NFL quarterback power rankings by QBR ahead of Week 7

Josh Allen is playing better than any quarterback in the league even though he's two weeks removed from one of the worst performances of his career. Joe Flacco ‒ at age 39 ‒ is playing better than at any point in his career. Dak Prescott is playing some of the worst football of his career.

Those are among the unexpected ‒ and even strange ‒ realities to emerge from ESPN's QBR rankings after Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season.

Allen maintained his hold on the top spot after the Buffalo Bills' 23-20 win over the New York Jets on "Monday Night Football," bouncing back from completing just 30 percent of his passes in a Week 5 loss to the Houston Texans. He's followed by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at No. 2 and Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels.

Then there's Flacco, holding steady at No. 4 playing in place of Anthony Richardson with the Indianapolis Colts, even though he's never finished better than No. 8 in the NFL in QBR in his prime with the Baltimore Ravens. Based on QBR, a QB change back to Richardson isn't a debate, even though he's expected to return from injury this week against the Miami Dolphins. Richardson currently sits at No. 22 in the rankings.

Prescott, meanwhile, has gone from finishing No. 2 in the league in QBR last season with the Dallas Cowboys to No. 26 through Week 6. He dropped 10 spots after the Cowboys' disastrous 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions last Sunday. Prescott's 11.4 QBR ranked last among NFL starters in Week 6.

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Here's how the rest of the NFL's quarterbacks rank based on QBR for the season, and how they did in terms of QBR during Week 6:

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Every week, ESPN gives each quarterback a QBR for their latest performance. According to ESPN, the rating is intended to "incorporate all of a quarterback’s contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers and penalties."

QBR measures each play's degree of success and how much credit the quarterback deserves for the play. The statistic also takes into account the strength of opposing defenses faced. The final result is an efficiency rating as a number on a 0-to-100-point scale. The cumulative rating is averaged out on a per-play basis across the course of the season.

Here's how every starting quarterback with at least 50 pass attempts this season stacks up before Week 7 of the NFL season, based on their 2024 QBR:

Follow USA TODAY Network sports reporter Mark Giannotto on social media @mgiannotto and email him at [email protected].