff push, which disqualifies Stafford from the MVP conversation. But he deserves recognition for playing the best football of his career. That's why you'll find Stafford occupying a familiar spot in this week's edition of quarterback power rankings. Before we move onto the power rankings, a reminder of the rules. One quarterback per team. Whichever quarterback started in Week 9 will be the quarterback selected. So you'll find Jacoby Bri sett listed for the Deandre Baker Jersey Colts this week. Next week, if Bri sett is unable to play due to his knee injury, you'll find Brian Hoyer listed in his place.Recent succe s matters more than past succe s. These are power rankings. That's why you won't see , the greatest quarterback of all time, at No. 1. We're valuing performances this season more than performances in previous seasons. We're valuing performances last week more than performances four weeks ago. As a result, don't be surprised if the rankings fluctuate in a major way each week.But reputation and history do matter, because they're tools we're using to predict future succe s. All-time greats get a bit of a boost.There's more to the rankings than wins and lo ses. Wins are not a quarterback stat. While we're definitely taking into account wins and lo ses, it's not the only thing that matters. You'll see a ton of other stats listed -- like DYAR, DVOA, and QBR. For an explainer on those stats, . Yes, the eye test matters too. Onto the rankings. QB rankings Week 10 1 Seattle Seahawks QB The clear frontrunner for MVP, Wilson threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns against the Buccaneers, even leading two game-winning drives. After Jason Myers mi sed what should've been a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation, Wilson led the Seahawks right back down the field in overtime and this time, finished the game himself with his fifth and final touchdown. Last week: 1 2 Baltimore Ravens QB I was tempted Mark Bavaro Jersey to move Jackson above Wilson, but Wilson's performance against the Buccaneers was just too perfect for me to do so. Still, what Jackson did on Sunday night might've been the best performance of the week. Against a Patriots team that came into the game allowing fewer than eight points per game, Jackson led the Ravens to 17 points on their first three drives of the game. Already at that point, the Patriots had given up the most points in a game all season long -- and there were still nearly three full quarters to go. In what ended up being a 17-point win, Jackson completed 17 of his 23 pa s attempts for 163 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a 107.7 pa ser rating. And oh yeah, his video-game athleticism allowed him to rush for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Last week: 2 3