Grading NFL's next generation of quarterbacks in Week 14: Strong performances from all the young passers

We saw a couple of quality performances from young quarterbacks in Week 14

Week 14 served up a fine week of young quarterback play in the NFL, with Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, and Davis Mills -- yes, even Davis Mills -- playing steady football for their respective teams. While the Patriots don't put much on Mac Jones' shoulders, he was smart with the football against the Cardinals. 

Let's dive deep into the individual efforts of each quarterback and assign a grade on a per-snap basis, taking every individual aspect of their performance into account. At least 10 attempts are needed to qualify for this piece, which is published each Tuesday during the NFL season.

High-Caliber Throws: 

• Jones first throw of the game wasn't super challenging, however, Jones did get to this third read quickly and threw a strike over the middle.
• Late in the second half, Jones fit a pass through layers of coverage to Hunter Henry for 30 yards. 
• With under a minute to go in the third, Jones scrambled right and ripped a fastball to Kendrick Bourne who was coming back to the football near the sideline.

Low-Caliber Throws: 

• Midway through the first, he threw wide on a designed throw into the flat to tight end Jonnu Smith.

Summary: There weren't any brutally inaccurate or dangerous throws from Jones in this contest. His only misfire came early. Conversely, he made a few quality passes at the intermediate level. The rest of his attempts were all schemed-up, quick-game throws. 

Grade: A-
Season Grade: C+

High-Caliber Throws: 

• Late in the second, Lawrence ripped a throw to an out-breaking route that needed to be high and away from the covering defender and was. 
• Right before the end of the half, Lawrence somehow fit a deep corner route to Zay Jones between two defenders at the front right pylon. 
• On a third down in the third quarter, Lawrence drifted right then showed a lightning-quick release to zing a fastball to his receiver against tight coverage to move the chains.
• After bouncing around the pocket for a while, Lawrence moved left and found Jamal Agnew down the right sideline. 
• Though it was dropped, Lawrence fired, arguably his finest throw of the season down the middle of the field to Jones over the top of two defenders for what should've been a touchdown. Rocket. 
• His next throw was a gorgeous back-shoulder rip to Evan Engram on a double move down the left sideline. 

Low-Caliber Throws: 

• In the third, he missed on an out-breaking route that was a bit too low for his intended target. 
• Early in the fourth, he didn't notice a defensive linemen dropping into coverage underneath and threw the quick pass directly to him. The ball was dropped. 

Summary: This was very close to a flawless performance from Lawrence, a genuine No. 1 overall pick type effort. Outside of the near pick, in the fourth, that was more a great schematic wrinkle from the Titans than anything else, he did not put the ball in harm's way and made a plethora of jaw-dropping tosses at the intermediate level and down the field.

Grade: A
Season Grade: C+

High-Caliber Throws/Plays:

• Late in the first, Mills dropped a long ball in the bucket to Chris Moore. 
• Midway through the third, Mills ripped an out-breaking route that arrived a split-second before an underneath defender dove in at attempt to break up the pass. 
• With under a minute to go, while scrambling left, Mills found Moore for a 31-yard gain over the middle. 

Low-Caliber Throws/Plays:

• Late in the second, Mills threw to far out in front of a slant route that fell incomplete. 

Summary: In an outing in which he split time with Jeff Driskel, Mills performed well, on the road, against the Cowboys defense. The arm talent was apparent, and there weren't any egregious misses or bone-headed decisions.  

Grade: A-
Season Grade: C-

High-Caliber Throws/Plays:

• Purdy's touchdown run was a good illustration of his deceptive elusiveness.
• The next throw after his score was high level. He back-juked a defender then fired off-platform to Deebo Samuel for 18 yards. 
• Purdy's touchdown to Christian McCaffrey was perfectly placed in the front left pylon.  
  

Low-Caliber Throws/Plays:

• There was one throw to Brandon Aiyuk on a slant that was made a bit too early and fell incomplete.

Summary: Purdy operated the Shanahan scheme awesomely in the win over the Buccaneers. Now, there wasn't much on the rookie quarterback's plate -- tons of quick throws to open wideouts at or near the line. But two of his down-the-field attempts were strikes, and he improvised well when under pressure. Altogether, a fine debut start for Purdy. 

Grade: A-
Season Grade: B+