NFC North QB power rankings entering Week 2 after Jordan Love injury

Quarterback is the most closely watched and highly scrutinized position in all of sports. If your team is lucky enough to have the guy, you pay him handsomely and do everything you can to build around him. If they do not, they are moving heaven and earth to find their next franchise quarterback.

The Green Bay Packers found themselves in the first of those two positions, extending Jordan Love to a then-NFL record contract. However, in a nightmare scenario for the Packers, Love would go down with a knee injury, which many feared would end the season just as quickly as it started.

Fortunately, while Love is expected to miss a few weeks, the Packers reportedly expect Love back on the earlier end of this timeline. In the meantime, it'll be recently-acquired Malik Willis starting in his place.

Elsewhere in the NFC North, Sam Darnold, Jared Goff, and Caleb Williams all started with victories, but their performances varied.

Entering Week 2, where does each quarterback stand in the NFC North?

Jordan Love injury shakes up NFC North QB power rankings entering Week 2

Honorable Mention: Malik Willis, Packers

Since the Packers haven't officially ruled out Jordan Love for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts, we will put Malik Willis as an honorable mention. Willis took the final two snaps against the Eagles. He missed Romeo Doubs on a quick sideline play to try to make the end-of-game Hail Mary more manageable and then was sacked to end the game.

Willis started three games in Tennessee, going 35/66 for 350 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions. He is certainly a project quarterback but showed plenty of growth over the preseason with Tennessee this year. He also capped off his Titans career with a late-game comeback over New Orleans, going 3/4 for 51 yards and two touchdowns.

His college career at Liberty is definitely worth taking into consideration, as he led the Flames to two bowl wins and took home MVP honors in both games. In his senior year at Liberty, Willis was 207/339 for 2,857 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 878 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Willis and the Packers will be underdogs against the Colts in Week 2, a defense that sacked CJ Stroud four times in Week 1.

4. Caleb Williams, Bears

Sorry, Bears fans, Caleb Williams is in the basement of the QB power rankings after Week 1. While he probably has the highest ceiling among this bunch of quarterbacks, he is just not there yet. In his NFL debut (in games that matter), Williams went just 14/29 for 93 yards and took two sacks for 29 yards.

The Bears' offense was only able to lead three scoring drives, all ending in field goals. Chicago's defense and special teams did the heaviest lifting, with a blocked punt and interception both returned for touchdowns.

Williams will face a tough test in Week 2 against a formidable Texans team that forced two sacks and an interception in Week 1 against Anthony Richardson and the Colts.

3. Jordan Love, Packers

The lone NFC North quarterback to lose this week, Love slides to No. 3 because of the loss and his potential to be out for a few weeks. Strictly speaking on the field, Love wasn't awful, going 17/34 for 260 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

Love did miss some throws, although some of that can be attributed to terrible field conditions in Brazil. His interception was a bad read. Regardless, even in a game that Love would likely agree wasn't his best, the team was in position to win on the last drive against a premier NFC team.

Obviously, the big story coming out of this game was the injury. The initial diagnosis was an MCL sprain that could cause Love to miss three to six weeks. On Monday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur did not rule out Love for Week 2. In the NFL, the best ability is availability, and if he is able to miss minimal time, Love should shoot back up these rankings in no time.

2. Sam Darnold, Vikings

To paraphrase the late, great Dennis Green, Sam Darnold is who we thought he was. In a Week 1 win for the Vikings, Darnold went 19/24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He will rarely wow anyone, but since leaving the Jets, he has been a capable, aggressively average quarterback.

If Darnold can recapture the bright spot of his career, which was the 2022 season in Carolina, Minnesota may not be in too bad of a position at the end of the year. In that season, Darnold carried the Panthers to a 4-2 record in games he started, threw for seven touchdowns and only three interceptions, his best ratio of any season as a pro.

After beating the feeble Giants in Week 1, Darnold will be tasked with facing his most recent team, the San Francisco 49ers, in a Week 2 showdown at home.

1. Jared Goff, Lions

Jared Goff was far from stellar in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, going 18/28 for 217 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Goff also took two sacks.

Detroit jumped out to a 17-3 lead early in the third quarter, but Los Angeles bounced back to grab the lead. Goff saved his best for last, leading a nine-play, 55-yard drive that was capped off with a Jake Bates 32-yard field goal. The Lions took the ball in overtime and marched down the field on an eight-play drive, with David Montgomery sealing the win.

Goff and the Lions are the lone favorite in the NFC North this week, as they are slated to take on Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Week 2 showdown.

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