NFL Playoffs 2020: Ranking The 4 Quarterbacks In Sunday's Championship Games

There is plenty of focus on the quarterbacks on Championship Sunday in the 2020 NFL playoffs. Patrick Mahomes leads the Kansas City Chiefs against Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will try to upset Jimmy Garoppolo and the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFC Championship Game.

If you can predict which quarterback will play better in each matchup, you’ve got a good chance of correctly picking the two Super Bowl teams. Here’s a ranking of the four remaining quarterbacks in the playoffs, from best to worst.

1) Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Mahomes had one of the great playoff performances in NFL history in the divisional round, leading the Chiefs back from a 24-0 deficit with five touchdowns and 374 yards from scrimmage. His 113.4 passer rating, 894 passing yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions in three career postseason games are proof that the reigning MVP is just as good, if not better, when it matters most.

It would be hard to find a “bad” game that Mahomes has played this season. He had a below-average passer rating five times, but Kansas City went 5-0 with at least 23 points in each of those contests. You can be sure that the quarterback will do his part when the Chiefs host the Titans Sunday afternoon.

2) Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Considering his numbers and what was on the line, Rodgers might’ve had his best game of the season in the divisional round. Without a consistent running game, the future Hall of Famer threw for 247 yards, two scores and a 113.7 passer rating, completing difficult throws that staved off a Seattle Seahawks’ comeback attempt. Rodgers’ 100.0 career playoff passer rating is No.4 all time, putting him ahead of Drew Brees and Russell Wilson.

There’s no denying that Rodgers is no longer playing as well as he did at his peak, putting up some pedestrian regular-season numbers (62.0% completion rate, 7.0 yards per attempt, 250.1 yards per game). He still does a better job than any quarterback of avoiding dumb mistakes. Rodgers could give the Packers serious upset potential in San Francisco by replicating some of the passes he made against the Seahawks.

3) Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers

It’s hard to predict which version of Garoppolo will show up from week to week. Sometimes the 49ers get the quarterback that only completed 11 passes for 131 yards and a key interception in the divisional playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings. Then there are days like Dec. 8 when Garoppolo outdueled Brees and led a late scoring drive to beat the Saints 48-46 in New Orleans.

Garoppolo has failed to hit the league-average passer rating (90.4) in eight of his 17 starts. He had a worse interception rate than Daniel Jones and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Garoppolo also ranked in the top-five in yards per attempt, completion percentage and touchdowns while beating some of the NFL’s best teams.

4) Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans

Tannehill shocked the NFL by having one of the most efficient regular seasons in league history with a 117.5 passer rating and 9.6 yards per attempt. He’s had less responsibility than any quarterback this postseason, going 15-29 for 160 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in two games. Tannehill joined Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterback to win consecutive playoff games by throwing at least one touchdown and fewer than 100 yards.

How will Tannehill perform if Derrick Henry can’t carry the Titans and the quarterback has to throw more than 15 times.? He was decidedly mediocre on Wild-Card Weekend in New England, but Tannehill did have two touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown that were instrumental to Tennessee crushing the Baltimore Ravens. His chances against the Chiefs in a shootout might be shaky.