Top Five NFL Quarterbacks Through Week Two: Phillip Rivers Takes The Top Spot

This is the second edition of a series that will detail who the best quarterbacks are through each week. These are not based off previous accomplishments, just their play in the 2014 season.

5. Matt Ryan

Week two didn’t go very well for Ryan, but his week one performance still lingers in my mind, so I can’t drop him out of the top five just yet. He obliterated a quality Saints defense in their season opener, which has to count for something, even though he stunk up the joint on Sunday against the Bengals.

4. Kirk Cousins

Robert Griffin III goes down, no problem for his backup signal caller. Cousins played a great game on Sunday, leading the Skins to an easy 41-10 victory over the Jaguars. Cousins completed 66% of his passes, and his QBR was an amazing 93.7. It looks like Griffin is going to miss a decent amount of time with his ankle injury, but I think Washington is in good hands with Cousins leading the team.

3. Jay Cutler

Cutler didn’t have an amazing week two performance, but he led a 21-point comeback against one of the best teams in the league on Sunday night, so I think that deserves a spot in the top five. Cutler tossed four touchdowns in this game, including three in the fourth quarter alone. Cutler takes a lot of heat around the NFL, but I think he deserves to be recognized as a top 10 signal caller. His arm strength is up there with the best of them, and now that he has a decent offensive line surrounding him, I believe he could have a monster season.

2. Peyton Manning

Again, it wasn’t a great week for Manning, but he got the job done, and with a little help from an incompetent Chiefs offense late in the game, he got Denver off to a 2-0 start. Manning currently leads the league in passer rating at 126.5, and is fourth in the NFL in yards per attempt, which may be a bigger testament to his wideouts, than his arm strength.

1. Phillip Rivers

I love me some Phillip Rivers.

Possibly the most underrated quarterback in the league, Rivers dominated the Seattle defense on Sunday, in a way that we haven’t seen in a long, long time. Rivers was 28 of 37, for 284 yards, three touchdowns, and more importantly, zero interceptions. Everybody thinks the Seahawks’ defense is impenetrable, but if you show a little heart like Rivers did, and actually challenge them, there are plenty of holes to be found.