Who Are the Most Clutch QBs in the NFL? QB Clutch Factor Power Rankings Week 2

You don't need a formula to figure out who the most clutch quarterback was in Week 1, but it certainly reinforced Josh Allen's position as the pacesetter in our clutch power rankings 2025. 

Who else was clutch, and which quarterbacks failed the Week 1 test? As part of our NFL picks, I detail all 32 starting QBs' Clutch Factor ranking.  

The rankings below complement our NFL predictions for Week 2. 

🏈 QBs Clutch Factor power rankings 2025

For last year rankings and clutch ratings methodology, see the NFL clutch ratings. The below Clutch Factor ratings are graded out of 100 and are based solely on Week 1 performances. 

🏅 Week 1's most clutch performances

🦬 Josh Allen comes through with late-game heroics

Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen finished ninth in last season's clutch factor rankings, partly due to having no fourth-quarter comebacks. Well, the reigning MVP wasted no time securing his first of the 2025 season. And it came against one of his primary rivals, who share their status as Super Bowl odds contenders.  

The NFL MVP odds favorite, named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, spearheaded the most unlikely of comebacks.

With his team down by 15 points entering the fourth quarter, Allen flipped from Clark Kent to Superman, scoring two TDs himself while adding one, albeit fortuitously, through the air to second-year receiver Keon Coleman.  

It was the first time the Bills came back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit since 1967. If you don't think that's clutch, you're speaking double Dutch. 

✈️ Aaron Rodgers sticks it to former team

I hope the New York Jets learned a valuable lesson in Week 1: Don't make your dead-man-walking quarterback fly to the Big Apple just to hand him a pink slip. Aaron Rodgers, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, clearly took it as an affront, and who wouldn't?

The four-time MVP had the impact he consistently showcased during his prime, putting his new team on his aging back. For the 28th time in his illustrious career, the 41-year-old tossed four TD passes and no interceptions, tying him with Tom Brady for the most in NFL history.

He also became the first quarterback in 60 years to have 240 passing yards, four TD tosses, and no picks in a team debut. Ok, Aaron, you proved your point. While I don't think Rodgers will have the staying power to remain among the top five, he made the faces of Gang Green's decision makers turn the color of their team's jerseys.

🟣 J.J. McCarthy shares rarified air with NFL legend

Two QBs in the past 45 years have overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of their NFL debut and won: Steve Young and, now, Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy. He also became the first player to have two 10-plus yard passing TDs and a 10-plus yard rushing score in the fourth quarter of a game. And it came against the team he supported as a boy, no less. 

His first-half struggles made the astonishing, once-in-a-generation feat even more impressive.

The Chicago Bears had the de facto rookie on the ropes, with the 22-year-old gunslinger appearing broken, battered, bruised, even beaten. If you happened upon X (or the Sportsbook Review editors' Slack channel) at halftime, countless critics had already condemned the former national champion. While it's only one game, McCarthy clearly has the wholesale trust and fervent backing of his teammates and coaching staff.  

Witnessing this kid's moxie and never-say-die attitude, you can see why. 

🐦‍⬛ Lamar Jackson slips after 4th-quarter collapse

Before all of you Jackson proponents get your boxers in a twist, remember that the two-time MVP finished second in last season's Clutch Factor rankings.

And you don't have to look far for silver linings. He is receiving the second-shortest MVP odds behind Allen and received the second-highest Week 1 Clutch Factor ranking for a QB of a losing team. 

However, he was not completely faultless in his team's fourth-quarter implosion at Highmark Stadium. The Baltimore Ravens punted on two of their last three possessions, with Derrick Henry's fumble putting a bow on the catastrophic quarter. Additionally, Jackson struggled when put under pressure, with 24 QBs securing a better under-pressure rating in the opening week. 

And, honestly, how often do you categorize a quarterback of a losing team as clutch?

🗒️ Other Clutch Factor Week 1 takeaways

• Last season's most clutch QB, Patrick Mahomes, received the best Week 1 ranking (10th) of losing signal callers.
• Allen, Baker Mayfield, Brock Purdy, Rodgers, and McCarthy were the only QBs to orchestrate fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives.
• Bo Nix received the worst Clutch Factor ranking (27th) of those who won.
• Spencer Rattler still searches for his first NFL win (0-7 as a starter).
• The top nine in the Week 1 power rankings led their team to victory.

👀 What to watch for in Week 2

🦬 No. 1-ranked Allen had only two game-winning drives last season, one of which was against Sunday's opponent, the New York Jets. 

🧀 Jordan Love (12th) and Jayden Daniels (11th) face each other for the first time. Check out my Commanders vs. Packers prediction for some appealing picks.

🏴‍☠️ Two of the Clutch Factor best from Week 1, Geno Smith and Justin Herbert, square off on Monday Night Football. Here is our Chargers vs. Raiders prediction.

⛏️ Brock Purdy, ranked sixth in Week 1, is doubtful for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints. While an outright win might be too much to ask of Rattler, can he lead the Saints to an underdog against the spread cover? 

🐯 Two of the lowest-ranked Week 1 winners, Joe Burrow (24th) and Trevor Lawrence (23rd), meet in Cincinnati.  

🐎 Nix, the lowest-ranked Week 1 winner (27th), faces an Indianapolis Colts team that he orchestrated a 4th-quarter comeback and game-winning drive against last season. 

🐾 Bryce Young, who had the worst ranking in Week 1, had one of his four game-winning drives last season against Sunday's opponents, the Arizona Cardinals. 

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