The Get Up! crew breaks down Jacksonville's QB woes, with Rex Ryan explaining why Tyrod Taylor would be a good fit for Jacksonville at quarterback. (0:51)

A couple of weeks back, I was in Houston to cover the Sunday night game between the Texans and the Cowboys, and I was talking to one of the Texans' coaches on the field before the game. I asked him how he felt about this game, and we had a wide-ranging talk about all of their injuries and what a rough start it had been to the season for them and how well the Cowboys' defense had been playing, etc.

Then he said, "But with our quarterback, I feel like we always have a chance."

And that's it, right there. That sentiment is the very basis for the Quarterback Confidence Index. If you feel good about your quarterback, you feel like you have a chance. If you don't, you probably don't. Any "yeah, but" you can throw at that logic is pure rationalization. Is it possible to win without a franchise quarterback? Sure. But I don't know a team that would want to try.

With that in mind, we present the latest installment of an occasional feature we like to call the Quarterback Confidence Index. Please remember, this is not a ranking of starting quarterbacks. Rather, it is a ranking of teams in order of which we believe have the most confidence in their quarterback situation as a whole. That means starter, backup situation, age, health history, plans for the future, etc. If you click ahead to your team and don't like what's written about it there, try to carve out some time to read the rest of the piece, for context. Otherwise, I'll see you on Twitter and try not to take it personally.

The Saints have arguably the strongest tandem of QBs in the league with Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater. AP Photo/Bill Feig

While Drew Brees is knocking down all-time records, don't get distracted from his legitimate MVP case. The Saints' backup situation is solid, with Teddy Bridgewater sitting behind Brees and the extremely useful Taysom Hill looking like a guy who can do pretty much anything.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. There are 43 quarterbacks who have thrown at least one interception in the NFL in 2018. Brees is not one of them. His completion percentage is 77.3. His Total QBR ranks behind only Patrick Mahomes. The Saints have won five games in a row, Mark Ingram is back from suspension ... this battle station is fully operational.

Long-term confidence: MEDIUM-HIGH. Yeah, Brees turns 40 in January. But that didn't bother Tom Brady, and there's no reason to think Brees is ready to hang it up. He has said he wants to go year-to-year at this point, which is what keeps this out of the "high" range, but as long as he's there, expect the Saints to keep humming. Even if Brees were to retire after this year, the Saints would have first crack at signing Bridgewater before he hit free agency.

Carson Wentz is back from his 2017 season-ending knee injury and slingin' it again, as his receiving corps, running back group and offensive line are still finding their way through injury and other issues. Backup Nick Foles was Super Bowl MVP less than nine months ago, and there are people in the organization who think No. 3 quarterback Nate Sudfeld is even better.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. Wentz was making a run at MVP last year before he got hurt. The past couple of weeks, he has looked like the precise, quick decision-making whiz he was this time last year. He needs more help.

Long-term confidence: HIGH. Barring another injury, would the Eagles trade a 25-year-old Wentz straight up for any other quarterback in the league?

Aaron Rodgers remains as dangerous a weapon as any team has -- especially in the fourth quarter, when he has rescued the Packers a couple of times already this season. DeShone Kizer is the backup, and if nothing else he started a bunch of games for the Browns last year.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. As long as they can keep Rodgers healthy, the Packers are as strong at this position as anyone in the league. Their hope is that the Rodgers' knee got healthier during the bye week.

Long-term confidence: HIGH. Rodgers turns 35 in December, but he just signed a contract extension that runs through 2023 and contains $78.7 million fully guaranteed. The Packers aren't looking to get out of that anytime soon, nor should they.

At age 41, Tom Brady is on pace for 4,300 yards, 37 touchdowns and his highest completion percentage since 2007, when he was 16-0 in the regular season and setting records with Randy Moss. The backup is Brian Hoyer, who at least knows the system and has NFL starting experience.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. As long as Brady doesn't show signs of slowing down -- and he's not -- the Patriots are as justifiably confident in their quarterback as any team in the league is. It's an upset if Brady doesn't play in the Super Bowl.

Long-term confidence: LOW, though it depends on what "long-term" means. It's probably fair to guess that Brady has one more year after this, but that's only a guess, and it can't be much more than that, if any. With Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco, there is no succession plan in place.

Based on this season alone, the Chiefs would deserve the No. 1 spot. Patrick Mahomes is playing at an unprecedented level, with a record 22 touchdown passes in his first seven games and a league-leading 2,223 yards and 84.9 Total QBR. The backup is Chad Henne, who is experienced, but it's hard to imagine the offense running like this without Mahomes.

Short-term confidence: STRATOSPHERIC. No team has come close to stopping Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense so far. His worst game was a Week 5 victory over Jacksonville where he threw for 313 yards and the Chiefs scored 30 points. What he's doing makes no sense in any context. He has to come at least somewhat down to earth at some point, doesn't he?

Long-term confidence: HIGH. The only issue you could have is sample size, and the fact that Mahomes is only 23 and inevitably will have ups and downs. But how can you not have confidence in his ability to lead the franchise, based on what we've seen so far?

Jared Goff's career has taken off since Sean McVay took over as head coach. Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports

Since Sean McVay became the Rams' head coach, Jared Goff is 18-5 with 43 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. His backup is 2015 third-round pick Sean Mannion. You want to bet McVay couldn't figure something out with Mannion if he had to?

Short-term confidence: HIGH. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, Goff has lived up to that status since McVay arrived and shows no signs of slowing down with the group he has around him. The only drag on his own MVP candidacy is that of running back Todd Gurley, who's on pace for 32 touchdowns.

Long-term confidence: HIGH. Goff will be in line for his extension in the summer of 2020, though the Rams have a pattern of extending their first-round picks early. Their cap situation could get hairy soon, but if Goff keeps playing like this they'll have to keep him around.

The Falcons' season may be falling apart due to injuries, but it's not affecting Matt Ryan's performance. Entering Monday night's game, he had 14 touchdown passes (plus two rushing touchdowns!) and two interceptions and his completion percentage was on the edge of 70. Matt Schaub is the backup who has been there forever and knows the offense.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. Ryan hasn't missed a game since 2009, and things seem to be clicking in Year 2 with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

Long-term confidence: HIGH. Ryan is 33 and just signed an extension through 2023.

If it weren't for what the Chiefs are doing, Philip Rivers' Chargers would be the hot story in the AFC right now. If it weren't for what the Rams are doing, Rivers' Chargers would be the hot NFL story in Los Angeles right now. Rivers is drafting a couple of red-hot QBs, but he's playing as well as anyone so far. Geno Smith is the backup.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. Rivers is completing better than 69 percent of his passes with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions. He belongs in the MVP conversation along with Brees if Mahomes ever comes back to the pack, and he hasn't missed a game since becoming the Chargers' starter in 2006.

Long-term confidence: MEDIUM-HIGH. Really just tied to how much longer Rivers wants to play. He turns 37 in December and is playing like a guy who has a few more years left, but there's no way to know what his plans are. He's only signed for one more year after this one.

Russell Wilson is still the starter, still has never missed a game and doesn't turn 30 until November. He's as reliable as any starter in the league in terms of performance and durability. The backup is Brett Hundley, who got some starting experience with the Packers last year.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. Wilson's numbers are down a bit this year as the Seahawks are committing more to the run (and having Wilson run less), but he's still completing 64.2 percent of his passes and taking care of the ball. They know he can win them a game if they need to ask that of him.

Long-term confidence: HIGH. Wilson is signed through only 2019 and thus, with a good, healthy season, will be in line for a whopper of an extension next summer. Assuming the Seahawks are willing to give him that, they're set at the position for a long time to come.

Ben Roethlisberger is going to the Hall of Fame, and he's still playing like it. First quarterback to 2,000 yards this season, and it's entirely possible the offense gets more potent if Le'Veon Bell comes back this week. The Steelers are on cruise control at QB.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. The only thing that gives you pause is Ben's health history, but he didn't miss a game due to injury last year, and he seems to be protecting himself well. Mason Rudolph and Joshua Dobbs form an unproven backup tandem.

Long-term confidence: LOW. Ben turns 37 in March, always seems to be talking about retiring (except last year, for some reason), and there's no way to know what's coming next. Rudolph is a project they feel good about, but still a project who came out with arm strength concerns.

Matthew Stafford isn't blowing anyone's doors off statistically this year, but since the Week 1 disaster against the Jets he has thrown 11 touchdown passes and just one interception. He's as reliable as it gets. Backup Matt Cassel is a veteran with some experience behind a guy who never misses games.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. The Lions know what they're getting with Stafford, who has a nice receiver corps and the whiff of a nascent running game for the first time in a while.

Long-term confidence: MEDIUM. Stafford is only 30 and is signed through 2022, so he's in Detroit for a while. They likely can count on him maintaining his current level of performance as long as they keep the group around him sound. Golden Tate is a free agent at the end of the year, just sayin'.

Cam Newton is thriving under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner. James Lang/USA TODAY Sports

Cam Newton is thriving in his first year with offensive coordinator Norv Turner, and the stunning fourth-quarter comeback against the Eagles on Sunday kindled memories of 2015. Taylor Heinicke is the backup who was with Turner in Minnesota.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. Newton's career completion percentage is 58.9. His best single-season completion percentage is 61.7. His completion percentage this year is 65.6, and his yards per attempt is right in line with where it has been the past couple of years. He's on pace for a relatively standard 685 rushing yards. More importantly, he's winning. And when Cam's winning, Cam can get on one heck of a roll.

Long-term confidence: MEDIUM-HIGH. Newton is 29 and signed through 2020, which means he'll be in line for an extension before long. The only thing that keeps this from being a "high" is his history of inconsistent year-to-year performance. But it's possible he has turned a corner with Turner.

Andrew Luck just turned 29 last month and is on pace for 4,500 yards and 47 touchdowns in his first year back from all those shoulder problems. Jacoby Brissett is the backup who started last year in Luck's place.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. Luck is showing no ill effects of the shoulder surgeries, and if the Colts' running game is starting to develop the way it looked Sunday, he won't have to throw the ball 50-60 times a game, though it's nice to know he can.

Long-term confidence: MEDIUM-HIGH. Hedging here only because of the proximity in time to the significant health issues. As more time passes with Luck healthy, the confidence will rise. He's signed through 2021 and there's no reason as of now to think they won't extend him if he's healthy.

They doled out $84 million fully guaranteed over three years for free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins, who as of Monday morning was second in the league in passing yards and ninth in passer rating and Total QBR. Trevor Siemian and Kyle Sloter are the backups.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. Cousins' 14 touchdown passes and three interceptions rank him among the NFL's best quarterbacks this year (Non-Mahomes Division). He has been everything the Vikings hoped he would be.

Long-term confidence: MEDIUM. They could certainly re-sign Cousins after 2020, and Sloter is fairly well regarded as a prospect. The Vikings are a win-now team, though. Their "long term" doesn't extend too far behind Cousins' deal.

Yeah, you laugh when we say Andy Dalton, but through Week 6 he was top five in touchdown passes and top 10 in Total QBR, and the Bengals were 4-2 and tied for first place with the Ravens, a team they beat. You could do worse.

Short-term confidence: HIGH. It's probably not fair to judge the Bengals on their past 62 minutes. The Steelers ripped their hearts out (again) in Week 6, and then Sunday night they got smoked by the nearly unstoppable Chiefs. But overall, Dalton and the Bengals' offense have a nice thing going this year. Jeff Driskel is the backup, but that's not likely to matter as long as Dalton doesn't have to tackle anyone.

Long-term confidence: MEDIUM. Dalton turns 31 next week and is signed for two more years at less than $17 million a year. As long as they keep the roster strong around him (and the way the Bengals draft, they should), there's not a lot of reason to worry.