NFL Playoffs 2025: Ranking all 14 quarterbacks from worst to best

The NFL playoffs are here and that is a wonderful thing.

The NFL playoffs are here and that is also a dangerous thing.

Why is this dangerous, you ask? You see, what happens over the course of the next month (ish) is going to dramatically alter the way that we view the landscape of things and certain people. Clearly the playoffs are the most important thing relative to any given NFL season, but we often dilute anything and everything that happens into EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS HERE because the games are so big. I get it, but the process also weeds out important context.

Whether you agree with that or not it is safe to say that next month (again, ish) is going to define specifically how we view certain people… aka some quarterbacks. Whoever does or does not get it done in the biggest moments is going to be celebrated or have to answer for that.

Thankfully I am here to offer the answers before the test itself begins.

Ranking all 12 quarterbacks in the NFL playoffs

Let me first say that trying to rank anything is inherently difficult and really impossible. I think that strawberry is the best ice cream flavor and that Tom Holland is the best Spider-Man. I imagine you have issues with one of if not both of those statements.

But let me tell you, if that bothered you then we are in for a bumpy ride over the next little bit here.

There are 12 teams playing in the playoffs which means that there are 12 quarterbacks playing in the playoffs. I am about to rank them. It is okay. These are just words. They cannot hurt you.

Ultimately to rank these signal-callers I think it is fair to break them down into some tiers. We will go in ascending order because I still can’t stop watching Wicked and that taught me a long time ago that you want the drama to build.

Tier 1: Congrats on being here, but we need to see it to trust you

It is here that I am going to go very chalk and offer the newbies to the playoff landscape. I think that it is definitely chalk (clearly, I said that) in that these are generally the most inexperienced players, but it also works relative to where they stack up against one another.

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

14: Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers

13: Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

12: Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings

11: Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

I lied! Russell is certainly not a playoff newbie, but this is his first playoff game with a team other than the Seattle Seahawks. This week will offer the first bit of playoff action for Sam Darnold, Box Nix and Jayden Daniels though, obviously.

Of these four I think that I think Russell is the only one who can’t hang in the same way. This isn’t a slight against Russell, but we haven’t seen him make as many plays across this season to help his team as we have the others in the group. Fair is fair.

All of that being said… I think the player with the most to lose here is Sam Darnold. If Russell is bad people will just shrug it off based on what the last few years have been. If Nix and/or Daniels don’t get it done, well, hey, they are young and have long futures ahead of them.

If Darnold delivers a stinker it will revive all of the talk about the Vikings being front runners the way that people said in 2022 (which was unfair!) and follow him in free agency this year whether he returns to Minnesota or goes elsewhere.

Tier 2: You have my trust, and you have the change to elevate yourself

For me this playoff group comes down to quarterbacks who we know can deliver in the NFL because we have seen them do it time and time again. Most of them have even done so at some point in the playoffs.

But the group is unique in that they are all also a playoff win or two from really distancing themself from the pack. Should they win this week and maybe next week on top of it… we are talking about a different stratosphere.

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

10: Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

9: C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

8: Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

7: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

I think these are important playoffs for both Love and Stroud. If they underwhelm then the good will they built up last year will really fizzle and fade away. This sounds unfair, but if Herbert stinks it up people will just continue to pour on. He has already crossed the line of the internet to where logic and reason escape people. That’s what separates him from the others here, they can maybe join him in that wilderness.

Baker Mayfield is unique in that nobody really hates him or thinks he sucks or hypes him up beyond what is practical and/or fair. If he wins on Sunday night and helps the Buccaneers have back to back seasons with playoff victories… I think his narrative changes a bit.

Tier 3: Serious dudes, but it is time to stack some more

For me this tier is about quarterbacks who we know and believe are legitimate and that we trust with most of everything, but we are ready to see more. More than that, we are ready to see it again.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

6: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

5: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

4: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Each of these quarterbacks has reached the NFC Championship Game at some point in the last three years, obviously Stafford even went well beyond that and won the Super Bowl.

Outside of those runs though, with their current teams, we have not seen much of anything else in the playoffs specifically. 2022 was magical for Jalen Hurts and obviously last season was amazing for the Lions at large. This year is about doing it again for one of these 3 and proving that their amazing year (Goff might be in the middle of his) was not a one off so that they can join the final group.

Tier 4: Ballers, Shot-Callers

Let’s be adults here and admit that you can order this however you want and not be wrong in any real way. Deal? Deal.

Here is how I am ordering it.

3: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

2: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

1: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images

I love all three of these quarterbacks and most teams would be beyond fortunate to have them. This can all be true!

It can also be true that Mahomes is clearly on a GOAT path and that his “down” year slotting him third is not some massive sign of disrespect. We can contextualize where he and his team are at and acknowledge the uniqueness with how they are playing and winning.

For so much of this season I was of the belief that Josh Allen was MVP and to be clear he has a rightful case. He has been superb.

But Lamar Jackson presents a different kind of “that dude is a problem” energy right now and is seemingly at the peak of his powers that we have come to know from him which is really saying something given that he has won MVP twice already.

I have spoken.