In wild finish, why Rodgers is poised to surpass Mahomes for season title in Herald NFL QB rankings
BUCS’ BRADY WINS WEEK 16, BUT IT’S MAHOMES VS. RODGERS IN PHOTO FINISH FOR SEASON CROWN ENTERING FINAL WEEK OF MIAMI HERALD NFL QUARTERBACK RANKINGS: Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady wins Week 16 honors with a 51.40-point game, edging three others also over 50 points -- Brady’s third weekly title tying Patrick Mahomes for the most. The bigger story: Kansas City’s Mahomes and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers in an up-in-the-air battle for the season championship entering the final week of the Miami Herald’s Passer Success System quarterback rankings. Mahomes leads by about 11 points. That puts Rodgers in the passing lane, but especially given the circumstances. The Chiefs have clinched a first-round bye so Mahomes may play very little; the Packers still are vying to earn a bye so Rodgers likely will play more. Mahomes won the Herald’s season title two years ago, while Rodgers seeks his first crown ever as the greatest active QB to have never won. Rodgers finished second in 2011 and placed third in 2012 and ‘16. Dolphin Ryan Fitzpatrick moves up two spots to 24th while Tua Tagovailoa holds steady in 33rd place this week. This is the 23rd year for our annual rankings, which began in 1998 — Steve Young the inaugural season champion. Our rankings factor accuracy, passing yardage, touchdown/interception ratio and team result. They are passer ratings per se and do not include a quarterback’s running statistics. Most major passer rankings including the NFL’s and ESPN’s are percentile based, allowing players who miss half a season to still win a title. Our system is cumulative, rewarding players who are consistently productive and avoid injury or benching. We’ll have an expanded season-final Top 30 next week. Here is the updated top 20 (plus Dolphins) after Week 16 and heading into Week 17:
Miami Herald NFL QB Rankings / Week 16
Rk LW Player, Team Wk16 / Season
1. 1 Patrick Mahomes, KC 25.90 595.00
2. 2 Aaron Rodgers, GB 42.55 583.95
3. 4 Josh Allen, BUF 51.00 559.60
4. 3 Russell Wilson, SEA 27.25 537.55
5. 5 Deshaun Watson, HOU 40.20 517.90
6. 6 Tom Brady, TB 51.40 517.70
7. 7 Ben Roethlisberger, PIT 50.10 509.20
8. 8 Philip Rivers, IND 22.50 478.25
9. 12 Justin Herbert, LAC 29.65 464.70
10. 10 Kyler Murray, ARI 21.35 463.20
11. 11 Jared Goff, LAR 13.70 451.55
12. 15 Matt Ryan, ATL 40.00 448.80
13. 14 Kirk Cousins, MIN 36.55 446.00
14. 9 Ryan Tannehill, TEN 1.05 445.05
15. 13 Derek Carr, LV 27.80 444.55
16. 17 Teddy Bridgewater, CAR 24.85 399.90
17. 16 Matthew Stafford, DET 1.85 397.55
18. 18 Baker Mayfield, CLE 17.25 385.35
19. 19 Drew Brees, NO 26.55 368.05
20. 20 Lamar Jackson, BAL 28.15 333.20
24. 26 Ryan Fitzpatrick, MIA 21.10 242.55
33. 33 Tua Tagovailoa, MIA 20.70 192.65
Bubble: Joe Burrow, CIN, 294.90. Dropped out: None. Week 16 best: Brady, TB, 51.40 (22-27, 348, 4-0 in win). Week 16 worst: (min. 10 attempts): Jarrett Stidham, NE, minus-0.80 (4-11, 44, 0-0 in loss).
