After a scintillating start to the season, Justin Herbert was humbled in Week 6 by a constantly attacking Ravens defense. Tua Tagovailoa didn't exactly incite excitement over the pond against the Jaguars, and Justin Fields is slowly but surely coming along. Oh, and Trevor Lawrence is starting to play like a No. 1 overall pick should.
A grand total of eight quarterbacks selected in the past two NFL draft classes saw considerable playing time -- more than 10 pass attempts -- during a wild Week 6.
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.
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Best Throws:
- In the second, he escaped the grasp of a front seven defender and scrambled for 10 yards.
- Herbert absolutely ripped a 26-yard laser to Mike Williams on a roll to his right.
- Early in the fourth, Herbert threw with perfect timing and accuracy on a long throw to the boundary to Keenan Allen. Picture perfect.
Worst Throws:
- In the first, Herbert had Williams open down the middle of the field for a touchdown but the ball was so high, it didn't give the big receiver a chance to rebound it.
- He missed high and wide on a swing pass attempt to Jalen Guyton.
- In the second, Herbert threw too far to the inside on an outside comeback route to Williams.
- Late in the second quarter, Herbert had Jared Cook running a vertical close to the numbers. The throw didn't lead the tight end far enough down the field and was intercepted. The throw probably shouldn't have been made.
- On a 3rd and 26 in the fourth quarter, Herbert had Guyton even with the boundary cornerback. Had the throw been made out and in front of the receiver, it may have been a touchdown. Instead it came up short and fell incomplete.
Summary: The size of each section above should be telling -- this was Herbert's worst performance of the season to date. Of course the defense has to be considered, but the Ravens hadn't been their usual stingy selves heading into this contest. As usual though, Herbert did put some ridiculous throws on film.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: B
Best Throws:
- Late in the second, Burrow improvised well, reversing his field behind the line before finding Ja'Marr Chase deep down the field for a 70-yard score. The ball got to the wideout a half of a split second before the Packers defender was able to knock it away.
- Burrow's finest throw of the game occurred on a 34-yard in-the-bucket throw to Chase down the right sideline with under a minute to go in the half. Burrow was hit as he threw the ball and coverage was good. The throw was better.
- Late in the third, Burrow threw a gorgeous back-shoulder seam through to Drew Sample that should've been caught but fell incomplete.
- Burrow once again found Chase deep down the field for huge gain in the second half. Not a super-difficult throw, but he put it on the money at around 50 yards.
- The two-yard touchdown to C.J. Uzomah was thrown with exquisite touch and accuracy.
Worst Throws:
- With a minute to go in the half, Burrow was moved off his initial spot in the pocket, looked awkward, and overthrew Tyler Boyd near the sideline.
- A few plays later, Burrow telegraphed an in-breaking route to Tee Higgins that was nearly intercepted by a defensive back flying downhill on top of the route.
- With under four minutes to go in the third, Burrow missed Boyd on a slant due to a throw that was low and away.
- In the fourth, Burrow took a bad sack in the red zone when he tried to run away from a defensive end. Needed to throw it away.
Summary: Yet another workmanlike performance from Burrow. Not amazing. But definitely not bad. It's now clearly a trend. He didn't have a "challenging" attempt until late in the second quarter, and there a few more misses than normal.
Grade: B-
Season Grade: B-
Best Throws:
- His second throw of the game featured a nifty drift inside the pocket and well-timed throw for Jaylen Waddle over the middle for 10 yards.
- Late in the first, Tagovailoa threw with gorgeous trajectory to Mike Gesicki on an over route for 22 yards.
- In the second, Tagovailoa ripped an in-breaker to Mack Hollins for 20 yards.
- With defenders closing in on him, Tagovailoa somehow got the ball to Waddle over the middle for 14 yards with a defender in tight.
- In the fourth, he got the ball to Durham Smythe down the seam with ideal timing and trajectory.
Worst Throws:
- Early in the first, he skipped a pass into the flat.
- In the second, he airmailed an out route to Gesicki.
- Tagovailoa had a first down on a scramble to his left but instead opted to loft the ball over a defender but the ball was about three yards too far.
- With under a minute to go in the second, he threw well behind a seam throw to his tight end. Weird throw.
- In the third, he forced a deep ball down the sideline to Waddle into double coverage that was knocked away.
- I legitimately don't believe the interception late in the third was a miscommunication. He was looking directly at his receiver and just underthrew the ball by like five yards.
Summary: Such a strange return from injury for Tagovailoa. There was a small collection of good throws. But they were negated by some very questionable decisions and misfires. And as usual, either of those types of plays were well outweighed by the schemed-up, quick throws.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: C+
Best Throws:
- Hurts' first throw of the game was a dime on a downfield route to Devonta Smith near the sideline that was dropped.
- In the second, he threw with good timing and ball placement on a deep out to Zach Ertz.
- With under two minutes to go, Hurts spun away from Shaq Barrett in the pocket and showcased major speed to pick up five yards around the corner.
- On the first play of the fourth quarter, Hurts, with numerous Bucs defenders chasing him to his right, found Quez Watkins tip-toeing on the sideline.
- Two plays later, Hurts threw with anticipation on a deep dig to Smith for 25 yards.
Worst Throws:
- Late in the first quarter, Hurts skipped a comeback route into Jalen Reagor. Bad miss.
- Early in the second, Hurts had Zach Ertz open on a flag route that was too high and sailed out of bounds.
- Right before the half, Hurts airmailed a corner route intended for Ertz.
- In the third, Hurts threw to a completely covered Smith on a comeback that was knocked away.
- In the fourth, Hurts made a very dangerous swing pass attempt to Miles Sanders that was nearly intercepted.
- On the next play, he ripped a slant too far out in front of Ertz, and it fell incomplete.
Summary: Classic Hurts game against the Buccaneers. Plenty of impressive improvisations, but they were too frequent. He operated the ultra-conservative game plan well, and dropped a small collection of dimes while also putting a few blatant misfires on film. Hurts is actually a bit frustrating because the flashes continue to be counteracted by missing aggression and ball-placement shakiness.
Grade: C+
Season Grade: C+
Best Throws:
- Fields' second throw of the game was a laser on an out route to Darnell Mooney for 11 yards.
- Midway through the first, Fields placed a flag route to Allen Robinson between two Packers defenders for 20 yards. Exquisite throw.
- Late in the second quarter, Fields had a defender in his face after rolling left, he pumped to free that defender, then scampered ahead seven yards on what was an impressive scramble.
- With around a minute to go in the half, he ripped an out route to Robinson for 12 yards through tight coverage.
- While drifting well out of the pocket to his left, Fields realigned his shoulders and threw a strike to Robinson for 20 yards early in the fourth.
- After having a defender in his lap early in the play, Fields shrugged off the contact and scampered for 16
Worst Throws:
- Fields airmailed an out route to Mooney to his right.
- While it was ruled incomplete, Fields overthrow Robinson deep down the field on the run and was run down by the Packers safety in the back of the end zone.
- Fields took a bad sack later in the fourth when trying to run out to his right.
Summary: Not many clear-cut "bad" throws from Fields in this game, but he was too often hesitant to pull the trigger and therefore relied on his legs often. Not the worst idea. However, for the Bears offense to really take the next step, Fields has to start moving the ball through the air first and foremost and lean on his legs as a last resort. And he's pointing in that direction. In this game, there were plenty of impressive tosses that needed high-end velocity and ball placement.
Grade: B+
Season Grade: C+
Best Throws:
- Late in the first, Jones made his best throw of the season on a seam throw to Rhamondre Stevenson for 32 yards. Perfect trajectory and placement on a long throw.
- There was a nice touch on the Hunter Henry touchdown in the first half.
- While a touch underthrown, Jones did get the ball down the field to Nelson Agholor for 27 yards while being hit in the second quarter.
- In the fourth, Jones moved in the pocket and found Jakobi Meyers for 11 yards a moment before he was hit by an incoming defender.
- The 75-yard score to Kendrick Bourne was the most aggression Jones has demonstrated all season. It arrived a split second before the safety could make a play on the ball.
Worst Throws:
- In the fourth, he airmailed a quick receiver screen.
- The Trevon Diggs pick six was off the hands of Kendrick Bourne but was not an accurate pass on a short in-breaking route from Jones. Too far out in front when it should've hit him on the numbers.
- On third down in overtime, Jones missed Agholor on a back-shoulder that would've moved the chains.
Summary: Jones had two throws that were unlike 99% of the throws he's attempted this season. They were assertive, accurate tosses down the football field and led to huge plays. But Jones' overall ultra-conservative play is still hamstringing New England's offense. It limited what the Patriots could do through the air when they had the football for most of this game.
Grade: B
Season Grade: B-
Best Throws:
- Mills scrambled in the first quarter before locating Nico Collins for 14 yards. Big-time velocity to fit the ball in.
- Late in the first, Mills threw with perfect timing and accuracy on a deep out to Brandin Cooks. The cornerback jumped underneath the route, which likely disrupted Cooks' line of sight on the ball, and it was dropped.
- From a collapsing pocket, Mills threw with anticipation on a deep out to Cooks for 20 yards.
- There was ideal timing and placement on a out-breaking route to Cooks in the third for 13 yards.
- Mills hit Moore in stride on a in-breaker in the second half that ultimately went for 27 yards.
- In the fourth, there was a comeback route that hit Cooks a split second before the underneath defender knocked it away.
Worst Throws:
- In the second, Mills missed badly on a vertical route to Cooks.
- A few plays later, he didn't identify a Colts defender sitting underneath an out route and threw the ball right to him. Should've been picked but was dropped.
- In the third, Mills threw a seam ball directly to Darius Leonard. Easy pick.
- He threw low an behind Pharaoh Brown on a rollout in the third.
- Early in the fourth, as he was being dragged to the turf, Mills tried to force the ball over the middle. Leonard nearly snagged another pick.
- In garbage time, Mills threw a tick behind Cooks streaking down the sideline, and the pass was intercepted by Isaiah Rodgers.
Summary: Mills has the arm talent and some anticipatory abilities to play in the NFL. But there are too many misfires, and he plays with well below-average ball security. The latter very much appeared in the loss to the Colts.
Grade: D+
Season Grade: C+
Best Throws:
- In the second, as he was being hit, Lawrence delivered a strike to Marvin Jones over the middle for 20 yards.
- The 28-yard touchdown to Jones was beautiful. Perfect placement over the shoulder of the cornerback and to his receiver so he could get his feet in bounds.
- Early in the third, Lawrence put a crazy throw on film. A moment before taking a big hit in the pocket, he lofted a pinpoint accurate pass to Jamal Agnew down the seam with a bunch of defenders in the vicinity. High-end stuff.
- In the fourth, right before he was about to step out of bounds on a scramble, Lawrence located Agnew, and threw across his body for a 14-yard gain.
- On 3rd and 8 in the fourth, Lawrence connected with Jones on an exquisite back-shoulder play for 20 yards.
Worst Throws:
- With under a minute to go in the second, Lawrence had Shenault open running near the sideline on a short throw. The quarterback tried to guide the ball to its target, and it was too low. Incomplete.
Summary: The Dolphins were without their two starting outside cornerbacks in this one, but another encouraging performance from Lawrence. He's doing a much better job taking care of the football now than he did in the first month of the season and the No. 1 overall pick type highlight throws are becoming more frequent
Grade: A-
Season Grade: C+
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