The LA Chargers have one of the best quarterbacks in the entire league in Justin Herbert, who is likely going to reset the quarterback market with a massive extension before the 2023 season. There are very few games in which the Chargers have the worse quarterback.
That is the case yet again in 2023. There are very few quarterbacks who rank ahead of Herbert in the NFL hierarchy. Most of the QBs that the Bolts will face in 2023 are not only below Herbert but are well below the former Oregon Duck.
That being said, there are some really tough quarterback matchups that the Chargers have to deal with during the 2023 season. With most of the starters in the league locked in, let's dive into all 14 QBs that the Chargers will face.
Ranking every quarterback the Chargers will play in 2023:
14. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love is taking over for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. Back in 2020, there were a lot of Chargers fans who wanted Love over Herbert, so this game definitely has extra narratives around it that a casual NFL fan may never realize.
Love could very well come into the league and light the world on fire to move up this list by the time he faces the Chargers. That being said, there is very little to actually go off of with Love, so it is hard to rank him ahead of any quarterbacks that are on this list.
13. Mac Jones, New England Patriots
Mac Jones had a somewhat decent rookie season for the New England Patriots that showed a lot of potential. Then he followed that up with a really poor sophomore season that left Patriots fans wondering if Bailey Zappe of all people was the right man for the job.
To be fair to Jones, very few quarterbacks are going to be able to succeed with Matt Patricia calling the offense. Now he has a legitimate NFL offensive mind in Bill O'Brien to lean on. But until Jones can prove it on the field, he has to be considered one of the worst starting QBs in the entire league.
12. Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
There is a chance that Ryan Tannehill is not even the starter for the Tennessee Titans by the time the Chargers play them. The team drafted Malik Willis to be his eventual replacement plan in 2022 and that obviously did not work out as the Titans chose to play Joshua Dobbs over Willis when the season was on the line.
This year the team drafted Will Levis in the second round with the same intention. This is a good situation for Levis, as he theoretically can sit for a year to learn an NFL offense before being thrust into a situation.
That being said, Tannehill played really poorly last season and he could play himself out of a starting gig in no time. It seems like that magical 2-3 year run where Tannehill was actually good is over.
11. Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders went from Derek Carr to someone who is essentially a worse version of Carr in Jimmy Garoppolo. Both Carr and Jimmy G are in that mediocre QB range with Carr being on the upper end of it and Jimmy G being on the lower end.
Optimistic Raiders fans will spin this as Jimmy G reuniting with Josh McDaniels, who is going to be able to bring something out in him that has not been present before. This overlooks the fact that Jimmy G has been playing for the best offensive mind in the sport in Kyle Shanahan and even there he was painfully average at best.
10. Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
Justin Fields obviously has his flaws as a traditional quarterback but he also is one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the sport because of his running game. Fields has set so many rushing records early in his NFL career and he is a nightmare to gameplan against because he is so unique.
While Fields is the most athletic quarterback the Chargers will play and certainly will be respected, until he can develop more as a pocket passer he is going to be limited at the NFL level. That is what keeps him from ranking higher on this list.
However, with new weapons in the offense, Fields may take that leap as a quarterback and catapult up this list like someone else who the Chargers are playing in 2023 (ranked No. 2).
9. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Jared Goff was actually pretty good last year and there is a case to be made that he should rank a bit higher on this list. Goff gets a bad rub because of the things he was not able to do in key moments with the LA Rams but he was more than serviceable in one of the best offenses in the sport last season.
But this is a similar situation as Jimmy G in San Francisco. The optics look good and Goff's numbers are solid, but he still isn't necessarily someone who you want leading a two-minute drive with the team down four late in the fourth quarter.
Goff's ceiling is capped (he is not going to climb into the top five in this list) but he can climb a few spots by the time the Chargers play him depending on what happens.
8. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins is essentially the more established version of Jared Goff. Once Goff gets another year or two of serviceable play under his belt he will take over the throne of being the most average quarterback in the league from Cousins.
Cousins is the barometer of where you are in the grand scheme of the league. If a team's quarterback is worse than Cousins then they are below average. If they are better than Cousins then they are average or better. For the Chargers, seven of the quarterbacks they face in 2023 are average or better.
Cousins is actually 2-1 against the Bolts in his career and is 2-0 since joining the Vikings.
7. Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
Saying that anyone above Cousins is average to above average and then listing Russell Wilson as the next quarterback might seem silly. Wilson played like a below average quarterback last season and there is no reason to think that he will suddenly flip the one and a half years of bad play now that he is a year older.
Wilson, as crazy as it sounds, is on the same tier as Goff and Cousins as mediocre quarterbacks. What ranks him higher than the other two is his experience in big spots and how that could factor in during a two-minute drive in a close game.
He still is nowhere close to the Wilson of old and is going to fail more times than he succeeds but many would probably take Wilson over either Cousins or Goff in a key spot still.
6. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa is returning as the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins after suffering multiple scary concussions last season. It was so bad for Tua that he himself admitted that he contemplated retiring after the 2022 season.
While Tua and the Dolphins have become a rival because of the parallels to Herbert and the Chargers, every fan can agree that we all hope Tua can continue his playing career in a safe way. At the end of the day, he is still a key figure in the youth quarterback movement and was playing well for Miami last season.
That being said, Brandon Staley schemed a master game plan against Tua last season and unless Mike McDaniel has different tricks up his sleeve, the same thing could happen this year.
5. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott is a solid quarterback and he really is the gate-keeper to being a great quarterback in the NFL. There are moments in which Dak truly does look like one of the greats and pilots the Cowboys to success. However, those moments are not consistent and ultimately leave him on the outside looking in when it comes to that discourse.
Hopefully the Chargers don't get the best version of Dak when they host the Cowboys in 2023. If so, it is going to be a much tougher game against a Cowboys team that has a solid defense. That being said, having Kellen Moore in the building to help Staley game plan is going to be huge.
4. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens finally agreed to terms on a contract extension and he will be piloting the team next season and beyond. Better yet for Ravens fans, Lamar has more weapons around him with the likes of Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr. now on the team.
There definitely is room to dissect Lamar and the Ravens and how high the team's ceiling is with a running quarterback in the playoffs. That being said, there should be no argument that Lamar and the Ravens are one of the best regular-season teams in the entire sport.
Jackson has a 45-16 record as a starter in the NFL. That does not happen by accident. He is only the fourth-best quarterback the team faces in 2023 but he might just be the hardest to game plan against.
3. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
There definitely is an argument to be made that Jackson should rank above of Rodgers on this list. However, Rodgers has won two MVPs since Jackson's one and while there is a threat of regression, we have not seen it happen with the Jets yet.
Is Rodgers still at the height of his powers? Not at all. But can he still be one of the five best quarterbacks in the league with a better supporting cast in New York? Absolutely. It will be interesting to see how Rodgers gels with this Jets team but when it is all said and done, he is still the third-best QB the Chargers will face in 2023.
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Many people consider Josh Allen to be the second-best quarterback in the NFL. If he is not the second-best then he certainly is the third-best. He is one of only three quarterbacks in the league that have a definitive case to be made about being above Justin Herbert on the NFL totem pole.
And Allen isn't even the best quarterback that the Chargers have to play in 2023.
The saving grace with Allen is that he can be a tad more prone to mistakes than other elite quarterbacks. It doesn't always happen but there are moments when the Allen of old bleeds through and turns the ball over.
That being said, he can just as quickly flip the entire game on its head with his arm strength and athleticism alone. Game planning against Allen is going to be a nightmare. Thankfully the Chargers get to play the Buffalo Bills at home.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
He is the best quarterback in the league and the Chargers have to play him twice a year. You knew this before even clicking onto this article. Patrick Mahomes has had a historic start to his career and could be on his way to being one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
That being said, the Chargers have been one of the few teams that has held Mahomes at bay. He has still had his big games against LA but for the most part, the Chargers actually do a good job in keeping it close and keeping Mahomes from taking over.
The Chargers' last four losses against the Chiefs have been within one score with two of those losses coming in overtime. The Bolts are looking to flip the script this year.
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