The final four teams are set for the remainder of the NFL playoffs.
In the NFC, Washington’s fast-rising rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels leads the Commanders into Philadelphia to take on Jalen Hurts and the Eagles at 3:00 p.m. ET next Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the AFC, we will get a rematch between two of the best quarterbacks in the league when Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs host Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills at 6:30 p.m. ET later that day.
Between these four QBs, Patrick Mahomes has obviously had the best career, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the top passer in the league.
Let’s rank the quarterbacks by who is playing the best right now.
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#4 Jalen Hurts
Hurts is no stranger to the postseason. The fifth-year man out of the University of Oklahoma has reached the playoffs every season he has been the Eagles’ full-time starter. With four postseason wins under his belt, the guy has proven he can win on the biggest stages.
Though confidence in Jalen Hurts should be high right now, it’s obvious that he isn’t playing his best football.
Despite averaging 193.5 passing yards per game during the regular season, he has failed to reach the 140-yard mark in either one of Philly’s playoff games. As a matter of fact, Hurts is averaging 64 fewer passing yards in the playoffs than in the regular season. His QBR, which values quarterback play on a scale from zero to 100 while being adjusted based on the strength of the opposing team’s defense, has also taken a nose-dive from 65.6 during the regular season to 55.3 in the playoffs. For reference, the Browns’ Jameis Winston finished the year with a QBR of 55.6, meaning Hurts has played like Jameis Winston this postseason. Hurt’s completion percentage, quarterback rating, and average yards per pass attempt have also taken a dip since the playoffs began.
The one area in which Hurts has improved has been on the ground. He has increased his rushing average (up 4.0 yards per attempt) and rushing yards per game (up 11 yards). Unfortunately, Hurts suffered what appeared to be a knee injury in Philly’s Divisional Round matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. While he was able to return, he clearly couldn’t move as effectively as he could earlier in the game.
The uncertainty of his knee coupled with his passing drop-off makes him the fourth-best quarterback scheduled to play on Championship Weekend.
#3 Josh Allen
Josh Allen’s statistics have also fallen off slightly from the regular season to the postseason, but the numbers aren’t indicative of how well he has actually performed considering the weapons around Jalen Hurts are much better than those around Allen (Philly has four Pro Bowlers on offense compared to Buffalo’s two).
If we’re being honest, Josh Allen is the best player on the Bills and the individual that defensive coordinators have to gameplan for. Though Jalen Hurts is also a dual-threat quarterback who keeps DCs awake at night, the Eagles’ best offensive weapon is running back Saquon Barkley who has 324 rushing yards in two playoff games this season.
However – like Jalen Hurts – Josh Allen’s statistics have regressed since the postseason began. He played in 17 games but didn’t throw a pass in Week 18 against the New England Patriots, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he played in 16 regular season matchups. With that in mind, his passing yardage has decreased from 233.2 yards per game to 199.5. Outside of that one particular area, Allen has seen improvements in his average passing yards per attempt (up 0.6 yards), completion percentage (up 11.4%), QBR (up 3.6 points), and quarterback rating (up 11.7 points).
If he has seen such a rise in major passing categories, why is he only ranked third? Simply put, he’s not living up to the MVP standards that have been placed upon him. He has played well enough to win and to lead his team to the AFC Championship Game, but if he is held to two total touchdowns and 232 total yards like he has been averaging in the playoffs, then the Bills will lose to the Chiefs this coming weekend.
#2 Patrick Mahomes
For every other quarterback on this list, we analyze 2024-25 regular-season and postseason performance. But with Patrick Mahomes, it would be foolish to discredit his past successes. Based on résumé, not only is he the best quarterback remaining in the playoffs but in the whole league. He’s the only active starting QB in the NFL with multiple Super Bowl championship victories. If he is able to complete the three-peat this season, he will become the first-ever quarterback to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
If he’s so great, then why doesn’t he take the top spot on the list? Well, Mahomes is having a down year. Over his career, he averages 4,911 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions across the span of a 17-game season. In the playoffs, he is usually good for 279.6 passing yards, 2.21 touchdowns, and 0.42 interceptions per game. He hasn’t come close to touching those numbers this year.
Mahomes finished the 2024-25 campaign with 3,928 passing yards, almost 1,000 less than his seasonal average. He also only threw 26 touchdowns while still being picked off 11 times. So his yardage and touchdowns were way down while his interceptions remained consistent.
Mahomes has only started one playoff game this year, but his performance fell well short of expectations, even with the win. In the Divisional Round, he failed to meet his single-game playoff averages in terms of passing yards, completion percentage, average yards per attempt, quarterback rating, and touchdowns. Sure, the win is the only statistic that matters, but there’s nothing wrong with saying that Patrick Mahomes is not meeting his annual expectations statistically.
Granted, his situational awareness and performance are still second to none. The fourth-quarter touchdown he threw to Travis Kelce while being tackled on a 3rd and goal was one of the five most impressive plays of the season. But, Mahomes’ inability to play up to his averages this season is why he doesn’t take the top spot on this list.
#1 Jayden Daniels
There are going to be a lot of people who are mad that a rookie is ranked the number one quarterback remaining in a postseason that features Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, but I am a man of statistics, and the numbers don’t lie. Through the Divisional Round, 24-year-old rookie Jayden Daniels has been the best QB and arguably the best player in the 2024-25 playoffs.
Amongst 14 starting quarterbacks that played this postseason, Jayden Daniels ranks first or is tied for first in the following passing categories: passing yards, total yards, total yards per game, touchdown passes, fewest interceptions thrown, fewest sacks taken, and QBR. He’s also second in passing yards per game, fourth in completion percentage, fourth in quarterback rating, and tied for fourth in average yards per attempt.
We also have to acknowledge his rushing abilities. His 43.5 ground yards per game in the postseason ranks him third amongst starting playoff quarterbacks. The only reason he’s second is because Jalen Hurts had a 44-yard touchdown run against the Rams. If you take that single carry away, then Daniels is the second-best running quarterback this postseason.
Daniels is also putting up flashy numbers with a much worse team than the other three guys. Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Jalen Hurts’ squads all made the playoffs last season while Allen won a playoff game and Mahomes won the Super Bowl. Unlike the Eagles, Chiefs, and Bills, the Commanders finished last year as the second-worst team in the NFL with a record of 4-13. So, Jayden Daniels has taken a four-win team with a new head coach to the brink of the Super Bowl.
The young man has also shown immense poise. He orchestrated a game-winning field goal drive against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round. And when the Detroit Lions scored a touchdown in the third quarter of the Divisional Round game to cut the lead to 31-28, he responded with two straight touchdown drives.
Jayden Daniels has been the most impressive player in the postseason and is playing like the best quarterback in the NFL. Regardless of what happens in the NFC Championship Game, he has already emerged as a top-five QB in this league.