We can't wait for the 2023 campaign to get here and we also know you feel the same. And in 2023, the NY Giants will play 14 different NFL teams during the season. The schedule looks somewhat daunting, but the list of opposing quarterbacks should not be.
The 14 starting quarterbacks the Giants will play (barring injury) in 2023 have a combined 31 playoff wins. If you take out Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Garoppolo's playoff wins, the remaining group of 12 quarterbacks have just 14 playoff wins.
The 14 quarterbacks have just two combined Super Bowl rings (Rodgers and Matthew Stafford). In fact, Daniel Jones has played in more career NFL games than nine of the quarterbacks he will play in 2023. Let's rank the 14 quarterbacks the New York Football Giants will square off against in 2023:
14. Colt McCoy
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray tore his ACL on Dec. 12, 2022 and is unlikely to be ready by Week 2 when the Cardinals host the Giants. This means the G-Men will likely see Cardinals backup and ex-Giant Colt McCoy (the Cardinals could opt to start rookie Clayton Tune).
McCoy is now 36 years old and can't make plays with his feet. McCoy played in four games (started three) for Arizona in 2022, throwing for just 780 yards and one touchdown. The veteran threw three interceptions over that time span and recorded a very bad 37.4 QBR. Wink Martindale's pressure will feast on McCoy.
13. Sam Howell
The revolving door of Washington quarterbacks will feature Sam Howell for the 2023 season. The 2022 fifth-round pick started just one game for Washington in 2022, the season finale against Dallas. Howell threw for 169 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in an upset victory over the Cowboys.
Howell has a big arm and is very athletic. Eric Bieniemy is Washington's new offensive coordinator and will certainly help Howell. Howell also has one of the most underrated group of weapons in the NFL, led by Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, and Brian Robinson Jr.
Howell is still very young and raw. He was a fifth-round pick for a reason. The Giants have no reason to fear Howell or Washington.
12. Mac Jones
Joe Judge tried to ruin Daniel Jones and then tried to ruin another Jones, Mac Jones. If you thought Eli Manning was a statue in the pocket, go watch Mac play football. Mac is the least mobile and least athletic player in the NFL.
In 2022, he threw for just 2,997 yards, tied for 18th most in the NFL. He threw 14 touchdown passes, tied for 23rd in the NFL, and threw 11 interceptions, tied for 10th most in the NFL. His 36.1 QBR was ranked 28th, and somehow even worse than McCoy's.
11. Jordan Love
We don't know much about Love, but he gets the nod over Jones and Howell due to his cannon arm and raw athleticism. Love came in relief against the Philadelphia Eagles last November when Aaron Rodgers got hurt. The Packers QB completed six of his nine passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. He posted a tremendous 146.8 passer rating and 92.9 QBR against the league's best defense.
In his only career start, Love completed 19 of his 34 passes for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a loss at Kansas City. Love was drafted in the first round because he is big, mobile, and can sling the ball deep. Love has a chance to shoot up this list by the time the Giants play Green Bay in December.
10. Brock Purdy
Brock Purdy won seven of the eight games he started as a rookie in 2022. The only game he lost was the NFC Championship, a game in which he suffered a first quarter elbow injury.
Purdy fits the San Francisco offense perfectly. He is gritty, does not make mistakes, and is smart. The only knocks on Purdy, the reasons he was the 2022 NFL Draft's Mr. Irrelevant, are that he does not have the biggest arm, has a slim frame, and is not overly mobile.
The SF QB silenced the doubters in 2022, but defensive coordinators now have film on Purdy. The elbow he injured in the NFC Championship game has his status in doubt for the beginning of the 2023 season, which means the Giants may face Trey Lance or Sam Darnold in Week 3.
9. Derek Carr
Derek Carr is quickly becoming one of the NFL's most overrated quarterbacks. Carr had a dreadful 2022 season, his final campaign for the Las Vegas Raiders. Carr ranked 24th among quarterbacks in passer rating, threw 14 interceptions, tied for the third most in the NFL, and ranked 30th in the NFL in completion percentage.
Las Vegas moved on from Carr and replaced him with oft-injured Jimmy Garoppolo, which is not exactly a glowing endorsement of the veteran. Carr is in New Orleans now, and will play a very favorable schedule in the NFL's worst division. Carr has zero playoff wins in his career. He will have a chance to change that in 2023.
8. Jimmy Garoppolo
Jimmy G is not the biggest quarterback, does not have a great arm, and is immobile (the only quarterback less athletic is Mac Jones). He does one thing at an elite level and it is the thing that matters most: win games.
Jimmy G has a 53-21 record in his career. The QB has won 72 percent of the games he's started in his career and has five career playoff wins. Wins may not be a quarterback stat, but those numbers are incredible.
He is leaving the most quarterback friendly system in the league, but will have plenty of weapons to throw to in Las Vegas. The Raiders employ Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, Michael Mayer, Jakobi Meyers, and Josh Jacobs.
He certainly won't be the toughest quarterback the Giants face, but we have learned to never count out Jimmy G. Surprisingly, the ex-Niner and Patriot quarterback has never faced the Giants.
7. Geno Smith
Geno Smith was a monster in 2022. Smith succeeded Russell Wilson and set the world on fire. Smith threw for the eighth most yards in 2022, posted the seventh-best QBR, threw the fourth-most touchdown passes, and posted the league's best completion percentage.
Smith has a cannon arm, is an underrated athlete, and has an elite group of weapons. Smith gets to throw the the best wide reciever trio in the league, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. That can only help one of the league's most underrated quarterbacks. The veteran Seahawk is in line for a monsterous 2023 season.
6. Dak Prescott
Prescott has only lost one game to the New York Giants in his career. That is the only reason he is not higher in the rankings. Prescott was regarded as one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the NFL prior to the 2022 season, but regressed significantly, and is now seen as a mid-tier quarterback. Prescott was tied with Davis Mills for the league lead in interceptions last season.
The Cowboys season ended with a loss to the 49ers in January. Prescott was terrible in that loss, throwing two interceptions. The Dallas defense played out of their minds but the Cowboys lost because of their abysmal quarterback play. The Cowboys even tweeted this after the loss:
Dak Prescott gave away the ball twice in the narrow loss to the 49ers, in a matchup the Cowboys had a chance to win if they didn’t again generate self-inflicted wounds.#DALvsSF | #DallasCowboys
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) January 23, 2023
5. Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford had an injury-riddled 2022 season. The last time we saw him fully healthy, he led the Rams to a win in Super LVI. Stafford is one of the most under-appreciated quarterbacks in the NFL and is a potential Hall of Famer. The Los Angeles quarterback ranks 11th all-time in passing yards, 12th in passing touchdowns, and 11th in passing completions.
Stafford's main problem is that he is playing quarterback for a bad team. The Rams traded away or released key veterans like Jalen Ramsey, Allen Robinson, and Bobby Wagner this offseason. They are in a rebuilding period, attempting to build their next Super Bowl team. Stafford still gets to throw to the NFL's best wide receiver and Super Bowl LVI MVP, Cooper Kupp.
4. Tua Tagovailoa
The concussion situation surrounding Tua Tagovailoa is downright scary, but when he is on the field, he is ridiculously good. Despite playing in just 13 of the Dolphins 17 games in 2022, Tua ranked 12th in the NFL in passing yards, eighth in passing touchdowns, and third in QBR.
Tua's Week 2 performance in Baltimore last fall was nothing short of spectucular. The Dolphin threw for 462 yards and six touchdowns, four of which came in the fourth quarter. He threw for three or more touchdowns four different times last season. The Dolphins are a Super Bowl contender if Tua stays healthy.
3. Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, but the wheels came off in 2022. Rodgers threw 12 interceptions in 2022, just three off the league high. He also ranked just 11th in passing yards. The most shocking stat, Rodgers ranked 26th in QBR, posting a horrendous 39.3 mark.
Marcus Mariota, Kenny Pickett, Jacoby Brissett, and Andy Dalton all posted higher QBR's than Rodgers last fall. We can probably forget about 2022, as Rodgers will definitely bounce back in New York. The Jets have a very solid group of weapons for Rodgers, but a brutal schedule that could make starting hot very difficult. Rodgers deserves to be this high due to his pedigree.
2. Jalen Hurts
What a 2022 Jalen Hurts had. The Philly quarterback only lost two games he started last fall, and had a serious breakout campaign. Hurts was an MVP candidate, ranked fourth in QBR, was tied for the fourth least interceptions, and rushed for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns.
That tremendous 2022 season led to Hurts receiving a monsterous five-year, $255 million contract extension this spring. Philly's QB is big, smart, physical, mobile, and has a massive arm. Hurts has every single trait you crave in a quarterback. The Eagles have a great offensive line, running back room, wide receivers, and tight ends. Unfortunately for fans of Big Blue, Hurts is only going to get better.
1. Josh Allen
I am the biggest Josh Allen supporter on the plant. He has the biggest arm in football, is the most physical runner of the football at the quarterback position, and has brought back a franchise that had zero succeess for 25 years before he arrived.
Allen had a 71.4 QBR in 2022, the second best in football. Allen had some growing pains in 2022 in the turnover department, his first season without Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator. In Year 2 under Ken Dorsey, Allen will be even better. If he cuts back on the turnovers, he will be the NFL's best quarterback.
Buffalo had a very sour ending to 2022, getting beat down by Cincinnati in Buffalo in the AFC Divisional Round. Allen will be fired up in 2023, win the NFL MVP, and take Buffalo to the Super Bowl.