I suppose we should talk about Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky since I'm the resident Bears fan on the NFL writing staff here at CBS Sports and I'm in charge of writing weekly quarterback power rankings and because Trubisky returned from a shoulder injury to play football or something that was close to resembling football against the Saints on Sunday. I'll make this brief, because there's 32 blurbs below that'll take some time to get through and because, well, there's not much more I have to say about Mitchell Trubisky. It's exhausting. And it's getting repetitive.

When the Bears traded up from the No. 3 spot to grab him at No. 2 in the 2017 NFL Draft, I criticized Ryan Pace so harshly for the move that I later called the Bears' front office the worst in football. After Trubisky's rookie season under John Fox, when he spent the beginning of the year on the bench behind Mike Glennon before finishing out the season in a terrible offense, I went back and watched all of his snaps and decided that I was convinced in his long-term potential as the Bears' franchise quarterback. After his second season, when he helped the Bears break their playoff drought and put them in a position to win a playoff game, I was still encouraged by his long-term potential, but I also realized he had some serious consistency issues that he needed to correct if the Bears were going to graduate from a playoff team to a Super Bowl team. Then, after a nightmare against the Packers on opening night, I called Trubisky the Bears' biggest problem.

All of that is intended to demonstrate that I've tried to be fair -- praising him when he's flashed potential, but criticizing him when he's made the same mistakes over and over again -- and impartial. I am a Bears fan. My favorite athlete ever is Jay Cutler, the oft-maligned quarterback that Trubisky replaced (no, Glennon does not count). But throughout Trubisky's career, I've been on both sides of the debate. I've been briefly convinced he could be the Prince That Was Promised. And I've also been convinced he'll go down as a historic bust, especially after considering the quarterbacks taken after him, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes.

Back to Sunday. On Sunday, Trubisky returned from a one-game absence caused by a shoulder injury. It went terribly. Against a good Saints defense, Trubisky completed -- you know what, I'm not going to list his statistics, because most of them were accumulated in garbage time and man, was there a lot of garbage time in a game the Saints led 29-10 with more than 12 minutes remaining. Ignoring the fourth quarter, it was a complete and utter disaster. 

Trubisky missed open receivers with his eyes. 

He missed them with his arm.

He just missed. Over and over again.

Even after factoring in his garbage time stats, Trubisky this season is throwing a touchdown on 3.1 percent of his passes (down from 5.5 percent from a season ago) and averaging 5.2 yards per attempt (down from 7.4 YPA from a season ago). A year ago, his legs made him a lethal runner. It's why he finished the season third in QBR, behind only Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees. This year, he's rushed for 21 yards on five attempts. He needs exactly 400 yards to match last year's total. He's 30th in QBR -- behind only Marcus Mariota, another former No. 2 pick who actually lost his starting job this year and Josh Rosen. By both DVOA and DYAR, he's 23rd. I don't need to keep listing stats or film clips. By now, it's less of a debate and more of a consensus: Trubisky isn't good. There might actually be an argument to be made that he's the worst starting quarterback in the NFL.

So, what now? 

The frustrating part for the Bears is that they're a halfway decent quarterback away from being a really good football team. But with Trubisky, they're wasting an awesome defense and, by the way, a kicker who can actually make field goals. What's also frustrating is that there probably isn't a viable replacement available right now -- I'd bring up Colin Kaepernick, but as we all know, that ship has sailed. The Bears could, in theory, trade for a quarterback, say, a Mariota or a Tannehill or a Fitzpatrick or a Dalton. The problem is that the new quarterback would be picking up a new system on the fly and that the Bears are already very low on draft picks because they traded up for Trubisky, dealt a haul to the Raiders for Khalil Mack, and then traded up in last year's draft for a running back in the third round. Do the Bears really want to give up even more draft ammunition for a middling quarterback who might not be able to dig them out of the 3-3 hole that Trubisky has buried them in? Probably not.

That means the rest of this season belongs to Trubisky. What it is, is less of a playoff run and more of a trial. Because the Bears are stuck in the NFC North, they're probably not going to be able to survive a 3-3 start. So, what they need to spend the rest of the season doing is figuring out if there's any hope in salvaging Trubisky. If Trubisky doesn't ascend -- not just improve marginally -- the Bears will need to address the quarterback situation in the offseason (given their lack of draft picks, they'll probably pick up one of those aforementioned quarterbacks). If Trubisky does ascend, great! Maybe still bring in competition over the summer, though. Of course, the biggest question in all of this is if Ryan Pace, the general manager who traded up for Trubisky, will be willing to admit he made a mistake. Moving on from Trubisky after three seasons would be admitting he was wrong. A lot of general managers aren't willing to do that, especially when they'd be admitting they missed as badly as Pace missed with Trubisky.

OK, that's it about Trubisky. Below, you'll see just how low I ranked him in this week's edition of NFL quarterback power rankings. He should be thankful that Sam Darnold managed to be even worse than him in Week 7.

Before we move onto the power rankings, a reminder of the rules.

  • One quarterback per team. Whichever quarterback started in Week 7 will be the quarterback selected. So you'll find Patrick Mahomes listed for the Chiefs this week. Next week, you'll find Matt Moore assuming Mahomes doesn't miraculously recover from his knee injury before Sunday's game.
  • Recent success matters more than past success. These are power rankings. That's why you won't see Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, at No. 1. We're valuing performances this season more than performances in previous seasons. We're valuing performances last week more than performances four weeks ago. As a result, don't be surprised if the rankings fluctuate in a major way each week.
  • But reputation and history do matter, because they're tools we're using to predict future success. All-time greats get a bit of a boost.
  • There's more to the rankings than wins and losses. Wins are not a quarterback stat. While we're definitely taking into account wins and losses, it's not the only thing that matters. You'll see a ton of other stats listed -- like DYAR, DVOA, and QBR. For an explainer on those stats, click right here. Yes, the eye test matters too.  

That's it. Onto the rankings.

QB rankings Week 8
1
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Russell Wilson Seattle Seahawks QB
It's going to take more than one underwhelming performance for Wilson to fall from his perch. Was Wilson good in a two-touchdown loss to the Ravens? Nope. He completed only 48.8 percent of his passes, averaged fewer than 6.0 yards per attempt, threw one touchdown and one ugly pick-six, and posted a 65.2 passer rating in what was, quite clearly, his worst game of the season. But it's worth remembering that this was Wilson's only bad performance so far this season. That pick-six he threw was his first interception. He's still tied for the league lead in touchdown passes and ranks second in passer rating, third in DYAR, third in DVOA, and second in QBR. But after Sunday's outing, his lead is in jeopardy.

Last week: 1

2
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Lamar Jackson Baltimore Ravens QB
The quarterback who dealt the Seahawks that home loss makes a big move up the leaderboard after a phenomenal performance that left multiple Seahawks defensive players comparing him to Michael Vick. Don't just look at his passing statistics. Make sure you factor in his contributions as a runner, because he was damn near unstoppable Sunday. Jackson is a very real threat to win MVP.

Last week: 5

3
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Patrick Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs QB
I'm not going to move Mahomes -- still the best player in football, in my opinion -- up or down after he played just over a quarter against the Broncos before he dislocated his knee. Before he departed, he completed 10 of his 11 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Assuming he doesn't miraculously play this week, he won't appear on next week's rankings. He'll be replaced by Matt Moore who will find himself situated way down the board. But I can't move Mahomes down just because he got hurt in a freak accident. I also can't move him up when he played less than a half of football.

Last week: 3

4
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Matthew Stafford Detroit Lions QB
For a third straight week, Stafford stays at No. 4. In a loss to the Vikings, Stafford still managed to throw for 364 yards and four scores. Ranking fourth in DYAR, fourth in DVOA, and fifth in QBR, Stafford is playing the best football of his career. He doesn't deserve to lose his spot just because the Vikings are better than the Lions.

Last week: 4

5
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Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers QB
Rodgers wasn't playing anywhere close to his peak up until Sunday, but these are power rankings, which means we're weighing recent performances more heavily than prior performances, and given that Rodgers is coming off a 25 of 31 for 429 yards, five touchdowns, no picks, one rushing touchdown, and a perfect passer rating performance in a win over the Raiders, it's awfully difficult to keep outside the top five. If you're wondering why Rodgers isn't ranked one spot higher, it's because he hasn't been as good as Stafford so far this season. Through seven weeks, he's fifth in DYAR, seventh in DVOA, and 10th in QBR.

Last week: 7

6
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Deshaun Watson Houston Texans QB
This is a harsh slide for Watson after one meh performance, but after what Jackson, Stafford, and Rodgers did on Sunday, it was difficult to find a spot for Watson in the top five after he got picked off twice in a loss to the Colts. In the last two weeks, Watson has thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns and accumulated a 79.3 passer rating, but it's worth noting that he's also been unlucky in terms of the passes his receivers should've caught, but didn't. Don't read too much into his slide. He's still one of the best quarterbacks in football.

Last week: 2

7
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Dak Prescott Dallas Cowboys QB
Tyron Smith returned against the Eagles and so did Prescott's high level of play from earlier this season. After helping the Cowboys take control over the NFC East by demolishing the Eagles in primetime, Prescott is second in DYAR, second in DVOA, and first in QBR. No. 7 might actually be too low for him.

Last week: 8

8
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Kirk Cousins Minnesota Vikings QB
After his third straight incredible performance, Cousins now leads the league in yards per attempt, passer rating, and touchdown percentage. In the last three weeks, he's completing over 75 percent of his passes for more than 325 yards per game, and he's thrown 10 touchdowns and only one interception. After that dreadful loss to the Bears, I had Cousins ranked 17th. At his current rate, he'll breach the top five in a week. And it'll be entirely deserved.

Last week: 11

9
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Tom Brady New England Patriots QB
Brady wasn't forced to do much of anything against the Jets on Monday night, when the Patriots' defense once again stole the show. The Patriots defense's dominance has overshadowed how pedestrian the offense has been this year. Brady ranks 10th in both DYAR and DVOA, but eighth in QBR.

Last week: 10

10
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Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons QB
The Falcons are terrible but Ryan has mostly played like a top-10 quarterback this year. He wasn't good on Sunday against the Rams and making matters worse, he suffered an ankle injury that might force him to miss his first start since 2009, which would clear the way for Matt Schaub to become an NFL starter again. Yay.

Last week: 6

11
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Jacoby Brissett Indianapolis Colts QB
This might come as a surprise, but Brissett is one touchdown pass behind the league leaders. It's surprising because he's not really pushing the ball downfield (27th in YPA), but the Colts' strategy is working just fine. At 4-2, they're atop the AFC South by half a game, and they just earned a huge win over the Texans.

Last week: 14

12
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Teddy Bridgewater New Orleans Saints QB
These rankings are about more than wins and losses, but it remains unbelievably impressive that the Saints have gone 5-0 without Drew Brees. For that, Bridgewater deserves tons of credit. Similar to Brissett, he's not always asked to do that much, but he almost always executes the game-plan that Sean Payton designs. With nine touchdowns and only two interceptions, it's difficult to criticize him. He could be playing his way into a starting job next year.

Last week: 16

13
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Carson Wentz Philadelphia Eagles QB
Well, that sucked. Wentz, who's been mostly good this season, submitted an absolute stinker in primetime against the Cowboys. It wasn't entirely his fault, but he deserves blame after turning the ball over three times. Don't expect Wentz to remain outside the top 10 for long, but after Sunday night, he deserves to slide, and slide he did.

Last week: 9

14
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Gardner Minshew Jacksonville Jaguars QB
It wasn't at all impressive, but Minshew did just barely enough to help the Jaguars beat the Bengals. But it's now been two straight games of Minshew completing under 50 percent of his passes. In his last two starts, he's averaging 6.9 yards per attempt and has thrown one touchdown and one pick for a 68.9 passer rating. In his first four starts, he averaged 7.2 yards per attempt and threw seven touchdowns and no interceptions for a 101.0 passer rating. He's trending in the wrong direction.

Last week: 12

15
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Philip Rivers Los Angeles Chargers QB
I'm beginning to get worried that Rivers might be washed. It's not that Rivers was bad against the Titans, but his arm strength appears to be diminishing. And then there's the fact that the Chargers lost, again. They've completely squandered the opening that appeared when Mahomes went down with what will likely be a multi-week injury.

Last week: 13

16
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Jimmy Garoppolo San Francisco 49ers QB
The 49ers are good, but we're still not sure if Garoppolo is. This week was a tough one to judge him on considering the conditions in Washington. But to this point in the season, Garoppolo has been a middling at best quarterback. Sunday represented Garoppolo's 16th career start, so he's finally started a full season's worth of games even though this is his sixth season. His numbers? 66.6 completion percentage, 4,070 yards (8.3 YPA), 22 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions, 12 fumbles, a 95.2 passer rating, and a 14-2 record.

Last week: 15

17
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Kyle Allen Carolina Panthers QB
With the Panthers on their bye, there was no real reason to move Allen. He's been awesome as their fill-in starter. And he should continue to start until Cam Newton is completely healthy. There's no reason for the Panthers to rush Newton back when Allen is playing this way (17th in DYAR, 15th in DVOA, and 16th in QBR). Those numbers won't blow anyone away, but it's been good enough, which is all a team can ask for from their backup quarterback.

Last week: 17

18
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Kyler Murray Arizona Cardinals QB
Week 7 didn't go nearly as well as Week 6 did, but the flashes of progress are still there. Murray continues to impress in bursts, demonstrating why he was worthy of the first-overall pick. He hasn't thrown an interception since Week 4. Oh, and the Cardinals have won three straight games. He's been the 14th best quarterback by QBR, one spot ahead of Matt Ryan.

Last week: 18

19
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Jared Goff Los Angeles Rams QB
In the most obvious bounceback game ever against a horrific Falcons defense, Goff predictably bounced back. But I want to see Goff play well against a good team before announcing he's back to being the Goff we saw two seasons ago and the first half of last season.

Last week: 21

20
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Ryan Tannehill Tennessee Titans QB
No one will be fooled into suddenly thinking Tannehill is a good starter, but with a 79.3 completion percentage, 10.8 yards per attempt, two touchdowns, and a 120.1 passer rating, he did look like an upgrade over Marcus Mariota. He deserves to continue starting. And suddenly, Tannehill has a chance to revive his career as a starter, but only if he continues to play strong football between now and January.

Last week: N/A

21
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Derek Carr Oakland Raiders QB
Carr actually played pretty well against the Packers, but made a few brutal mistakes that undermined his performance, with the most notable mistake being his fumble through the end zone that turned a likely touchdown into a touchback. It's mistakes like that -- this wasn't his first time he's gotten bit by reaching for the pylon -- that have limited his ceiling as a starting quarterback in the NFL and will continue to do so.

Last week: 20

22
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Jameis Winston Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB
No real movement for Winston, who was on his bye week. I'm kinda sick of writing about Winston, to be completely honest, so I'm not gonna write anything else until next week. At this point in his career, we know what kind of quarterback he is.

Last week: 23

23
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Baker Mayfield Cleveland Browns QB
We're going to find out a lot more about Mayfield when he faces a Patriots defense that has been crushing every quarterback in its path. I fear this could be a disaster for Mayfield and the Browns.

Last week: 26

24
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Josh Allen Buffalo Bills QB
Allen was mostly fine against the Dolphins and avoided turning the ball over, but he remains the fatal flaw on an otherwise very good Bills team that is a playoff lock. The problem is, because they're situated in the same division as the Patriots, they'll have to win playoff games on the road, which is going to be difficult with a liability at quarterback. The Bills desperately need Allen to ascend between now and January.

Last week: 27

25
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Andy Dalton Cincinnati Bengals QB
At some point soon, the Bengals need to consider starting Ryan Finley so they know what they have at quarterback before they head into the draft with a very high pick. Dalton started slow again, proceeded to get picked off three times, and finished with a 50.1 passer rating. By the way, even though Dalton ranks 10th in passing yards, that has more to do with volume than efficiency. He's attempted the most passes in the league, but he's averaging only 6.7 yards per attempt. Only five qualified quarterbacks are averaging fewer yards per pass.

Last week: 22

26
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Ryan Fitzpatrick Miami Dolphins QB
Credit where it's due: Fitzpatick has made the Dolphins competitive the past two weeks. Unfortunately, that might not be a good thing for a Dolphins team that is trying to earn the top pick in next year's draft, but has stiff competition in the form of the winless Bengals and a trio of one-win teams.

Last week: N/A

27
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Joe Flacco Denver Broncos QB
I fear things could get even worse for Flacco now that he's going to be without his best receiver, Emmanuel Sanders, who was traded to the 49ers on Tuesday. To the surprise of nobody except John Elway -- who actually traded FOR Flacco in the offseason -- Flacco has been one of the league's worst quarterbacks by most metrics (28th by DYAR, 27th by DVOA, and 21st by QBR). At some point soon, it's going to be Drew Lock's turn. That point can't come soon enough.

Last week: 25

28
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Case Keenum Washington Redskins QB
I don't want to be too hard on Keenum given his supporting cast and the weather conditions on Sunday. The Redskins seldom gave him a chance to do much of anything. He attempted only 12 passes all game long in one of the shorter NFL games in recent memory.

Last week: 29

29
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Daniel Jones New York Giants QB
Remember when Jones lit up the Buccaneers and we were all apologizing to Dave Gettleman for mocking his decision to take Jones with the sixth-overall pick? Good times. Since then, Jones has averaged 5.9 yards per attempt, thrown three more interceptions than touchdowns, and has accumulated a 64.8 passer rating. No one should be giving up on him yet, but it'd be nice to see some progress before the end of the season. Otherwise, Pat Shurmur's job could and should be in jeopardy.

Last week: 28

30
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Mitchell Trubisky Chicago Bears QB
I miss Jay Cutler.

Last week: N/A

31
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Sam Darnold New York Jets QB
What an utter disaster. I could care less about the "seeing ghosts" comment. I care far more about his five turnovers. A week ago, I wrote that Darnold offered the Jets hope in both the short and long term. That hope evaporated pretty quickly. The rest of the Jets season is about developing Darnold. If he doesn't develop, Adam Gase should go one-and-done. It's that simple.

Last week: 19

32
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Devlin Hodges Pittsburgh Steelers QB
With Mason Rudolph returning, this could be the last time Hodges appears in the rankings. So long, Duck.

Last week: 31