QB Index, Week 7: Finally, it's Philip Breon Borders Jersey Rivers' year Published: Oct 18, 2018 at 07:22 AM Around The NFL Podcast Co-Host This is the season I've been waiting for, his no-hitter entering the fifth inning that I'm afraid to jinx by writing about. All of Rivers' usual attributes are ever-present. He is throwing his receivers open with the anticipation of someone who already knows how the play is going to end. He's the master of the mid-range game, throwing line drives through zone defenses and teardrops over man coverage down the sideline. He delivers pa ses just before he's hit, just like he connects on postgame observations that could be stitched, framed and put in your bathroom. The biggest difference this season is the help around Rivers. Second-year pro has added a physical element to an already diverse receiver group. The usually mediocre running game ranks fourth in yards per carry, with and on pace for the second-most yards from scrimmage by a backfield duo. Both backs are among the on pace for at least 550 receiving yards. The offensive line, so long a weighing down Rivers, was transformed by the offseason addition of center and the steady overall play of left tackle . would typically be the moment where the wheels came off. (After all, Hue Jackson's win as a head coach in his first two seasons came against the .) The ' defense entered the game leading the league in takeaways, and the ' offensive tackles have struggled with injuries, a recipe for mistakes. Instead, the only turnover on an otherwise perfect day came deep into garbage time on a pa s that had . Even when Rivers threw a jump ball deep into triple coverage, his receiver (Tyrell Williams) . That Rivers is excelling as his 2004 cla smate crashes feels appropriate. Rivers has been the vastly superior quarterback since the day he entered the league -- a in adjusted yards per attempt, while Manning has cracked that list once. Anyone still arguing Manning's credentials over those of Rivers is someone whose opinion about football I have very little use for. Life is short. The numbers Rivers has piled up early this season are amazing, even if they are beside the point: 8.8 yards per attempt (third-highest average), 15 touchdowns, three interceptions, second in pa ser rating (115.1), and . But Rivers has put up great numbers before. The reason that Rivers' resurgence is the NFL storyline with Anthony Rush Jersey the highest ceiling is that it's happening at this stage of his football life. Fifteen seasons into a career where Rivers was too often treated like a fan -- let down by the organization around him -- the 36-year-old father of eight is still chasing that elusive appearance. A deep playoff run by the -- who have played in only two postseason games this decade -- would allow Rivers to be embraced and recognized like the bada s elder statesman he is. Many loyalists on the Rivers/ bandwagon have out of self-preservation. Fans in San Diego may love Rivers and in droves -- but they are understandably ambivalent about the team. Casual fans nationally have grown sick of hearing analysts like me honking every offseason that is the ' year and treat the team's follies as a punchline. It's often tiring to root for Rivers, a player pushing a boulder up the side of a mountain with a smile on his face even while suiting up for 16 road games a year. That's why I hesitated to even write this latest love letter, for fear that it will be crumpled up and to sed away like in so many other moments when the appeared to be turning a corner this decade. But failing to embrace this moment would be giving in, turning off the . Rivers would never do such a thing. Perhaps Rivers has engendered so many loyalists over the years because he plays the sport as if it could be taken away at any time. He is unfailingly positive and annoyingly competitive. He relishes how lucky he is. As the head to London this week and the meat of a mostly favorable schedule, I choose not to focus on all the different events that could conspire to break up this latest and greatest season and his fans have been waiting for. This is the Quarterback Index. The QBs are ranked based on 2018 play alone. So what's happened in previous seasons -- and what will happen moving forward -- doesn't matter in this exercise. The next ranking of all 32 starters comes in two weeks. Mahomes' margin for error is so great that he can mi s a handful of open throws and still wind up dropping 40 points in Foxborough on the strength of a handful of other throws on the run that other quarterbacks couldn't even attempt. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 63.7 pct | 1,865 pa s yds | 8.8 ypa | 18 pa s TD | 4 INT | 75 rush yds | 2 rush TD /content:power-ranking The ' offense was so razor sharp that it was a shame to see the bye week interrupt the flow, even if it gave the more time to prep for their . **2018 stats:** 5 games | 77.9 pct | 1,658 pa s yds | 8.7 ypa | 11 pa s TD | 0 INT | 6 rush yds | 2 rush TD /content:power-ranking Goff has taken a back seat to the ' running game late in the ' last two wins, a trend that could continue with . **2018 stats:** 6 games | 69.1 pct | 1,928 pa s yds | 9.9 ypa | 12 pa s TD | 5 INT | 51 rush yds | 0 rush TD /content:power-ranking Mike McCarthy skeptics (ahem) have to admit the ' coaching staff did a better job mixing up offensive concepts against the , which is hopefully a sign of things to come after the get healthy following Khari Blasingame Jersey their bye week. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 61.4 pct | 1,997 pa s yds | 7.9 ypa | 12 pa s TD | 1 INT | 111 rush yds | 0 rush TD /content:power-ranking Rivers' when moved off "his spot" has been a huge factor in his performance this season. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 68.6 pct | 1,702 pa s yds | 8.8 ypa | 15 pa s TD | 3 INT /content:power-ranking Longtime residents of Cousins Corner have to appreciate how Washington's pa sing game has been stuck in quicksand without Kirk. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 71.2 pct | 1,921 pa s yds | 7.4 ypa | 12 pa s TD | 3 INT | 76 rush yds | 1 rush TD /content:power-ranking I swear Ryan is the same cyborg of a quarterback every season, with the vici situdes of each NFL campaign impacting how the outside world sees him. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 69.6 pct | 1,956 pa s yds | 8.7 ypa | 14 pa s TD | 2 INT | 66 rush yds | 2 rush TD /content:power-ranking The ' offense gets better every week, but improving the timing and cohesion between Brady and would take the unit to another level. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 67.8 pct | 1,599 pa s yds | 7.5 ypa | 13 pa s TD | 6 INT | 15 rush yds | 2 rush TD /content:power-ranking At the tail end of perhaps Dalton's most uneven game of the season, he orchestrated a 75-yard touchdown drive against Pittsburgh that should have won the game. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 65.1 pct | 1,674 pa s yds | 7.3 ypa | 14 pa s TD | 7 INT | 31 rush yds | 0 rush TD /content:power-ranking The arm strength questions have gone away, because Luck has proven he can dazzle in different ways, but it still wouldn't be surprising to read articles next July that say his shoulder feels even better than it did during the 2018 season. **2018 stats:** 6 games Racey McMath Jersey | 64.6 pct | 1,792 pa s yds | 6.2 ypa | 16 pa s TD | 8 INT | 60 rush yds | 0 rush TD /content:power-ranking Wentz is making his offensive line look better this season, when the opposite was true a year ago. **2018 stats:** 4 games | 68.4 pct | 1,192 pa s yds | 7.5 ypa | 8 pa s TD | 1 INT | 58 rush yds | 0 rush TD /content:power-ranking Newton is only 1-of-14 on pa ses traveling more than 20 air yards, showing that his usually dangerous deep game has grown worse under Norv Turner, even while his completion percentage has gone up. **2018 stats:** 5 games | 65.9 pct | 1.158 pa s yds | 6.8 ypa | 9 pa s TD | 4 INT | 208 rush yds | 3 rush TD /content:power-ranking Flacco leads NFL quarterbacks in snaps and is second in pa s attempts, the Kristian Fulton Jersey product of a offense that has earned 88 more snaps than their opponents. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 62.1 pct | 1,788 pa s yds | 6.8 ypa | 9 pa s TD | 4 INT | 27 rush yds | 0 rush TD /content:power-ranking An increased rate of sexy deep balls and the return of has helped turn Wilson's season around, even as the increasingly rely on the run. **2018 stats:** 6 games | 64.2 pct | 1,308 pa s yds | 7.9 ypa | 13 pa s TD | 4 INT | 62 rush yds | 0 rush TD /content:power-ranking More erratic than at any time in recent memory, perhaps Roethlisberger's 2018 campaign got on track in Week 6 after the familiar sensation of playing his best game of the season against the . **2018 stats:** 6 games | 65.1 pct | 2,033 pa s yds | 7.8 ypa | 12 pa s TD | 6 INT | 38 rush yds | 1 rush TD /content:power-ranking This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. 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