Five quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. This continuing series has followed them since week one of their rookie season until now, through week nine of season six.
Sour play has intermixed with solid results the last five weeks for the majority of the three first-round quarterbacks from the 2018 NFL draft class. This has more so been reflected in the win-loss column than stats. Amid the struggles have been miscues at inopportune times, contributing to a change at top of this post's list.
The fast start for two of three franchises has disappeared. For Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, they can't seem to overcome their own hype. One week, they are on top of the world. The next, a turnover factory forced to comeback, falling just short.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield has somewhat fallen back down to Earth. After an excellent start, the Bucs faced a recent tough stretch. And Mayfield, without a strong running game, has stumbled a step or two.
Only Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are playing up to par, winning games with strong play in all three aspects of the game.
Lamar Jackson
Jackson and the Ravens (7-2) are tied for the best record in the AFC, and tops in a competitive AFC North, where all four teams are above .500.
Baltimore is riding a four-game winning streak and can find a bit of separation in the coming weeks with division rivals on the agenda.
Jackson has the offense clicking, even if he's not the one doing the overwhelming. During the winning streak, the Ravens are scoring 32.5 points per game and the defense has allowed only 33 points in the last three games. (Oddly enough, 24 of those were to an Arizona Cardinals team searching for an identity.)
While scoring touchdowns on the ground this season has belonged mostly to Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, Jackson remains a major factor. There is a nice balance, with Edwards leading the team with 478 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Jackson checks in not far behind, with 440 and five touchdowns, though his yards per carry is down to 5.2 and would be his lowest since 4.7 his rookie season.
Jackson's passing, however, has taken a step forward, if not more methodical.
He has more games under 200 yards passing (4) than over 300 (1) this season, totaling 1954 thus far. But Jackson is completing a career-best 71.2 percent and has only 20 incompletions in Baltimore's last three games.
Aside from some fumbling issues, Jackson is not turning the ball over. He has thrown none in the last three games and only three all season. Touchdown numbers are low, throwing only nine, but if the Ravens are winning, there shouldn't be much concern in this regard.
Jackson's best game during this recent winning streak was a 38-6 victory over the Detroit Lions. Jackson was 21-27 for 357 yards and three touchdowns, adding another 36 yards and a score on the ground.
Baltimore would be nearly unstoppable if Jackson put up these numbers every game. But as long as his efficiency continues, and the Ravens can stay healthy on both sides of the ball, Baltimore will be a tough foe to defeat.
Weeks 10 - 13: vs CLE (11/12), vs CIN (11/16), @ LAC (11/26), BYE
Josh Allen
Straight up, Allen has the best stats among these quarterbacks in many categories. He has thrown for 2423 yards and 18 touchdowns. Allen is even completing 71.3 percent of his passes while only getting sacked four times in the last five games.
It's too bad those pesky interceptions and turnovers keep getting in the way of the Bills (5-4) winning more games.
Allen has thrown nine this season, tossing an interception in seven of Buffalo's nine games. Some arrive because of Allen being relied on so much. Others, well, are inexplicable for a player in their sixth season.
Listening to commentators and announcers, much of the blame for Buffalo's inconsistency is a lack of running game (outside of Allen). I think it's partially because the Bills want to showcase Allen too much and they give up on a running game too early. For years now, you'll see running backs for Buffalo have, for example, 10 carries for 60 yards. To me, that's pretty solid, and one could take more advantage of that and put less pressure on Allen.
James Cook averages 4.7 yards per carry with 506 yards to his credit. Maybe more carries might be helpful (I say the same thing about the Kansas City Chiefs, too. Passing highlights are fun but so is winning games. Though the Chiefs are 7-2.)
Allen has 233 rushing yards and six touchdowns to his credit this season, scoring a rushing touchdown in three straight games.
Buffalo's offense and Allen were at their finest in a 24-18 win over Tampa Bay. It was a game they tried to give away but if Buffalo is clicking on offense like they were, they'll reach Baltimore and Kansas City's level. Until then, they'll remain a tier behind.
Weeks 10 - 13: vs DEN (11/13), vs NYJ (11/19), @ PHI (11/26), BYE
Baker Mayfield
Tampa Bay (3-5) and Mayfield are the owners of four straight losses. Competitiveness has not been a problem, with the last three by a combined 11 points.
The trouble is getting the team to play four quarters of football.
Mayfield hasn't been horrible. And, for a team truly with a running game problem, some of what he's doing on the field has been impressive. In week eight, Tampa Bay ran the ball only 17 times against the Bills. And last week, they managed 31 carries for only 81 yards.
At least they tried their hand at running in the 39-37 loss to the Houston Texans.
Mayfield has been taking care of the ball (four interceptions) and had a 21-30 game for 265 yards and two scores against the Texans. He's thrown five touchdowns in the last three games and no picks in doing his best to keep the games close.
The same troubles of batted balls, drops, and bad reads have stalled the Tampa Bay offense, too. But overall, Mayfield has 1865 yards and 12 touchdown passes in eight games. He's also added 122 yards on the ground.
Thankfully for Mayfield and the Bucs, the NFC South remains wide open. Another tough stretch awaits the team but if they can recapture some of that early season grit, bouncing back could be on the agenda the next four weeks.
Weeks 10 - 13: vs TEN (11/12), @ SF (11/19), @ IND (11/26), vs CAR (12/3)
Sam Darnold
Darnold almost had a chance to start in week eight, only to have starter Brock Purdy clear concussion protocol just in time.
Perhaps the San Francisco 49ers could have used a change, if only for one game. After averaging over 33 points per game in a 5-0 start, San Francisco has lost three straight games, scoring 17 in each loss.
Darnold did see action in a 42-10 win over Dallas, going 1-1 for 1 yard.
Tough to see Purdy losing the job, outside of injury, but it is the NFL, so you can never tell. San Francisco does have three tough road games on the agenda and it's entirely possible a 2-2 stretch is in their future.
Weeks 10 - 13: @ JAX (11/12), vs TB (11/19), @ SEA (11/23), @ PHI (12/3)
Josh Rosen
Teams, whether due to injuries or inadequate play, have turned to free agents to salvage their season. The most recent is Carson Wentz, who signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a backup to Matthew Stafford, who continues to deal with a thumb injury.
Rosen is still out there, perhaps waiting, perhaps not. Maybe that chance to resurrect a career will be given to him at some point but wherever he is, I hope he is happy.
Check back in on this series after week 13 to see where the quarterbacks are headed, and what they're about to do.
photo credit: Flickr
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