NFL quarterback power rankings are down to 14 playoff contenders in the wild-card round. Here's how they stack up.

There's a new player at No. 1 in Nick Shook's QB Index rankings. Plus, who sparks a major shakeup in the second tier of passers? Check out the updated pecking order, 1-32, heading into Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season.

PFF grade: 28.6 PFF grade: 40.8 PFF grade: 51.0 PFF grade: 52.2 PFF grade: 53.0 PFF grade: 48.0 PFF grade: 57.8 PFF grade: 60.9 PFF grade: 61.6 PFF grade: 67.7 PFF grade: 68.8 PFF grade: 69.1 PFF grade: 70.0 PFF grade: 70.0

NFL playoff QB power rankings: The best and worst starters in 2026, from Matthew Stafford to Bryce Young originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Ranking quarterbacks ahead of the 2025-26 NFL playoffs is tricky.

Four-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl XLV MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers guided the Pittsburgh Steelers back to the playoffs at the age of 42 after his 26-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin held up as the game winner in Game No. 272 against the Baltimore Ravens thanks to a missed 44-yard Ravens field goal at the buzzer.

The NCAA transfer portal is open, and thousands of student-athletes have flooded its gates since midnight ET on Jan. 2. This includes many big-time college football players, including some major talent at the quarterback position.

The Chicago Bears drafted Caleb Williams with the hope that he’d eventually become a perennial top-10 quarterback in the NFL—at the worst. (With his skills and talent, his ceiling is undoubtedly MVP-level if he ever reaches it.)

If these jobs actually come open, they will be the two best jobs on the market, and in this order. Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are established stars who, when healthy, are routinely in the MVP conversation. The chance to coach one of those players is the kind of thing any head coaching candidate could only dream of.