Thirty-two quarterbacks entered the race for aSuper Bowl 60championship. Only 14 remain.
The 32-team NFL field that entered the 2025 regular season has narrowed to14 playoff teamsto begin the wild-card round. They're not all built the same. Some enter with grizzled playoff veteran quarterbacks, while a few others are relying on second-year gunslingers making their postseason debuts.
And for the first time since 2017, the playoff starting quarterbacks field does not include theKansas City Chiefs' three-time Super Bowl MVP,Patrick Mahomes.
Here's how the starting quarterbacks of all 14 playoff teams stack up entering the wild-card round:
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Week 1: Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. The play was originally ruled an incomplete pass, but the call was overturned. Despite TeSlaa's effort, the Packers won the game 27-13." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Best images of the 2025 NFL season
Week 1: Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18)makes a catch for a touchdownagainst the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. The play was originally ruled an incomplete pass, but the call was overturned. Despite TeSlaa's effort, the Packers won the game 27-13.
NFL quarterback power rankings: Wild-card round
1.Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Unlike a few other quarterbacks in this playoff field, Allen has not been to a Super Bowl, let alone won a title. However, he has also put together a really strong body of work in the postseason: 3,359 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns and four interceptions, plus an additional 668 yards rushing and seven rushing touchdowns.
With Mahomes and Kansas City out of the playoff picture this year, Allen and theBillshave their clearest shot at an AFC title in years. Allen's playoff résumé and Pro Bowl regular-season performance carry him to the top spot on the rankings.
2.Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Stafford is among the betting favorites to win the MVP award this year with his 46 touchdowns – no other quarterback had more than 35 – and 4,707 passing yards, both leading the NFL in 2025. TheRams' 37-year-old veteran is also one of three Super Bowl champion starting quarterbacks in this year's playoff field.
The Georgia product also matched his career high in wins this year with 12 in the regular season. The last time Stafford hit that mark was in 2021, the last year the Rams won the Super Bowl.
3.Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Maye is the other MVP candidate in the NFL playoff field this year. His 72% completion rate led the NFL this year, while his 4,394 yards ranked fourth and 31 passing touchdowns ranked third. The second-year quarterback is making his postseason debut after leading the Patriots to a 14-3 record one year after they went 4-13.
4.Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Outside of the two MVP candidates and playoff veteran Allen, Love is the best quarterback among the rest of the starters in this playoff field. ThePackers' quarterback ranked second in ESPN's QBR efficiency metric – behind Maye – with his 73.1 mark during the regular season, and he had an 86.5 EPA mark that ranked sixth – just behind Mahomes.
5.Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
When Purdy was healthy and active, he played like one of the league's best quarterbacks. In nine starts, the49ers' quarterback had more games with three or more passing touchdowns (4) than one or fewer (3). That helped boost him into a tie with Love for second place in ESPN's QBR rankings for the season, though his missed games from injuries kept his EPA below the Packers' gunslinger. Purdy went to the NFC championship game twice in his first three seasons and won it once before the 49ers lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 58.
6.Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
NewJaguarshead coach Liam Coen seems to have unlocked the version of Lawrence that everyone anticipated when he was the highest-rated quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck. After an up-and-down first half of the season, Jacksonville ripped off seven straight wins to close the regular season behind some excellent performances from its quarterback. Lawrence threw for multiple touchdowns in five of those seven wins, and he finished the year with 29 passing touchdowns (fifth-most in the league) and 4,007 passing yards (sixth-most).
7.Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Herbert has all of the arm talent and football IQ to potentially earn a spot higher on the list, but he's let down by his supporting cast and playoff résumé so far. In six seasons, Herbert has been to the playoffs twice and has not won a game in either appearance. The first loss saw the Chargers blow a 27-0 lead and the second featured four interceptions and a sub-50% completion rate. In addition to the poor past, there's a worrying present: Los Angeles' offensive line is one of the league's worst, and Herbert's ceiling has been diminished by its poor play.
1. Las Vegas Raiders – Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
2. New York Jets – Dante Moore, QB, Oregon" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
3. Arizona Cardinals – Arvell Reese, LB/DE, Ohio State" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
4. Tennessee Titans – Keldric Faulk, DE, Auburn" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
5. New York Giants – Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
6. Cleveland Browns – Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
7. Washington Commanders – Rueben Bain Jr., DE, Miami (Fla.)" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
8. New Orleans Saints – Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
9. Kansas City Chiefs – David Bailey, DE/OLB, Texas Tech" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
10. Cincinnati Bengals – Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
11. Miami Dolphins – Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
12. Dallas Cowboys – Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
13. Los Angeles Rams (from Atlanta Falcons) – Spencer Fano, OT, Utah" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
14. Baltimore Ravens – Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Peter Woods, DT, Clemson" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
16. Jets (from Indianapolis Colts) – Makai Lemon, WR, USC" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
17. Detroit Lions – Francis Mauigoa, OT/G, Miami (Fla.)" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
18. Minnesota Vikings – Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
19. Carolina Panthers – Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
20. Cowboys (from Green Bay Packers) – Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
21. Pittsburgh Steelers – Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
22. Los Angeles Chargers – Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
23. Philadelphia Eagles – Emmanuel Pregnon, G, Oregon" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
24. Buffalo Bills – Denzel Boston, WR, Washington" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
25. Chicago Bears – Caleb Banks, DT, Florida" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
26. San Francisco 49ers – KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
27. Houston Texans – Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
28. Browns (from Jacksonville Jaguars) – Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
29. Rams – Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
30. New England Patriots – Cashius Howell, OLB, Texas A&M" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
31. Denver Broncos – CJ Allen, LB, Georgia" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
32. Seattle Seahawks – Kelley Jones, CB, Mississippi State" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 2026 NFL mock draft: Latest projection with early first-round order set
1. Las Vegas Raiders – Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
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8.Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Williams is the second of three second-year quarterbacks making their postseason debut this year. As with Coen and Lawrence in Jacksonville, Williams seems to have unlocked more of his potential under newBearshead coach Ben Johnson's tutelage in 2025. The USC product finished just behind Lawrence in the league's rankings with 3,942 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. He's displayed his outstanding arm strength and improvisational skills all year, creating some highlight-reel plays, but Williams still needs some refinement. Ball placement and touch stand out as specific areas of improvement.
9.Sam Darnold,Seattle Seahawks
Darnold's first season in Seattle helped push theSeahawksfrom just outside of the playoff picture to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. For the second straight year, the former Jets quarterback won 14 games, threw for more than 4,000 yards and set a new career high in completion rate (67.7%). But Darnold only has one game of playoff experience in his eight-year career, and his showing in last year's wild-card round game against the Rams was not pretty. He took nine sacks and looked deeply uncomfortable in the pocket en route to a 27-9 loss.
Darnold will get an extra week to prepare with the Seahawks' earned wild-card round bye, but he'll have to be hoping for a couple of wild-card upsets to avoid facing the Rams in the postseason again.
10.Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
The reigning Super Bowl MVP was the leader of an offense that mostly looked lost throughout the 2025 season. Hurts threw for touchdowns at the highest rate of his career while setting a new career high with 25 touchdown passes. He also matched a career-low interceptions rate with just six this season.
But Hurts also rushed fewer times than he ever has in a season since he took over as Philadelphia's starter in 2021, and theEagles' reliance on their quarterback's arm more in 2025 correlated to worse results. The five games in which Hurts had the most pass attempts this season were also the five starts the quarterback lost this year.
11.C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Stroud has been the king of the wild-card round in his first two seasons in the NFL. Both last year and the year before, theTexans' third-year quarterback put together a nice performance in the first round of the playoffs to put points on the board and help Houston advance. This year, Stroud had one of his weakest regular seasons so far. Per Pro Football Focus, Stroud's time to throw is down to a career-low 2.8 seconds, which has led to a career-low 23 sacks taken. But it's also led to fewer big-time throws, fewer yards per game and a shorter average depth of target than any previous year.
12.Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Nix is the third of the three second-year quarterbacks making his first playoff appearance this year. He's also the only one who doesn't have to play in the wild-card round thanks to theBroncos' No. 1 seed and bye. The Oregon product had a nice second season with 3,931 passing yards, a new career high, and seven game-winning drives, leading the NFL in 2025.
Digging deeper, Nix looked like more of a beneficiary of Denver's skilled receivers winning in the short passing game than a skilled passer consistently throwing deep. While his passing yards total ranked eighth in the league, it was on a league-leading 612 pass attempts. His 6.4 average yards per attempt ranked third-fewest of quarterbacks with 16 starts this year, ahead of only Cam Ward and Bryce Young. Nix's average depth of target of 8.0 yards was the seventh-shortest of quarterbacks with at least 500 dropbacks.
13.Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
There were moments during Rodgers' 21st season, at 42 years old, that showed he still has some of that raw talent that netted him four NFL MVPs. However, more often than not, Rodgers – like Nix – also relied on Pittsburgh's talented offensive play-makers to succeed. His 6.4 yards of average depth of target was the lowest of any quarterback with at least 500 dropbacks. His 3,322 yards and 24 touchdown passes were also career-low marks for Rodgers in any season with at least 15 games played.
14.Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Young is the outlier of all outliers among NFL quarterbacks with his diminutive stature of 5-foot-10, 204 pounds. Despite starting 16 games, he has fewer passing yards than any other playoff starting quarterback and a lower average depth of target (7.0) in this group of anyone besides Rodgers. In three seasons so far, Young's best demonstrated quality has been his aptitude for being clutch in the late stages of games. His six game-winning drives were tied for second-most this year, plus he's already defeated Stafford and the Rams this season – albeit with some significant help from Carolina's defense.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Playoff QB power rankings: How all 14 stack up in wild-card round
