We ranked every NFL starting quarterback back in early September. Now that we’re a quarter of the way through the 2018 regular season, let’s update those rankings.

It won’t come as a surprise that Patrick Mahomes is the biggest riser on the list. He checked in at No. 26 in our preseason rankings, but that had more to do with the lack of tape we had on the Chiefs star than his skill set. We wrote at the time: “Once Andy Reid gets through to him, Mahomes will be a star.”

It appears Reid has already gotten through to him.

The biggest faller is Jameis Winston, who has played only a half against a top defense that knew the Bucs had to pass the ball. Not an ideal situation. We fully expect him to jump into the 10-to-15 range by the time the season ends.

With that said, let’s rank some quarterbacks…

Note: These are based solely on their individual performances in 2018 and nothing else.

1. Drew Brees, Saints

Outside of a slow first half against the Giants and a few missed throws in Week 2, Brees has been essentially perfect. And that’s with a receiving corps that is not very deep behind Michael Thomas.

2. Aaron Rodgers, Packers

On one leg, Rodgers is still making plays that only he and a handful of quarterbacks can make. He looked far more mobile last Sunday, so he should only get better from here.

3. Pat Mahomes, Chiefs

Mahomes has put up the best numbers, but he has also had the luxury of playing in a scheme that consistently provides him with wide-open throws. According to Pro Football Focus, via Peter King, 47% of his throws have been to open receivers. Last year, Alex Smith led the league at 30.7%. Mahomes proved Monday night those throws are more of a luxury than a necessity, though.

4. Jared Goff, Rams

Goff has killed off all the “System QB” talk with a handful of throws that only top quarterbacks are able to make. His confidence in the pocket has made the difference early in 2018.

5. Matt Ryan, Falcons

After a troubling opening game, Ryan has bounced back with three brilliant performances. Ryan is known as a pocket quarterback, but some of his best plays this season have come outside of those confines.

6. Cam Newton, Panthers

Newton has elevated both the Panthers’ passing and running game, which really isn’t anything new for him. What is new is how efficient he’s been early on. Newton is on pace for career highs in nearly every major category.

7. Philip Rivers, Chargers

Rivers remains the football equivalent of that old dude at a pickup game who gets picked last then proceeds to score a bunch of points with intricate post moves. In other words, he’s the craftiest quarterback in the league.

8. Tom Brady, Patriots

The reigning MVP has not gotten off to the best of starts. Brady is still picking apart defenses with his mind, but his accuracy has been off, especially on deeper throws.

9. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

The first quarter of Roethlisberger’s season was bookended by two ugly performances, but Big Ben looked like one of the league’s best quarterbacks in between and he has been dealing with a balky elbow. That’s thrown off his deep accuracy.

10. Kirk Cousins, Vikings

Cousins has already put together some fantastic performances during his short time as the Vikings quarterback, but we’ve also seen a lot of bad football from him. His fumbles sparked the Bills’ upset in Minnesota.

11. Andy Dalton, Bengals

Dalton’s numbers have been dragged down by a couple fluke interceptions in the loss to the Panthers — a game he played well in. He’s managed to avoid his typical mistakes and done a good job spreading the ball to all of Cincinnati’s weapons.

12. Joe Flacco, Ravens

Maybe the Ravens drafting of Lamar Jackson did light a fire in Flacco after all. His mechanics are sharper than they’ve ever been and he seems to have found his deep accuracy again. This is the best he’s looked in his entire career.

13. Andrew Luck, Colts

Judging by Sunday’s performance against a scary Texans front, I’d say Luck’s shoulder is OK. He may not be able to generate the throwing power he once could, but he’s still a smart, accurate quarterback who knows how to work the pocket.

14. Matthew Stafford, Lions

Stafford’s first two games were ugly. Interceptions and inaccurate passes sunk the Lions offense in two games Detroit probably should have won. But he’s rebounded nicely, playing well in the win over New England and nearly leading his team to a road win in Dallas.

15. Russell Wilson, Seahawks

It’s difficult to properly judge Wilson in an offense that doesn’t really highlight his strengths. At the same time, Wilson hasn’t looked comfortable outside of the win over the Cowboys. He has been responsible for as many sacks as Seattle’s maligned offensive line has.

16. Carson Wentz, Eagles

Wentz improved on his 2018 debut with an impressive performance against the Titans. He had missed a few throws against the Colts but was accurate, for the most part, in Tennessee. If we’re picking nits, he did hold the ball a little too long in both games.

17. Deshaun Watson, Texans

We’ve seen both sides of Watson early in the 2018 season: At times he’s looked lost in the pocket and unable to throw accurately. Then out of nowhere, he’ll look like the quarterback we saw last year. Once he finds some consistency, he’ll land somewhere around the top-10.

18. Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins

Tannehill was a little off against the Patriots, but I’ll chalk that up to a fantastic Bill Belichick gameplan. In the Dolphins’ wins, he’s been precise, particularly on the deep ball.

19. Alex Smith, Redskins

The Redskins are getting vintage Alex Smith. He’ll make a few plays in the run game and avoid turnovers, but he just lacks that edge that separates good quarterbacks from great ones. He was booed at the end of the Colts loss for being too conservative late in a game Washington was trailing.

20. Derek Carr, Raiders

Carr is one of the more frustrating quarterbacks to watch. It’s like if you put Eli Manning’s current mindset in Brett Favre’s body. He has the physical ability to be a gunslinger but just isn’t willing to stand in the pocket and let plays develop downfield.

21. Blake Bortles, Jaguars

In even weeks, Bortles has played like a top-15 quarterback. In odd weeks, he looks like a guy who should be in the 25-32 range, so No. 21 seems like a fitting spot for the Jags quarterback.

22. Josh Rosen, Cardinals

Am I overreacting to one start? Maybe. Well, probably. But Rosen did not look like a rookie in his first NFL start. He made all the right reads and delivered the ball with accuracy. Had his receivers not forgotten how to catch a football — even Larry Fitzgerald had a few drops — you’d be hearing a lot more about Rosen.

23. Mitchell Trubisky, Bears

While I’d be happy if Trubisky continues to throw touchdowns for fun in the coming weeks after exploding for six against the Bucs — I picked Trubisky as a breakout candidate before the season — I’m going to temper my expectations. Trubisky’s accuracy problems aren’t going to disappear in a week and the Bucs have made every quarterback they’ve faced look good.

24. Dak Prescott, Cowboys

Sure, Prescott hasn’t had much help from his receiving corps or coaches, but the Cowboys quarterback has missed reads and his accuracy has been spotty at best. He is trending up after a good performance against a good Detroit secondary.

25. Baker Mayfield, Browns

Mayfield looked more like a rookie in his first start after leading the Browns to a comeback victory in his debut. He may not have been responsible for the fumbled snap, but the other three turnovers in Oakland were clearly his fault, even if overly defensive Browns fans don’t want to admit it.

26. Marcus Mariota, Titans

For one half against the Eagles, Mariota looked like the quarterback we all think he’s capable of developing into. We just need to see more of it. I believe we will now that he seems to be healthy. Mariota has top-15 talent.

27. Eli Manning, Giants

Manning has finally run out of excuses. He has plenty of weapons. He has an offensive-minded coach who turned Case Keenum into a star. His offensive line played relatively well against the Saints. But the scoreboard didn’t change. The Giants scored only 18 points against a suspect defense while Eli passed up on downfield opportunities because he’s afraid to get hit.

28. Case Keenum, Broncos

Despite having a good running game and a reinvigorating Emmanuel Sanders, Keenum is playing at around the same level Trevor Siemian did in 2017.

QB ratings of Broncos QBs in 2017:

Trevor Siemian 73.3

Brock Osweiler 72.5

Paxton Lynch 72.0

QB rating of Broncos QB in 2018:

Case Keenum 72.1

Thus far, Keenum has not improved dismal QB performance in any meaningful way from last year. — Mark Kiszla (@markkiszla) October 2, 2018

29. Jameis Winston, Buccaneers

Winston was put in a horrible situation in his 2018 debut, so it’s really hard to glean anything from his performance in Chicago. He made a couple of impressive plays but also threw a terrible pick to end the game.

30. Sam Darnold, Jets

Reminder: Darnold is the youngest starting quarterback in the league. It’s OK for him to struggle. His pocket presence alone should be enough to provide Jets fans with hope for the future.

31. C.J. Beathard, 49ers

Kyle Shanahan was able to make Beathard look like a legitimate NFL quarterback against the Chargers. He was not able to stop him from turning the ball over and giving away the game, however.

32. Josh Allen, Bills

Well, we know one thing about Allen: His athleticism will be a factor in the NFL. Now if he can only learn to read a defense and throw the ball accurately, the Bills might have something here.