Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott (again!), Patrick Mahomes and the grossest quarterbacks of Week 2

Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season was filled with brilliant quarterback performances.

Kyler Murray found a connection with rookie wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. en route to three passing touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Geno Smith didn't throw a single off-target pass while leading the Seattle Seahawks to a comeback overtime win against a tough New England Patriots defense. Malik Willis found a way to shine, tossing his first career touchdown pass in an otherwise ground-heavy Green Bay Packers attack.

There were, however, many more bad performances than good ones. The quarterbacks who stunk may surprise you.

Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff and Brock Purdy all had negative impacts on their offense, according to advanced stats. Who was the most disappointing? Fortunately, we've got a metric to help figure that out.

Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player. By comparing each passer’s Week 2 EPA against their 2023 average we get a better picture of just how frustrating their debuts were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com.

Who was the worst? There were several candidates but only one man can truly call himself the grossest quarterback of Week 2.

6. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

2023 expected points added (EPA) per game: 11.0

Week 2 EPA: -1

Difference: 12 points worse

Purdy was generally OK in the 49ers loss to the Minnesota Vikings. That wasn't enough to beat Sam by-god Darnold, and it failed to live up to a 2023 campaign advanced stats absolutely loved.

The third-year quarterback threw for more than 300 yards, but only found the end zone once. His third quarter interception led to a Vikings touchdown one play later. The very next drive moved into Minnesota but ended in a strip sack that extinguished a potential scoring drive. Late in the game, he nearly got Van Ginkel'ed on the one play we all know Andrew Van Ginkel is stupidly proficient at; seeking out and ruining screen passes.

Purdy had his moments, but ultimately San Francisco only converted two of 10 third downs. Life will get easier as Brandon Aiyuk gets his sea legs back after a preseason holdout and Christian McCaffrey eventually returns from injured reserve. In Week 2, however, he topped out at "decent."

5. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

2023 expected points added (EPA) per game: 6.0

Week 2 EPA: -7.0

Difference: 13 points worse

Mahomes' inclusion here is a tricky one, as he did enough to lead a comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals at the end of regulation. And his 2023 EPA is fairly low thanks to last year's lack of receiving help, which fails to fully capture his impact on the game.

But this was not a vintage Mahomes performance despite the final score. He threw a pair of interceptions and had a third negated by an illegal contact penalty that probably didn't influence his decision with the ball. Granted, Cam Taylor-Britt's pick was completely bonkers:

That doesn't change the fact the separation between the Bengal defensive back and Xavier Worthy could be accurately gauged in centimeters and Mahomes threw it anyway. Take out Rashee Rice's contributions and the former MVP is looking at a 13 for 19 performance for 76 passing yards and a touchdown to an offensive lineman.

This is, of course, nothing to be concerned about. Neither is Travis Kelce's one catch on three targets. Kansas City finds way to turn weakness into strength and strength into a death ray that cooks the rest of the NFL. But once again Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo made Mahomes look mortal, which is more than most NFL coaches can say.

4. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

2023 expected points added (EPA) per game: 4.9

Week 2 EPA: -11.2

Difference: 16.1 points worse

Stafford came alive without Puka Nacua in Week 1, falling a coin toss shy of a potential comeback overtime win. This was not a concern in Week 2, where the Rams trailed for 56 minutes.

Stafford was ineffective against a Cardinals team that took advantage of the offensive line injuries that handcuffed Los Angeles's offense last Sunday. Stafford dropped back to pass 11 times on third or fourth down vs. Arizona. He converted one of those dropbacks into a first down or touchdown. Four of the five sacks he took came on third down. The fifth ended in a fumble. The Cardinals kept getting to the veteran quarterback and putting the ball in their offense's hands as a result.

That's how a guy with a reasonable 8.0 yards per attempt winds up here. There was no room for the Super Bowl champion to come through when the Rams needed him most.

3. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

2023 expected points added (EPA) per game: -7.3

Week 2 EPA: -23.5

Difference: 16.2 points worse

Young basically cost the Panthers a touchdown worth of expected points each week as a rookie, which makes it difficult for him to produce the negative value to end up on this list. So what's 2023's worst quarterback got to do to wind up here? Well...

Or, hey, how about going down 20 points early and STILL not attempting a single pass that traveled more than 12 yards downfield?

Yep, that qualifies as gross.

2. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

2023 expected points added (EPA) per game: 10.4

Week 2 EPA: -6.1

Difference: 16.5 points worse

Prescott was forced to fight with his back against the wall in a game where the New Orleans Saints scored six straight touchdowns. For a moment, he was up to the challenge; his first two drives lasted 27 combined plays before a third scoring drive in three attempts was capped by a 65-yard touchdown strike to CeeDee Lamb.

Unfortunately, that only brought the score to 21-13. It was as close as the Cowboys would get in the final 40 minutes. Prescott felt the pressure of a massive deficit and tried his best to throw his team back into the game. It went poorly.

Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million contract extension before the season and has yet to record a positive EPA in two starts. That wasn't a concern against a stout Cleveland Browns defense in a relatively sweatless win. But in Week 2, a Saints defense that's been better against the run than the pass since 2023 goaded him into mistakes as he took home run swings in a futile effort to lead the Cowboys back.

1. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

2023 expected points added (EPA) per game: 5.0

Week 2 EPA: -13.2

Difference: 18.2 points worse

Yeah, this one was bad. Goff looked off all day. He threw for more than 300 yards against Tampa Bay's depleted secondary, but he needed 55 (!) passes to get there. He threw one interception that led to a Buccaneers field goal and another that erased a Detroit scoring opportunity. This second pick was really, truly baffling.

What's worse: with the game on the line, Goff repeatedly threw short of the sticks. The first came on a five-yard completion on fourth-and-eight in the Bucs' red zone. One defensive stand later, Goff had a chance to redeem himself in the final 20 seconds of the game. Instead, he whipped two straight passes short of the end zone and in the middle of the field that had a near-zero chance of success. Caught or not, the outcome was the same either way; the clock ran out on a 20-16 Lions loss (they were incomplete).

This whole game was a sloppy mess from a veteran quarterback who generally knows better. Detroit asked Goff to buoy a pass-happy offense and it failed to pay off. The Lions averaged 5.5 yards per play when Goff dropped back and 5.4 when anyone else ran the ball. Hindsight is 50/50 (and David Montgomery had a difficult time dropping into gear), but it feels like Dan Campbell would have been happier with a grind-em-out run game compared to what he got through the air.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott (again!), Patrick Mahomes and the grossest quarterbacks of Week 2