The Steelers got a valiant effort from Kenny Pickett to stay in playoff contention, and it came from their rookie passer en route to an impressive comeback victory in the latest iteration of the ferocious Pittsburgh-Baltimore rivalry.
A record 64 different starting quarterbacks have taken the field during the 2022 season, and many teams are leaning on first-or-second-year passers down the stretch, including in Week 17. For the second-straight week, we had nine of them see considerable action.
Let's dive deep into the individual efforts of each quarterback and assign a grade on a per-snap basis, taking every individual aspect of their performance into account. At least 10 attempts are needed to qualify for this piece, which is published each Tuesday during the NFL season.
Mac Jones
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- On his first drive of the day, Jones lofted a pass down the right sideline that Tyquan Thornton ran underneath.
- Early in the second, while fading away from a throw due to pressure, Jones lobbed a perfect pass to Hunter Henry down the numbers before coverage converged.
- Midway through the fourth, Jones connected with Jakobi Meyers on a well-placed throw down the right sideline with multiple defenders close.
- The play before the touchdown to Meyers, Jones ripped a fastball into Thornton with a defender running underneath, but the rookie receiver was out of bounds.
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- It may have been a miscommunication, but Jones threw behind an easy dump off to Rhamondre Stevenson in the second quarter on a third down.
- His first throw of the third quarter was off-target over the middle to Jakobi Meyers and fell incomplete.
- Also in the third, he threw short on a long throw into the flat to Henry that was incomplete.
Summary: Jones had a strong albeit far from perfect outing against the Dolphins. There were some throws with great touch down the field -- and the misfires there weren't brutal. Jones' off-target throws didn't happen as regularly as they have for most of this season.
Week 17 Grade: C+
Season Grade: C
Trevor Lawrence
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- In the first, Lawrence threw a laser to Marvin Jones against decently tight coverage. The pass had to be a rocket and was.
- In the third, he ripped a fastball to Jones near the sideline for 17 yards. It was a slightly dangerous toss but the velocity led to the completion.
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Early in the first, he missed a wide open throw to Christian Kirk open on a play-action bootleg.
- At the start of the second, Lawrence was late and behind on a seam throw to Evan Engram
- Lawrence's second-quarter interception may have been a miscommunication but it sailed over Zay Jones' head and was well short of the go route down the sideline.
Summary: Lawrence didn't have to do much in the throttling of the Texans, and, frankly, he wasn't at his best, missing on some intermediate throws and a layup early that were uncharacteristic of what we've seen from him in his second season.
Week 17 Grade: C
Season Grade: B-
Davis Mills
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Down 21-0 in the second quarter, Mills had a nifty scramble for seven yards.
- Mills' fourth-quarter interception was actually a gorgeous seam throw to the usually reliable Jordan Akins. When the veteran tight end hit the turf, the ball bounced up directly into the hands of Andrew Wingard.
- His final throw of the game was another quality long throw down the seam.
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Late in the first, Mills made an ill-advised throw deep down that field that was far past the reach of the intended target and nearly intercepted by the safety.
- Mills missed on a short route over the middle in the third.
- In the fourth, he overthrew a wheel route to Chris Moore who was wide open.
- A few plays later, he had Brandin Cooks open down the left sideline for a possible touchdown, but again overthrew the target.
Summary: Mills and the Texans offensive line were overwhelmed by the Jaguars front all afternoon, and it really wasn't until the waning minutes of the game that Mills made quality throws. His accuracy was off for most of the afternoon. Not Mills' best effort, which comes after three-straight weeks of quality play from him.
Week 17 Grade: D+
Season Grade: C-
Brock Purdy
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Purdy's first throw was a fake pitch to the right that he pulled and threw to a backside slant with a defender in his face. The ball needed major velocity and perfect ball placement, and had both.
- On 3rd-and-9 deep in his own end, Purdy threw with necessary timing and accuracy on a dig to Jauan Jennings for 15 yards.
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- His second throw of the game was well short of a long comeback run by Brandon Aiyuk.
Summary: Another well-schemed up game by Kyle Shanahan and another well-executed outing by Purdy. The YAC in this game was insane by the 49ers' skill-position talent.
Week 17 Grade: B+
Season Grade: B
Desmond Ridder
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Midway through the fourth, Ridder placed a perfect back-shoulder toss in the end zone to Cordarrelle Patterson that was knocked away at the last second.
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Ridder threw high to an open Drake London in the first half.
Summary: This was a low-risk outing from Ridder. Much of what he did as a passer was underneath, and there weren't many ill-advised or inaccurate tosses. Altogether, a decent effort from the rookie.
Week 17 Grade: C-
Season Grade: C-
Kenny Pickett
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- On a third down in the second quarter, Pickett rolled right and a moment before he was hit by a Ravens defender, he found George Pickens near the sideline. The catch was ultimately overruled because Pickens stepped out of bounds before the grab, but it was a fine display of athleticism and accuracy by the rookie quarterback.
- On another third down in the first half, Pickett rolled left and threw a fastball against his moment to Pat Freiermuth for a first down with a defender on his back.
- In the fourth, he dropped one in the bucket to Diontae Johnson down the left sideline, but the receiver had a foot out of bounds.
- On the game-winning drive, Pickett spun left before finding Freiermuth downfield for 20 through layers of coverage.
- The next throw was an exquisitely placed seam throw to Steven Sims for 28 yards.
- The touchdown throw to Najee Harris led the young back to space in the end zone and came with Pickett rolling to his left.
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Midway through the fourth he took a bad sack in the pocket after scanning the field for a few seconds.
Summary: This was easily the best Pickett performance of the season, especially considering being on the road and facing a challenging defense. There were no clear-cut brutal throws or decisions, and he made a handful of critical throws from inside and outside of the pocket.
Week 17 Grade: A
Season Grade: C+
Justin Fields
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- In the first quarter, Fields jumped over two players on the ground on a designed run and scampered for 31 yards.
- With under six minutes to go in the first, Fields showcased his deceptive speed with a 60-yard scramble up the middle. Serious juice.
- Late in the third, Fields dropped one in the bucket on a long throw to Velus Jones for 44 yards.
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Early in the first quarter, he overthrew a vertical route from a clean pocket.
- Near the end of the third, when he had an outlet in front of him, Fields tried to buy extra time and was sacked.
Summary: The Bears offensive line was drastically overwhelmed by the Lions defensive front all afternoon, which led to massive problems for Fields and Chicago's passing attack. As usual, there were a few ridiculous runs from the young quarterback, but this was not one of his better passing performances.
Week 17 Grade: D+
Season Grade: C+
Sam Ehlinger
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- None
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- His second throw of the day was an attempted quick screen to Parris Campbell that was thrown directly at Kayvon Thibodeaux and nearly intercepted.
Summary: Ehlinger played the second half of a blowout on the road against the Giants after an injury to Nick Foles. The Colts didn't ask much of him, and he mostly operated the scheme well. There weren't any impressive throws and really the only one bad toss.
Week 17 Grade: C
Season Grade: C
Skylar Thompson
High-Caliber Throws/Plays
- On fourth down in the fourth quarter, Thompson threw a rope to Tyreek Hill between two defenders to move the sticks. Great throw.
- His touchdown to Mike Gesicki was a nice demonstration of his patience and athleticism, as he scanned from inside the pocket before rolling right.
Low-Caliber Throws/Plays
- Thompson's tipped interception came on a throw that was unnecessarily behind Hill.
- Early in the fourth he missed on a throw into the flat.
- Close to the two-minute warning, Thompson threw behind a checkdown over the middle.
Summary: Thompson was forced into the game after Teddy Bridgewater's injury and didn't play horribly. He mostly got the ball out of his hands quickly to underneath targets, bounced around the pocket to avoid Patriots rushers and after some misses made quality throws late.
Week 17 Grade: C-
Season Grade: C+
