The Cleveland Browns went 8-2 in the regular season with quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Joe Flacco under center.
They then went 3-3 in the games that Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker had to start for them after the shoulder injury to Watson. head coach Kevin Stefanski became the first coach since 2015 to win games with four different quarterbacks in the same season after being able to cater a game plan to various gunslingers.
Where do the efforts of Watson (who has been verified as the starter entering 2024) and Flacco, the two most successful starters this season, fall among the rest of the league? Cutting out a ton of quarterbacks who started games this year, we are only including those with a minimum of four starts to get a more accurate reading of the landscape.
Among all quarterbacks who started and finished at least four games this season, here is where Deshaun Watson and Joe Flacco rank using ESPN’s QBR.
38
Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots: 23.3
37
Tommy DeVito, New York Giants: 23.5
36
Zach Wilson, New York Jets: 30.8
35
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers: 33.4
34
Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders: 34.1
33
Daniel Jones, New York Giants: 36.2
32
Mac Jones, New England Patriots: 36.5
31
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers: 38.5
30
Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons: 40.2
29
Aidan O'Connell, Las Vegas Raiders: 40.3
28
Sam Howell, Washington Commanders: 42.1
27
Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns: 43.3
26
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears: 46.2
25
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals: 47.7
24
Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns: 48.3
23
Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos: 50.9
22
Easton Stick, Los Angeles Chargers: 51.5
21
Joshua Dobbs, Minnesota Vikings: 51.8
20
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals: 52.5
19
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 54.4
18
Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints: 56.6
17
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars: 56.6
16
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans: 57.5
15
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks: 59.4
14
Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts: 59.9
13
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles: 60.0
12
Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals: 60.1
11
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions: 60.3
10
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins: 60.9
9
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers: 62.0
8
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: 63.0
7
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings: 63.5
6
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams: 63.5
5
Justin Herbert: Los Angeles Chargers: 64.3
4
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens: 64.6
3
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: 69.4
2
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: 72.6
1
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers: 72.7
