Sep 9, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) drops back to throw against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the 2021 NFL season, we’ll be ranking all 32 current starting quarterbacks from best to worst. Here’s the breakdown following Week 9.

32. Sam Darnold, Carolina Panthers: The league’s fourth-lowest-rated passer has a horrendous 49.4 passer rating in his last five games. He’s just about toast.

31. Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team: It’s not happening for Heinicke, who has a 3-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio during Washington’s current four-game losing streak.

30. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars: The rookie No. 1 overall pick has still thrown more interceptions (nine) than touchdown passes (eight). Congrats on the 9-6 win?

29. Zach Wilson, New York Jets: Before suffering a PCL injury in Week 7, the rookie No. 2 overall pick was the AFC’s lowest-rated passer with a 4-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

28. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions: He’s averaging just 2.6 completed air yards per attempt. No other qualified NFL passer is below 3.0 in that metric.

27. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins: No consistency, very few big-time plays, and he’s been unable to stay healthy. It’s not looking good for the sophomore first-round pick.

26. Tyrod Taylor, Houston Texans: The veteran journeyman actually led the NFL with a QBR of 84.6 before going down early, but then he missed a ton of time before bombing in his Week 9 return. Meh.

25. Trevor Siemian, New Orleans Saints: Two touchdowns and no picks isn’t a bad starting debut in New Orleans, but we all know Siemian and his many limitations. He’s a career backup.

24. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles: He’s not making a lot of big plays with his arm, but it by no means has been a complete mess of a sophomore season for the 2021 second-round pick.

23. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers: Jimmy G actually has a triple-digit passer rating the last two weeks. He’s not the problem right now, but he isn’t a difference-maker.

22. Justin Fields, Chicago Bears: The rookie first-rounder came alive in a comeback effort against the Steelers. The numbers aren’t there yet, but you can see light at the end of the tunnel.

21. Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans: It’s really been a dud campaign for the veteran, who has just 11 touchdown passes to eight interceptions.

20. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: What’s wrong with the highest-rated qualified passer in NFL history? He ranks in the bottom-12 in yards per attempt.

19. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers: Big Ben started slow and hasn’t exactly become a hero, but he has a solid 104.6 passer rating the last four weeks.

18. Mac Jones, New England Patriots: He still isn’t making many plays, but the rookie first-rounder has an impressive 68.0 completion rate.

17. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings: Up, down, up, down. It’s a never-ending roller-coaster with this guy.

16. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: I don’t know how much he has left, but the 36-year-old has a 106.1 passer rating the last six weeks.

15. Teddy Bridgewater, Denver Broncos: He’s come back to earth on big-time passes and deep balls, but he still deserves to be in the middle of the pack because he’s accurate and limits his mistakes.

14. Daniel Jones, New York Giants: Jones is also finally limiting his mistakes, but the consistency isn’t there yet.

13. Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns: He just might be turning it around sans OBJ…again!

12. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers: The Packers keep winning, but they aren’t lighting up the scoreboard and Rodgers still had the sixth-worst bad throw rate in the NFL before missing Week 9 due to COVID-19.

11. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals: The league’s eighth-highest-rated passer really struggled in a Week 9 loss.

10. Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts: Still just three picks all season for the Comeback Player of the Year candidate. He has a triple-digit passer rating.

9. Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders: Remember when we used to rip him for his big-play ability? Carr has a 109.7 rating on deep balls and a league-best 26 big-time throws, per Pro Football Focus.

8. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: We’ll chalk up a weak Week 9 performance to rustiness or something related to the injury that kept him out of Week 8, but it was quite ugly for Prescott. Still, he remains the league’s third-highest-rated passer.

7. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: He’s still in the mix but has had three absolutely dumpster performances this season. It’s disappointing. His broad numbers remain solid but this season doesn’t represent a step forward thus far.

6. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers: The reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week has an 18-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio and the fifth-highest QBR among healthy NFL quarterbacks. He’s the real deal.

5. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens: That was 120 more rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Ravens came back to beat the Vikings in Week 9, but Jackson did throw two interceptions. He’s in the mix for MVP.

4. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals: The sensational third-year dual-threat still ranks near the top of the league in most key categories, but he’s also thrown seven interceptions, fumbled seven times, and taken 18 sacks. He missed Week 9 due to an ankle injury.

3. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: He’s still the NFL’s highest-rated passer by a considerable margin, and now he’s set to return from a finger injury.

2. Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A pair of picks in a loss to a division rival wasn’t ideal before a Week 9 bye, but the 44-year-old still has a 25-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio and just four turnover-worthy plays.

1. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams: He’s almost here by default after a brutal performance Sunday night against Tennessee, but Stafford does remain the league’s highest-rated passer.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com, a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at CBSSports.com, Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Comeback Media, but his day gig has him covering the NFL nationally for Bleacher Report.