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CBS Sports illustration (Keytron Jordan)

Nothing steers NFL teams quite like quarterbacks. It's possible, not probable, to win in spite of them. It's preferable, not easy, to land the best of them. They are, more than anyone else, the ones who shape the football landscape, week in and week out.

That's why we're ranking all 32 starting signal-callers throughout the 2022 season: to take stock of the most important players in the game, sorting everyone from the bona fide superstars to the QBs who might be worth replacing.

While these rankings don't necessarily reflect which QBs we'd rather have for the remainder of the year (or their career) -- for example, we still trust Tom Brady over, say, Geno Smith -- they are designed to showcase which ones are performing and positioned best at this moment.

Now, without further ado, our Week 18 pecking order, with this week's QBs listed alongside especially intriguing (or telling) statistics related to their 2022 performance:

Week 15 QB Power Rankings
1
Patrick Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs QB
Telling stat: While throwing the fourth-most passes of any QB this season, he's tossing a TD on a whopping 6.4% of those throws, the highest mark in the NFL, and almost twice as much as Tom Brady and Justin Herbert, who rank No. 1 and No. 2 in total passes thrown, respectively.
2
Joe Burrow Cincinnati Bengals QB
Telling stat: In 15 games, he's already matched his career high in TD passes (34), not including a 35th thrown to Tyler Boyd in Monday night's postponed matchup with the Bills.
3
Josh Allen Buffalo Bills QB
Telling stat: His 4,775 total yards (4,029 passing, 746 rushing) rank second among all players, behind only Mahomes.
4
Justin Herbert Los Angeles Chargers QB
Telling stat: During the Chargers' 5-2 stretch, in which L.A.'s two losses have come by a combined 10 points, he's completed at least 74 percent of his throws five different times.
5
Jalen Hurts Philadelphia Eagles QB
Telling stat: The Eagles are 0-2, and posted their worst scoring output since Nov. 28, 2021, without him under center this year. Despite missing two games, only three players have scored more total TDs (35).
6
Trevor Lawrence Jacksonville Jaguars QB
Telling stat: In one less game, Lawrence has improved in literally every major passing category from his rookie season. Most notably, his completion percentage (66.5) is almost a full seven points higher than in 2021.
7
Brock Purdy San Francisco 49ers QB
Telling stat: He's averaged at least 8 yards per attempt, and thrown at least two TDs, in all four of his starts.
8
Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers QB
Telling stat: Seventeen of his 25 TD passes, or 68%, have come while the Packers are trailing.
9
Tom Brady Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB
Telling stat: At age 45, his 4,850 intended air yards -- the total distance thrown on all pass attempts -- leads the NFL.
10
Geno Smith Seattle Seahawks QB
Telling stat: After totaling four turnovers in the Seahawks' first eight games (5-3 stretch), he's totaled nine (six INTs, three fumbles lost) in the eight games since (3-5 stretch).
11
Daniel Jones New York Giants QB
Telling stat: Not a single active starting QB has a better INT percentage (1.1%), even though Jones ranks just outside the top 10 for total passes thrown. In his first three NFL seasons, Jones had 49 turnovers in 37 games.
12
Kirk Cousins Minnesota Vikings QB
Telling stat: He simultaneously leads the NFL in fourth-quarter comebacks (8) and INTs (14), with almost half of the picks (6) coming in two of the Vikings' four losses on the season.
13
Dak Prescott Dallas Cowboys QB
Telling stat: Despite completing 71% of his throws since returning from injury in Week 7, he has now turned the ball over at least once in six straight starts, averaging nearly 1.3 INTs per game this season.
14
Jared Goff Detroit Lions QB
Telling stat: Twenty-three of his 29 TD passes, or 79%, have come at home, where Detroit is 5-4 on the season.
15
Justin Fields Chicago Bears QB
Telling stat: He and the Ravens' Lamar Jackson, who have exactly the same amount of passing yards (2,242) and passing TDs (17), are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in terms of QB rushing yards and yards per carry.
16
Deshaun Watson Cleveland Browns QB
Telling stat: Despite a three-TD breakout in Week 17, he ranks 31st among all QBs to start at least five games, ahead of only the Jets' Zach Wilson, in completion percentage (56.7%).
17
Sam Darnold Carolina Panthers QB
Telling stat: Among QBs with at least five starts this year, no one has produced more yards per pass completion (14.3).
18
Kenny Pickett Pittsburgh Steelers QB
Telling stat: After throwing eight INTs in his first five games, the rookie has thrown just one in his last seven, while logging three fourth-quarter comebacks and four game-winning drives since mid-November alone.
19
Jarrett Stidham Las Vegas Raiders QB
Telling stat: He needed just one start to accomplish something Derek Carr did not in 2022: throw for 310+ yards.
20
Mac Jones New England Patriots QB
Telling start: Only two other QBs throw TDs more infrequently than Jones, who has managed just 11 in 13 games. The other two: Zach Wilson, who's played four fewer games; and Kenny Pickett, a rookie who has two fewer starts.
21
Russell Wilson Denver Broncos QB
Telling stat: Besides posting a career-low completion percentage (60.8) in 2022, Wilson's last two years of rushing totals (averaging 45 carries for 221 yards per season) are easily the lowest of his 11-year career.
22
Andy Dalton New Orleans Saints QB
Telling stat: During the Saints' three-game win streak, he's averaged just 12 completions and 18 passes per game.
23
Baker Mayfield Los Angeles Rams QB
Telling stat: Tutu Atwell has been the Rams' most targeted wide receiver during his brief run as an emergency starter.
24
Carson Wentz Washington Commanders QB
Telling stat: Splitting the last four years between the Eagles, Colts and Commanders, he's totaled 55 turnovers in 53 games.
25
Mike White New York Jets QB
Telling stat: Since a three-TD win in his first start for Zach Wilson, he's completed 55% of his passes, with zero TDs and four INTs, never averaging even 6.5 yards per attempt.
26
Davis Mills Houston Texans QB
Telling stat: Neither of the Texans' two leading WRs, Brandin Cooks and Chris Moore, have eclipsed 600 yards on the year.
27
Tyler Huntley Baltimore Ravens QB
Telling stat: In his four starts for Lamar Jackson, the Ravens are 2-0 when he throws the ball 17 times or less.
28
Joshua Dobbs Tennessee Titans QB
Telling stat: In one start, throwing 232 yards against the Cowboys, he nearly eclipsed Malik Willis' passing yards total from the rookie QB's first three games (234).
29
Sam Ehlinger Indianapolis Colts QB
Telling stat: This is the second time Ehlinger is coming off the bench for the Colts in 2022 and, with Nick Foles sidelined, the second different elder QB he is replacing.
30
Skylar Thompson Miami Dolphins QB
Telling stat: He's poised to make his seventh straight appearance coming off the bench as a rookie, with both Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater banged up for at least the second time this season.
31
David Blough Arizona Cardinals QB
Telling stat: He became Arizona's fourth different starting QB of the season by debuting in Week 17, less than three weeks after signing off the Vikings' practice squad.
32
Desmond Ridder Atlanta Falcons QB
Telling stat: His top targets in a close Week 17 victory included MyCole Pruitt and Damiere Byrd.