NFL QB Rankings after Week 5: Drake Maye is fully back, Tyler Shough falls back to earth

For the first time this NFL season, not every team played this weekend, as the Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers were both on buy weeks. Still, there is plenty to write home about, especially at the quarterback position. From monster turnarounds (see: Drake Maye) to rapidly fading stars (see: Justin Herbert), not everything is how we expected it to be as we near the season's one-third mark.

So, let's update our rankings. FanSided's Jake Beckman handled last week's rankings while I was out. He did a great job, although we don't necessarily see eye to eye across the board (here are my Week 3 rankings, for additional context). So I am shaking things up, because what's the point of life without a little chaos?

NFL quarterback rankings after Week 5

Drake Maye has completely turned his season around

Drake Maye finished second in MVP voting as an NFL sophomore last season, then he led the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance. Naturally, that tends to elevate expectations coming into a new season, so his early struggles were magnified. Through the first three weeks of the campaign, Maye took after Odysseus — he looked like a once-great warrior lost at sea, unsure and unable to navigate the environment around him.

Well, all it took was two weeks for Maye to snap into form. Buffalo's anemic defense was a soft target in Week 4, but the Raiders in Week 5 presented much stiffer competition. Las Vegas has generated steady pressure on the quarterback all season, really looking the part of an under-the-radar contender. New England schooled the Raiders on Sunday, however, with Maye putting together his most complete performance in a while. He completed an efficient 26-of-34 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns, with 25 yards and another touchdown as a runner.

It's unclear what exactly held Maye back early on. Perhaps he was simply regaining confidence in his once-injured soldier. Perhaps the A.J. Brown injury threw him for a loop, or maybe all the external noise and pressure of this Patriots offseason sent him spiraling. Whatever the issue was, it sure feels like Maye has course-corrected, as we all should have expected for such a talented quarterback with his bona fides. The Patriots' upcoming schedule features plenty of exploitable defenses (Jets, Bears, Dolphins, Packers), so don't be shocked if this is the start of a dominant stretch for the 24-year-old gunslinger.

Tyler Shough and the Saints are stuck in neutral

As someone who has propogated an extremely positive narrative around Tyler Shough and the New Orleans Saints all year, things are getting a bit dicey. The Saints fell to 1-4 on Sunday with a home loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are still undefeated, equipped with the most dominant defense in the NFL, so it's not a bad loss on paper. But, despite extremely positive flashes from this offense and a string of competitive losses, the Saints are still barreling toward the bottom of the standings in the league's worst division. It's fair to ask questions.

Sunday was, without question, Shough's worst performance of his nascent career. He only took one sack, but was nonetheless overwhelmed by the pressure Minnesota so liberally applies. He completed 16-of-25 passes for 96 yards — that's 3.8 yards per attempt — and threw two interceptions.

There is still reason to believe in Shough as a long-term cornerstone in New Orleans. The Vikings look to be an outlier bad matchup for just about any quarterback at this point. Still, if the Saints can't turn it around quickly and start executing better, especially in the clutch, this will turn into another lost season. That will mean hard questions for the front office, second-year coach Kellen Moore, and inevitably for Shough, too. He is a major talent, but he must improve his ability to maintain poise and work effectively in a crowded pocket.

Jayden Daniels put the good, the bad and the ugly on full display

It's hard not to believe in Jayden Daniels, who burst onto the scene as a rookie and immediately looked like one of the most dynamic and complete quarterbacks in the NFL. After a bumpy, injury-plagued second season, however, Daniels is undoubtedly under more pressure in year three. He missed a couple games with a non-throwing elbow injury, which certainly did not help to ease any latent anxieties. Upon his return in Week 5, Daniels put some incredible plays on tape, but his weaknesses were also exposed.

The surface-level numbers are great. Daniels completed 17-of-25 passes for 199 yards and added another 103 yards, plus a touchdown, as a runner. His ability to escape the pocket, extend plays and create with his legs is a rare gift. He gives Washington a dual-threat element that few other quarterbacks can match.

But Daniels also took five sacks. And the Washington Commanders, after playing from ahead for most of the game, slowly let the shorthanded Giants claw their way back to force overtime. That was more on the defense than the offense, but it was the offense's egregiously poor execution in OT that become the overriding storyline of Sunday's tie. The Commanders were in position for a game-winning field goal with ample time on the clock, but no timeouts. Daniels, in what is best described as a catastrophic brain fart, took a sack as time expired, rather than throwing the football away or running like hell to get out of bounds.

So Washington let the clock expire and ended with a tie, rather than a critical win in what has become a wide-open NFC East race. There is blame to go around here, as the coaching staff absolutely needs to communicate better. However, this is Football 101. Daniels, as the star quarterback and team captain, needs to be aware of the clock and play smart situational football. The Commanders' path to a division crown is that much harder as a result.

NFL quarterbacks on the hot seat

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

What can we do with Justin Herbert at this point? I've never ranked him as low as Jake Beckman did last week (No. 25), on account of his well-documented talent. We've seen Herbert put together Pro Bowl seasons in L.A. He has all the arm talent and physical tools necessary to be one of the best quarterbacks in the sport. And yet... the Chargers are 0-5, and Herbert looks completely lost. Just two years removed from a masterful season in which he threw only three interceptions, Herbert is already up to an NFL-worst seven in 2026. Moreover, he committed two fumbles on Sunday (up to six on the campaign). This is by far the least composed Herbert has ever looked. If he can't get back on track sooner than later, L.A. may need to consider drastic changes.

Tyson Bagent, Chicago Bears

Chicago clearly viewed Tyson Bagent as the preferred alternative to Caleb Williams, even after Case Keenum's spectacular pinch start in Week 3. Bagent has struggled to hold up his end of the bargain, however. He completed 12-of-21 passes against a leaky Packers defense on Sunday, going for 87 yards with two interceptions. The Bears benched him halfway through in favor of the older but wiser Keenum. Bagent is proof that even the most creative and effective offensive schemes can't mask ineptitude. His standing in the Chicago organization has profoundly changed, it feels like.

Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

On top of this otherwise uninspiring play, Cam Ward has now thrown an interception in three straight weeks. The Titans are 0-5 and firmly in the running for the No. 1 overall pick. Ward, less than two years removed from being the No. 1 overall pick himself, now has to contend with Tennessee potentially drafting his replacement in a much stronger QB draft. The Titans would certainly prefer for Ward to step up and cement his status as the long-term answer under center, but it's hard to see the vision right now. The circumstances couldn't be much worse — Ward deserves a better O-line and receiver room — but his decision-making is woefully erratic and he's doing nothing to elevate the ragtag group around him.

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