NFL QB rankings after Week 11: Vikings' JJ McCarthy investment hits rock bottom

The Week 11 NFL slate gave us plenty of excitement, from thrilling shootouts to grimy rock fights, and everything in between. It was a showcase for the MVP candidacies of Drake Maye and Josh Allen. And a reminder that sometimes, young quarterbacks need a loooooong runway to get up to speed against NFL competition.

Amid waxing and waning postseason pursuits and an epidemic of quarterback injuries, here is how all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks rank after Week 11 — with analysis on J.J. McCarthy, Josh Allen, Bryce Young, Brock Purdy, and more, all of whom made an impression this past Sunday.

Ranking all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks after Week 11

*Justin Fields was benched for Tyrod Taylor. Dillon Gabriel is injured and Shedeur Sanders will start in Week 12. Aaron Rodgers could miss Week 12 with injury, making way for Mason Rudolph. Michael Penix Jr. is out for the season, being replaced by Kirk Cousins.

J.J. McCarthy is not ready for Vikings' win-now mandate

The Minnesota Vikings made J.J. McCarthy the 10th overall pick last summer. He spent his first NFL season learning from the sidelines due to an ankle injury. Aside from the injury, that was probably the optimal setup. McCarthy was the least experienced of his 2024 draft peers by a healthy margin. Kevin O'Connell is a tremendous QB coach, and Sam Darnold was an excellent teacher. But McCarthy was quickly thrown into the fire this season and the results thus far are... less than ideal.

McCarthy completed 50 percent of his passes for 150 yards, one TD and two interceptions in Minnesota's loss to Chicago. He's up to six touchdowns and eight picks through five starts. This Vikings roster is littered with quality veterans. The same core that won 14 games a year ago is mostly intact. And yet, moving on from Darnold — whose $100 million contract now looks like a bargain — was Minnesota authoring its own demise.

Modern expectations for young quarterbacks are often warped. It used to be normal for even top prospects to ride the bench for a year or two and learn the position. You can gain a lot from simple observation. McCarthy, more than any other quarterback selected in the 2024 first round, really needed that patient approach. An ankle injury forced Minnesota's hand last season, but axing Darnold after such a dominant campaign, just to put your unyielding faith in a woefully untrained 22-year-old (who couldn't practice last season, lest we forget) was a clear blunder.

The Vikings are 2-3 in McCarthy's starts and 4-6 on the season. Their only alternative right now in Max Brosmer, which means the Vikings will let McCarthy endure this trial by fire and see if he comes out of it alive. It's far too early in McCarthy's career to write him off completely, but Minnesota did him no favors with this accelerated timeline. There's a nonzero chance McCarthy's NFL breakthrough, should it ever happen, comes with his second team, once Minnesota has already replaced him.

Josh Allen is still QB1

There's a good chance the MVP award belongs to Drake Maye or Matthew Stafford at this point. Maye is doing his best Baby Allen impression as New England takes a sudden leap from basement-dweller to AFC heavyweight. Stafford, still slinging darts at 37 years old, has an NFL-leading 28 passing touchdowns and only two interceptions. He's still smarter than your favorite quarterback.

But when it comes to ranking the best quarterbacks in the NFL, taking everything holistically into account, how can Josh Allen not be No. 1? The reigning MVP made a statement to that effect in Sunday's 44-32 barn burner against Tampa Bay, throwing for 317 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He added six carries for 40 yards and three additional scores — six total TDs.

Allen is still not perfect — no player is — but even with a couple silly mistakes on Sunday, he looked the part of the NFL's most unstoppable individual force. This Bills roster has never really lived up to the individual brilliance of Allen, especially these past couple seasons, but he continues to put Buffalo on his back and churn out W's.

He has really mastered the craft, leveraging his incredible athleticism and physicality as a runner without being reckless. Also, there isn't a single quarterback who can claim Allen's blend of velocity, depth and accuracy as a passer.

Bryce Young exposes Falcons in record-breaking performance

Bryce Young led an impressive comeback effort against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, throwing for 448 yards and three touchdowns in the overtime victory. It was probably Young's most impressive performance yet as an NFL player. This Falcons team has a penchant for fourth quarter meltdowns, but that shouldn't take away from what was, objectively, an incredible second half rally against a top-five defense.

Young's career has featured more than its share of ups and downs. He's not the outright bust many expected him to be after his rookie season, but Carolina probably doesn't feel like it has solidified its quarterback position for the next decade. The 24-year-old is very much still in the prove-it phase. Sunday's electrifying performance, which saw him break Cam Newton's Panthers record for single-game passing yards, will go a lot way toward settling Young's future.

The Panthers are now 6-5 and 6-4 in games that Young starts. He's playing winning football for the first time in his three NFL seasons. Dave Canales deserves credit. So does the front office, for beefing up the O-line, giving him a proper WR1 in Tet McMillan, and unearthing an elite run game, courtesy of Rico Dowdle. But this is a really positive step in Young's development.

Have all the concerns dissipated? Of course not. Young is still small. He is still prone to a few too many sacks. He can get overmatched against the NFL's elite pass rushes. But Atlanta's pass rush is no joke. Young took his hits and persevered, delivering several clutch throws as Atlanta and Carolina traded blows down the stretch. The former No. 1 pick might just make it after all.

Brock Purdy slides effortlessly into Mac Jones' shoes for 49ers

Brock Purdy made his long-awaited return from injury in the 49ers' blowout win over Arizona. The ex-Mr. Irrelevant completed 73.1 percent of his passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns as San Francisco cruised to a 41-22 advantage.

This was a thrilling afternoon for Niners fans. The Cardinals defense isn't exactly a buzzsaw, but San Francisco's offense has been humming for weeks with Mac Jones under center — to the point where many in the football community thought Jones might surpass Purdy on the depth chart. There's still time, of course. This is a single game. But Kyle Shanahan never wavered on his intent to start Purdy upon his return and, to his credit, Jones did nothing but speak highly of Purdy during the latter's protracted absence.

Purdy didn't need much time, if any, to shake off the rust on Sunday afternoon. He did everything that made him such a hot commodity a couple years ago. Purdy is an incredibly fun and dynamic player when he's comfortable. He can swerve around the pocket and deliver advanced throws from nonstandard arm slots and foot placements. It can get messy when he's under pressure, or when the supporting cast can't support him (see: last season), but Purdy's talent is undeniable.

Is he better than the Mac Jones we've seen this season? Only time will tell, but Purdy's the one on a $265 million contract. There's no question as to which QB the Niners will prioritize. This offense is cooking right now, so Purdy's in a good position to make good on that investment.

Other quarterback notes from Week 11

• Shedeur Sanders made his first Browns appearance on Sunday after Dillon Gabriel went down with a concussion. It was... quite bad. He completed 4-of-16 passes for 47 yards and an interception. He took a couple ugly, very characteristic sacks. It's clear the fifth-round pick has a lot to work on. But Gabriel has done nothing to prove he's an NFL starter and Sanders had also never taken a snap with the Browns' first team, so let's check back next week. Cleveland needs to see it all the way through at this point.

• The rare middling performance from Matthew Stafford and the Rams' offense was offset by Sam Darnold's disastrous four-interception performance in what was, on paper, a critical divisional test for Seattle. Darnold's old, bad habits slowly crept into the equation a year ago as Minnesota's season dragged on. The Seahawks are hoping this is a one-off and that Darnold can return to form in Week 12 against Tennessee.

• Everyone is hurt. Jayden Daniels, CJ Stroud, Kyler Murray and Jaxson Dart were all out of commission on Sunday. Now, Dillon Gabriel has a concussion, Michael Penix is undergoing season-ending ACL surgery, and Aaron Rodgers has a fractured wrist. Justin Herbert is beat up, too. This epidemic of mediocre quarterback play around the league is being exacerbated by bad blocking and worse luck.