Last season was a fever dream in the NFL. The games on Championship Sunday were quarterbacked by Sam Darnold, Drake Maye, Jarrett Stidham and Matthew Stafford, a likely Hall of Famer with an MVP and title to his credit. Maye earned second-team All-Pro honors but endured a nightmarish postseason. Darnold is a journeyman. Stidham was there because Bo Nix was injured.
Typically, the more teams are eliminated, the more top quarterbacks are highlighted. That was not the case in 2025, with Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson missing the playoffs in large part due to injuries, while Josh Allen suffered four turnovers in a divisional loss to Denver.
