Greg Cote

Chargers’ Herbert bolts to Week 9 title and, whoa, a new overall No. 1 in Herald NFL QB rankings

Good week for Los Angeles in the Miami Herald’s updated NFL quarterback rankings as the Chargers’ Justin Herbert (pictured) wins Week 9 honors and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford edges ahead of the Bucs’ Tom Brady for the overall season lead.
Good week for Los Angeles in the Miami Herald’s updated NFL quarterback rankings as the Chargers’ Justin Herbert (pictured) wins Week 9 honors and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford edges ahead of the Bucs’ Tom Brady for the overall season lead. AP

CHARGERS’ HERBERT BOLTS TO WEEK 9 TITLE, NEW SEASON LEADER IN DEAD-HEAT FOR NO. 1 IN MIAMI HERALD’S NEWEST NFL QUARTERBACK RANKINGS: The Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert wins Week 9 honors with a big 54.80-point game to bolt from 14th to fifth place overall in the Miam Herald’s updated NFL quarterback rankings. We have a new season leader as the Rams’ Matthew Stafford takes advantage of Tom Brady’s Bucs bye week to edge ahead of Brady for No. 1 overall by 341.55 to 341.50 in what for now is a pretty clear two-man race. Because our rankings are cumulative, not percentile-based, players on a bye week take a temporary hit that evens out over course of season. Miami’s Jacoby Brissett bumps up two spots to 30th overall off a 23.20-point game, which ranked 16th in Week 9. Injured and idle Tua Tagovailoa holds in 31st place. This is the 24th year for our annual rankings, which began in 1998 with 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 QB’s running statistics. Most major passer rankings including the NFL’s and ESPN’s are percent-based, allowing a player who misses half a season to still win a title. Our system is cumulative, rewarding players who are consistently productive and avoid injury or benching. The top 20 chart (plus Dolphins) through Week 9:

RK LW Player, Team Wk9 Season

1 . 2. Matthew Stafford, LAR 25.70 341.55

2. 1. Tom Brady, TB BYE 341.50

3. 3. Kyler Murray, ARI DNP 294.80

4. 4. Patrick Mahomes, KC 19.30 291.70

5. 14. Justin Herbert, LAC 54.80 281.50

6. 6. Joe Burrow, CIN 24.10 280.85

7. 7. Derek Carr, LV 25.80 279.25

8. 11. Teddy Bridgewater, DEN 30.45 275.15

9. 8. Kirk Cousins, MIN 21.35 274.00

10. 9. Josh Allen, BUF 22.20 272.80

11. 13. Matt Ryan, ATL 44.15 271.85

12. 5. Aaron Rodgers, GB DNP 262.70

13. 10. Dak Prescott, DAL 13.60 260.25

14. 16. Carson Wentz, IND 41.60 251.90

15. 12. Mac Jones, NE 17.95 248.80

16. 15. Ryan Tannehill, TEN 23.15 244.25

17. 18. Lamar Jackson, BAL 34.30 238.45

18. 19. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT 33.25 235.30

19. 20. Daniel Jones, NYG 23.50 213.95

20. 17. Jared Goff, DET BYE 209.75

30. 32. Jacoby Brissett, MIA 23.20 122.35

31. 31. Tua Tagovailoa, MIA DNP 112.00

Bubble: Baker Mayfield, CLE, 205.85. Dropouts: None. Week 9 best: Herbert, LAC, 54.80 (32-38, 356, 2-0 in win). Week 9 worst: (min. 10 attempts): Sam Darnold, CAR, minus-1.40 (16-33, 172, 0-3 in loss).

Greg Cote
Miami Herald
Greg Cote is a Miami Herald sports columnist who in 2025 won a first-place Green Eyeshade award in Sports Commentary and has finished top 10 in column writing by the Associated Press Sports Editors on multiple occasions. Greg also hosts The Greg Cote Show podcast and appears regularly on The Dan LeBatard Show With Stugotz.
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