Ranking the NFC North quarterbacks after the 2024 NFL season

One week can be an eternity in the NFL, but over the course of an entire season, narratives can shift dramatically. The Minnesota Vikings were supposed to take a step back this season; they ended up 14-3. Matt Eberflus finally had the quarterback he needed to win games; he became the first head coach in 105 years of Chicago Bears football to be fired midseason.

So, now that the Vikings, Bears, and Packers' seasons are all done, it may be time to revisit a popular question from last summer: which team has the division's best quarterback? Back in August, the universal consensus was that Jordan Love would continue Green Bay's streak of Hall of Fame quarterback play, but did he hold up his end of the bargain? Let's get into the rankings.

1. Jared Goff

The renaissance of Jared Goff has to be one of the most dramatic career turnarounds in recent history. After being labeled as 'just a guy' with the Rams and being shipped off to Detroit, he now has three straight seasons of more than 4,400 passing yards and at least 29 touchdowns. How he is not receiving talks of winning the MVP award is baffling, considering he finished this season with the second-most passing yards and fourth-most touchdown passes, all while leading the best team in the NFC.

After 30 years without a division title, the Detroit Lions have now won the division crown in back-to-back seasons, and Jared Goff is a big reason for that. Every other NFC North quarterback must bend the knee to the King of the North.

2. Sam Darnold

Speaking of improbable turnarounds, Darnold was viewed as an even bigger bust than Goff before joining Minnesota. When rookie JJ McCarthy was lost for the season with an injury, most people wrote the Vikings off as a lost cause, but Darnold served the doubters more crow than they could handle. He ended 2024 with career highs in every statistical category.

Unfortunately for Darnold, his Cindarella season ended with a pair of duds. But he already proved that he can play and succeed in the NFL with the right coaching. He played his way into a new, hefty contract. The only questions left are with whom and for how much he'll sign.

3. Caleb Williams

Williams was supposed to be the last piece of the puzzle for the Chicago Bears, if you believed the preseason hype. Unfortunately, the coaching situation was far worse than anyone could have imagined, and the Bears fired two coaches, Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, over the course of just 17 days.

Despite the turmoil of going through three different offensive coordinators and two head coaches, Williams put up one of the best quarterbacking seasons in franchise history. He threw for 3,5411 yards, 20 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Along the way, he set the NFL rookie record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception.

This is just the beginning for Williams. If the Bears can bring in a talented head coach who can get the most out of him, he could soar to the top of these rankings by the end of 2025.

4. Jordan Love

In his first full season as a starter, Love dazzled the NFL world in 2023 with a stretch of really good games, capped off by a wild playoff win over the Cowboys in which he posted a perfect passer rating. Analysts everywhere crowned him the next great Green Bay quarterback and a legitimate MVP candidate for 2024. He even signed a $220 million extension with Green Bay, making him the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history at the time.

Then 2024 actually happened, and Love hit his sophomore slump hard. He threw at least one interception in eight straight games, at one point leading the league in interceptions despite missing two games. He went on a decent run in November and December, but his final three games were awful: he threw for just 466 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions combined.

This is not to say that Love is a bust. But the NFL clearly overreacted to half of a good season and ran with a fun but flimsy narrative of 'Green Bay did it again.' He has a lot of work to do if he wants to reclaim his spot atop the NFC North pecking order and faces stiff competition for the title.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bears from Chicago Bears on SI —

More Chicago Bears News:

Bears projected to land top head coaching candidate

Bears land elite playmaker to pair with Caleb Williams in latest 2025 mock draft

Unexpected candidate emerges as favorite for Bears coaching job

Bears fans overwhelmingly reject idea of hiring this head coach