Bryce Young and Patrick Mahomes, welcome to the Gross Quarterbacks list
The Kansas City Chiefs fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in Week 7. A 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks created an unpleasant reality; the Patrick Mahomes passing game remains light years from its peak.
With Kenneth Walker III bottled up, Mahomes struggled to get the ball to a limited corps of receivers. The quarterback once known for lobbing gorgeous deep balls waslimited to only 4.6 air yards per throw. But he wasn't the only big-armed quarterback grounded under heavy pressure Sunday. Bryce Young's revival was cut down in its prime by a swarming Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense playing like it wants to keep head coach Todd Bowles around.
That led to two uncompetitive losses.
But where does it put Mahomes and Young on the Gross Quarterbacks ranks?
There's no perfect metric for a quarterback's impact, but expected points added (EPA) helps measure their ability to swing the outcome of a game through the air, on the ground and through avoiding negative plays. Last year, EPA told us Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford were a cut above the rest of the league's quarterbacks in the regular season, netting 151.3 and 120.3 EPA, respectfully. No one else in the league topped triple digits. Unsurprisingly, those two led playoff teams and finished second and first, respectively, in MVP voting.
We can use EPA to help dissect which quarterbacks underwhelmed the hardest in their debut. By comparing their Week 7 EPA across their early 2026 season averages, we get a better idea of whose fans should be most annoyed. And so, we end up with a "worst QBs" list that doesn't include Cam Ward or even Bo Nix, simply because their starts to the season have been so disappointing we've been moderately conditioned not to expect more this fall. You have to be at least decent in 2026 — or otherworldly awful on a given week — to wind up in the gross QB rankings.
We'll also look at completion percentage over expected (CPOE), which gives you a good idea of which quarterbacks are making tough throws (and, in some cases, being bailed out by exceptional catches). All data come from NFL Pro.
We'll also keep a running tally of the times each quarterback lands here. We'll score that placement track meet style — 10 points for first place, then eight, six, four, two and one — in order to figure out who was truly 2026's grossest passer.
Honorable mention: Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
- 2026 EPA/game: -2.7
- Week 7 EPA: -6.6
- Difference: 3.9 points worse
- 2026 CPOE: 5.5 percent
- Week 7 CPOE: 3.1 percent
- Difference: 2.4 points worse
Brissett is doing his job, keeping the Cardinals entertaining while piloting them to a high value draft position next spring. No complaints here.
5. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
- 2026 EPA/game: 4.0
- Week 7 EPA: -3.3
- Difference: 7.3 points worse
- 2026 CPOE: 6.7 percent
- Week 7 CPOE: 2.1 percent
- Difference: 4.6 points worse
Stroud was pulling from a (mostly) full deck for the first time this season to start Week 7. Tank Dell returned to injury, adding more key depth to a group that already had Nico Collins, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaylin Noel and Kayshon Boutte. But Stroud had his lowest passing output of the season (153 yards) because the Giants were able to generate pressure on more than 55 percent of his dropbacks.
New York didn't bite on play action because the Texans have no run game to worry about. The Giants were able to force rushed throws and, because a 41 percent blitz rate was significantly lower than that pressure rate, keep Houston's wideouts covered downfield.
Stroud threw eight passes that traveled at least 15 yards downfield. He completed only two.
4. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- 2026 EPA/game: 5.9
- Week 7 EPA: -5.5
- Difference: 11.4 points worse
- 2026 CPOE: -1.5 percent
- Week 7 CPOE: -13.2 percent
- Difference: 11.7 points worse
We saw just how important Kenneth Walker III is to the Chiefs offense Sunday night. Without the threat of an effective run game, the Chiefs retreated back to their 2025 form.
Mahomes' average pass coming in to Week 7 traveled only 5.8 yards downfield. That's the lowest mark of his career and 32nd-best out of 33 starting quarterbacks, just a fraction away of Bo Nix. On Sunday night, despite trailing most of the game, his average pass went just 4.6 yards downfield -- and he still only completed 57 percent of his attempts.
He's thrown only a single deep ball the last two weeks after losing Tyquan Thornton to a leg injury. It was in Week 7, and it was incomplete.
3. Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
- 2026 EPA/game: 5.1
- Week 7 EPA: -7.9
- Difference: 13 points worse
- 2026 CPOE: 3.1 percent
- Week 7 CPOE: 3.4 percent
- Difference: 0.3 points better
Cousins clocked in at nearly eight lost points of expected value even after slinging a pair of garbage time touchdowns. Through three quarters he languished at nearly -13 EPA and the Raiders trailed 28-6.
His ineffective play was a big part of that. Cousins was one for 12 on third and fourth down in the first three quarters. He only converted one of those, on a short run. The other conversion came via fake punt, making A.J. Cole Las Vegas' most efficient passer in Week 7. While he's limited by an underwhelming receiving corps -- the Raiders' pass catchers had just 2.6 yards of separation per target, their second-lowest in a game this fall -- he's also failing to make that unit more than the sum of its parts.
2. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
- 2026 EPA/game: 11.1
- Week 7 EPA: -4.9
- Difference: 16 points worse
- 2026 CPOE: 5.5 percent
- Week 7 CPOE: 0.4 percent
- Difference: 4.9 points worse
Purdy is a victim of circumstance. He was always destined to regress from a brilliant start. The last two weeks have accelerated that by taking more playmakers off the field due to injury, including Mike Evans and Christian McCaffrey. That meant having to rely on younger players like Kaelon Black, Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins.
The charitable interpretation is that this lack of rapport led to Jessie Bates III's thoroughly bonkers interception in the first half.
This interception by Jessie Bates III is UNREAL.
— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
SFvsATL on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/R4UDkkfGcb
It doesn't explain how he can get picked off, trailing by six in the fourth quarter, by a linebacker 11 yards in front of his intended target.
BOOM!@KendalDaniels__ picks it off!
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) October 25, 2026
FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/7VBExpgNMh
1. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
- 2026 EPA/game: 7.6
- Week 7 EPA: -22.7
- Difference: 30.3 points worse
- 2026 CPOE: 5.1 percent
- Week 7 CPOE: -10.9 percent
- Difference: 16 points worse
Young was partially a victim of his early success, but mostly just bad. The Panthers effectively packed this one in early, falling behind by a massive deficit (33-6 at the half), defaulting to a short-range attack despite the clock it ate up and eventually waving the white flag and putting Kenny Pickett in the game.
This was probably fine with Young. The Buccaneer pass rush battered him with a 52 percent pressure rate, five sacks and six more quarterback hits. The young quarterback's rise has been built on solid reads downfield and a passing attack that takes more chances downfield than ever. His average throw distance was more than 10 yards downfield in four of five games leading up to Sunday. Then, Tampa Bay dropped that all the way down to 6.8.
ANOTHER ONE 🗣️
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 25, 2026
📺: #TBvsCAR on FOX pic.twitter.com/4bQZe2ly47
What's more; the Bucs did this all while blitzing Young less than any other opponent this season (24 percent). While they sent extra defenders on one Young pick, his first interception was a confluence of bad read and bad throw.
Zyon McCollum with his first INT of the season 🔒
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 25, 2026
📺: #TBvsCAR on FOX pic.twitter.com/Marm46KL5b
Thus, he lands here -- and adds his name to 2026's gross quarterback annals for the first time this season.
Still too-early FTW Gross QB rankings after Week 7
1. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers: 19 points
2. Drake Maye, New England Patriots: 18
3. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts: 16
4. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers: 14
5. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams: 13
t-6. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles: 12
t-6. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 12
t-8. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos: 10
t-8. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons: 10
t-8. Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins: 10
t-8. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: 10
t-8. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers: 10
t-13. Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals: 9
t-13. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers: 8
t-13. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns: 8
16. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers: 7
t-17. Geno Smith, New York Jets: 6
t-17. Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders: 6
t-19. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans: 4
t-19. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: 4
t-19. Jameis Winston, New York Giants: 4
22. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans: 3
23. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars: 2
t-24. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: 1
t-24. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints: 1
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Patrick Mahomes and Bryce Young, welcome to the Gross Quarterbacks list
