NFL Power Rankings: Re-ranking the best NFC East QBs after Dak Prescott's injury

Dak Prescott will miss the remainder of the 2024 campaign after undergoing season-ending hamstring surgery. That puts the 3-6 Dallas Cowboys in extreme peril, if not outright free fall. Meanwhile, it also casts the NFC East postseason race in a whole new light.

Few divisions were more difficult to get a proper read on before the season. The Cowboys were reigning NFC East champs, but only because the Philadelphia Eagles suffered a historic meltdown in the second half of last season. Coming into 2024, it felt like a two-horse race between extremely talented, deeply flawed contenders that could go either direction, with the Washington Commanders and New York Giants on the outskirts.

Well, the Giants are on the outskirts — as expected — but the Cowboys' flaws ran a bit deeper than prognosticators initially believed. The Commanders, on the other hand, are well ahead of the curve, led by the heroics of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Going into the season, there were clear tiers in the NFC East QB rankings: Hurts and Prescott vying for the top spot, with a distant gap between third and fourth-place. The Prescott injury, as well as plenty of new information on Washington and New York's QB room, has shifted the balance of power rather dramatically.

Ahead of the highly anticipated showdown between Philadelphia (7-2) and Washington (7-3) on Thursday Night Football, here's an updated ranking of the NFC East quarterbacks, starting at the bottom.

Re-ranking the best NFC East QBs after Dak Prescott's injury

4. Cooper Rush, Dallas Cowboys

Those predisposed against a certain Giants quarterback could take a more controversial stance here, but the simple truth is that Dallas is left with the worst quarterback in what has been the NFL's strongest division for years. Cooper Rush has admirably filled Dak Prescott's shoes in the past, but he's just not on the same plane as the competition here — not athletically, not in terms of decision-making, and not in terms of straight-up production.

In his first start of the campaign — a 34-6 shellacking at the hands of Philadelphia — Rush completed 56.5 percent of his passes for 45 yards before ceding snaps to Trey Lance in the fourth quarter. Jerry Jones is prepared to stick with Rush in Week 11, but the veteran's job is teetering on the brink. Another dud opens the door wide for Lance, who ought to get some sort of chance before Jones' pet developmental project is shown the exit.

Even if the Cowboys transition to Lance, however, their quarterback will be entrenched in last place here. Prescott is probably a deserving No. 1 at full strength, as evidenced by last season's second-place finish in MVP voting, but the Cowboys just don't have the necessary firepower under center when Prescott is hurt. Lance has dual-threat ability, but he's completely unproven as a passer. Rush can throw it a bit more, but he's stiff in the pocket and borderline immobile outside it.

Rush certainly isn't the worst backup quarterback in the NFL, but he's a career backup for a reason. He's competing against career starters in these rankings, which is what it is.

3. Daniel Jones, New York Giants

The Daniel Jones haters, of which there are many (and understandably so), might mount a case for Cooper Rush. There's a certain appeal to Rush's no-frills, workmanlike approach to the quarterback position. In 2022, when Rush started five games in Prescott's stead, the Cowboys went 4-1, with Rush completing more touchdowns (five) than interceptions (three). That's a low bar, but it's not one Daniel Jones has always cleared (two touchdowns, six interceptions in six starts last season).

Turnovers have once again plagued Jones in 2024, with seven interceptions and four fumbles through 10 starts. That said, despite his shortcomings as a decision-maker, Jones is a spectacular athlete. He has all the prototypical tools for a quarterback, standing 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds with mobility outside the pocket and a canon attached to his right shoulder. Jones seldom gets the most out of that canon — 6.1 yards per pass attempt doesn't light the world on fire — and his ambition can get the better of him at times, but the 27-year-old is capable of the occasional explosive throw or drive-extending scramble.

We've seen him truck defenders at the line of scrimmage and reach pay dirt twice on the ground this season. He also has eight touchdown passes, completing a healthy 63.3 percent of his attempts for 2,070 yards. Jones is within striking distance of his career-high mark of 3,205 passing yards in 2022, which led New York to give him the ungodly contract fans have spent the subsequent years complaining about.

Jones is often his own worst enemy, taking too many sacks, coughing up the football unnecessarily, and putting the Giants defense in difficult positions. That said, he can also put together a few genuinely excellent performances each season, which never really happens with Cooper Rush. The sheer talent gap gives Jones the slight edge.

2. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

There's a genuine case for Jayden Daniels at No. 1, which is a credit to how impressive his first 10 career starts have been. Daniels is equal parts efficient and dynamic, comfortable creating with his legs and improvising on the fly, but never sacrificing the functionality of the offense at large. Daniels doesn't let his scrambling get in the way of simple reads, the type that move the chains and keep defenses on the field longer.

He has all the indicators associated with future stars at football's most important position. Daniels isn't turning it over at a high clip (two interceptions, three fumbles) and he's completing a whopping 68.7 percent of his passes, threading the needle between ambition (8.2 yards per attempt) and success rate with aplomb. Not many have thrown the football better than Daniels this season, which makes his exploits on the ground even more impressive.

Daniels has scrambled 85 times for 464 yards and an additional four touchdowns. Are there moments where Washington would prefer a more traditional, pocket-bound approach from Daniels? Of course. We saw it often at LSU. He has a tendency to run wild and put his body on the line in unnecessary, often outright dangerous fashion. That said, Daniels has improved his decision-making with each passing week, stressing defenses as a runner without leaning too heavily on the crutch of mobility. He's standing tall in the pocket and effectively distributing the football.

If Daniels can out-duel Jalen Hurts on TNF, we'll need to start an earnest dialogue.

1. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are 7-2 with considerable momentum at their backs. The Saquon Barkley addition has paid massive dividends, as has Nick Sirianni's reformed approach to coaching the offense. He's not without his warts, but Sirianni has done an undeniably strong job of late, and his blossoming relationship with Jalen Hurts certainly does not hurt.

Where strain once existed, it feels like the Eagles are finally flourishing. Hurts struggled with turnovers out of the gate, but he has cleaned up his act of late en route to MVP-esque numbers on arguably the NFC's best team. He's completing 69.8 percent of his passes, with 1,976 passing yards and 12 touchdowns through nine starts. Also included in his overall tally are 378 rushing yards and 10 more touchdowns.

So, while Jayden Daniels is absolutely coming for this crown, it's impossible to write Hurts out of the No. 1 spot for now, especially with Prescott hurt. He's too potent, especially around the goal line. Once Hurts is in the red zone, you can count on one hand the number of quarterbacks more capable of putting points on the board. Call it 'tush push bias,' or call it a simple fact, but Hurts is the NFL's best third-and-short converter, too. His power as a runner is unmatched, aside from maybe Josh Allen or prime Cam Newton. We just don't see quarterbacks as strong and quick as Hurts very often.

Hurts is checking every box right now. He has scored more than Daniels, and he's offsetting the early turnover foibles with extreme efficiency as a passer. The two-time Pro Bowl QB is surgically picking apart defenses and putting up numbers in line with his career high-water marks. Barring another second-half collapse from the Eagles, we could be talking about Hurts as a postseason wrecking ball once again in a few short months.