Eagles to face 5 of PFF’s top 10 ranked starting quarterbacks during the 2023 NFL season
The 2023 NFL schedule has been revealed, and the Philadelphia Eagles will face seven quarterbacks leading 2022 playoff teams.
The most brutal schedule in the league, the Eagles will open up in New England on a Tom Brady appreciation afternoon.
PFF has released its 2023 quarterback rankings, with Jalen Hurts landing at No. 7.
The Eagles’ defense will face five of the top 10 signal callers on the list.
1. PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Mahomes is the reigning NFL MVP and will be a front-runner for the award as long as he’s connected to Andy Reid.
Mahomes is the standard by which all NFL quarterbacks are now measured. With Manning and Brady now names of the past, Mahomes is the new benchmark pushing the boundaries of what we have seen previously. Since coming into the league, he has 191 big-time throws including the postseason, the most in the NFL. He has also passed for 8.1 yards per attempt, a figure only quarterbacks playing for Kyle Shanahan have surpassed over the same span.
2. JOSH ALLEN, BUFFALO BILLS
Josh Allen has a loaded Bills squad, while Geno Smith has dynamic weapons on offense and a weak NFC West to heighten his chances.
If Mahomes is the obvious starting point, the next two spots are a toss-up between Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. Each player is capable of elite play and outstanding levels, but the tiebreaker is Allen’s rushing ability. It may not be a deal-breaker in every game, but there will be gotta-have-it situations where Allen is virtually unstoppable because of how many different ways he can beat a defense. Burrow can’t bring that to the table.
5. AARON RODGERS, NEW YORK JETS
Rodgers heads to the Jets, flush with offensive weapons and a top-five defense.
We are only a year removed from Rodgers coming off back-to-back MVP seasons, but at 39 years old any downturn in performance inevitably raises questions about whether this is the beginning of the end. The New York Jets should have a better supporting cast than Rodgers had last year in Green Bay, and he will know the offense, so I expect it to be a bounce-back season for the veteran.
9. KIRK COUSINS, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Kirk Cousins should be on the MVP tier, but he’s had too many inconsistent moments on the biggest stage.
Cousins is probably at the top of the second tier of quarterbacks — those who you can win with but are unlikely to transform a team into a contender simply by their presence. Cousins has earned a PFF passing grade of at least 77.7 every season in Minnesota. He is an exceptionally accurate passer with plenty of big plays in his arsenal who maybe lacks that transcendent, intangible talent that every team chases at the position.
10. DAK PRESCOTT, DALLAS COWBOYS
Dak Prescott will be an MVP candidate if he can cut down on his interceptions and win two or three big games down the stretch.
Prescott has shown himself to be one of the most sensitive quarterbacks in the league to changes in his supporting cast. His overall PFF grade has ranged from 71.8 to 85.2 over his career, and those changes tend to go hand in hand with the level of receiving help and blocking in front of him. Prescott’s turnover-worthy play rate has been above 3.0% in each of the past four seasons, but when at his best he can lead one of the top offenses in the game.
