New QB ranking has Justin Fields embarrassingly low

Few would argue that Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields has emerged as one of the NFL’s brightest superstars. His elite playmaking ability as a runner and his developing traits as a passer have his upside higher than almost every quarterback in the league.

And that’s why the latest quarterback ranking from the 33rd Team is so bizarre. Fields checks in at No. 17, and the logic behind his bottom-half tiering is odd.

The author of the rankings, former NFL QB Matt Cassel, attributed at least part of Fields’ ranking to his Week 13 performance against the Green Bay Packers.

“Fields had a tough day against Bay with two interceptions,” Cassel wrote.

Tell me you didn’t watch the Bears game without telling me you didn’t watch the Bears game, Matt.

Justin Fields’ performance against the Packers was arguably his best game as an NFL passer. He completed 80% of his passes for 254 yards. His interceptions weren’t entirely his fault, although their timing was admittedly bad. To call his overall performance a “tough day” is so inaccurate that it calls Cassels’ entire QB ranking into question.

Perhaps, it should.

Cassel has Washington Commanders starter Taylor Heinicke ranked ahead of Fields at No. 15. That’s laughable. Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) ranks 11th. Again, embarrassing. And this isn’t a one-off anomaly, either. Fields ranked 16th entering Week 13’s game against Green Bay.

Cassel must have an axe to grind, or maybe he was low on Justin Fields at the start of the season and can’t bring himself to admit his mistake. I didn’t pay much attention to Cassel’s quarterback rankings until now, and after this week’s, I’m glad I haven’t.