The 2025 season was one of the most turbulent seasons in recent memory for quarterbacks. Six players managed to throw for over 4,000 yards, which was the same as in 2024 — but only 12 managed to finish with over 3,500 yards passing, plummeting from 17 the year prior. We saw TD/INT ratios plummet, scoring down, and even the most steely-nerved passers turn into mush at times this season.
Now we’re at the point where the rubber meets the road. Eight quarterbacks remain in the NFL Playoffs, and while too often we distill football into a QB-centric sport, there’s no doubt that the difference between a top passer, and a mediocre one can make all the difference when everything is on the line. Here are our rankings for the best quarterbacks remaining in the playoffs.
No. 1: Matthew Stafford — Los Angeles Rams
Stafford is the one guy this year who has both the playoff experience needed to handle the mental burden of these games, and also the production to get the job done. The 2025 season has reached a new ascendancy for Stafford, who had been thriving in Sean McVay’s offense with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
It’s entirely likely that Stafford walks away with the MVP this season, and rightfully so. It has been a phenomenal year for the Rams’ QB, and a testament to his effect on his team that one turnover from Stafford is often enough to turn a blowout game into a close one.
No. 2: Josh Allen — Buffalo Bills
There’s no denying that 2025 hasn’t been Josh Allen’s best season. The reigning MVP has struggled with inconsistent weapons and off-kilter play calling for much of the season, but he remains the one guy left in the playoffs who most fans would pick to have under center for a game-winning drive.
Allen’s ability to extend plays with his legs in a force multiplier on offense. The Bills utilization of the “Tush Push” has been better than the Eagles’ in 2025 because of Allen’s physical traits. There is also no quarterback left in the playoffs who is better and pressuring a defense on 3rd-and-intermediate, because of his ability to both fire accuracy passes to receivers, or take off and pick up the necessary yards to move the chains.
No. 3: Drake Maye — New England Patriots
Drake Maye’s first outing in the playoffs wasn’t the all-dominant performance many hoped for, but it was good enough. It remains to be seen whether or not the stage is a little too big early in his career, or if the flat performance against the Chargers was a case of the yips — but there was enough spark from Maye in the regular season to put him high on this list.
Maye’s potential is off the charts. He blends big-risk throws with sensible decision making in a way that generates a lot of explosive plays, while not turning the ball over very often. That will only become more pronounced as TreVeyon Henderson develops into a true 1,000+ yard back — which he should next season.
No. 4: Sam Darnold — Seattle Seahawks
The Sam Darnold resurgence is one of the best stories in the NFL. The only thing holding him back from being a touch higher on this list is a lack of playoff success, and some cooling off that happened toward the end of the season. These are fairly minor gripes though, because the Seahawks are laughing at everyone who thought the Darnold experiment wouldn’t pay off.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba has turned into the NFLs most dominant receiver with Darnold throwing him the ball. The two have quickly developed a head-turning rapport which is impossible to ignore. Cooper Kupp is fine as a No. 2 for now, but when Seattle truly develops that other outside receiver or a tight end, watch out.
No. 5: Caleb Williams — Chicago Bears
Truly the enigma of this list, there’s almost nothing on a football field that Caleb Williams can’t do, it’s just a question of when he does it. We saw this against the Packers as he played fairly flat for a majority of the game, then exploded in the fourth quarter when it was needed the most.
We’re still seeing a maturation of Williams and an integration period as he and Ben Johnson learn each other better. We’ve seen that begin to come to fruition, but the best is yet to come. The lack of consistent reliability pushes him down this list, but this is a young quarterback coming into his own.
No. 6: Brock Purdy — San Francisco 49ers
On the one hand it’s tough to fault Brock Purdy for anything that’s happened on the 49ers this season, but on the other — he could be a lot better. Being without Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle really hit the Niners offense hard this season, but this was not a great season top to bottom.
Purdy is the kind of QB who can absolutely execute a coach’s game plan and move the chains, but he doesn’t generate many explosive plays which tend to define playoff success. This is a player who is adept at putting receivers in a position to succeed, but needs them to make big plays in order to win. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with that, it’s simply that Purdy doesn’t shine in isolation.
No. 7: Bo Nix — Denver Broncos
Broncos fans will bristle at Bo Nix being this low, but it’s difficult to see who you’d realistically put him above. A true system quarterback, it’s great to see what Nix and Sean Payton have developed together in Denver — but there are far too many times that the QB is incapable of executing until late in the game.
As it stands Nix has a good, not great completion percentage of 63.4% on the year, and didn’t throw a lot of touchdowns. Denver lives and dies by its defense, with Nix sprinkling in enough clutch performances that the Broncos have been able to win a lot of games. However, compared to the other quarterbacks on this list he lags behind in individual brilliance.
No. 8: C.J. Stroud — Houston Texans
The defense for C.J. Stroud is that the Texans’ offensive line isn’t great. That’s about all you can say. We’re in back-to-back years of regression following a stunning rookie year, which puts Stroud firmly at the back of our list when it comes to QB play in these playoffs. Like the Broncos, the Texans succeed because of their defense — but with Houston it’s even more pronounced. If the defense doesn’t shut someone out, there’s no guarantee that Stroud can throw them back into the game.
Whether there’s an underlying injury, or he’s not jiving with the offensive system — something is off. A QB with Stroud’s skillset shouldn’t be struggling to throw for 3,000 yards and fewer than 20 touchdowns with Nico Collins and the wide array of weapons the Texans have stacked.
