Carson Palmer jumps four spots in Ron Jaworski’s QB rankings

Take away the interceptions, and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer hasn’t been all that bad this season.

He’s on the precipice of surmounting 2,000 yards on the season, currently having thrown for 1,913 yards through eight games, and he has 10 touchdowns to boot.

But his issue this season is glaring — his 14 interceptions have significantly injured his overall performance. Only the New York Giants’ Eli Manning has thrown more picks through the first eight weeks of the season, having thrown 15.

Each week, ESPN’s Ron Jaworski ranks the league’s quarterbacks and this week Palmer came in at No. 19 — up four spots from last week’s ranking of No. 23.

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Not surprisingly, the Denver Broncos’ Peyton Manning took Jaworski’s top spot while Case Keenum of the Houston Texans, the team the Cardinals play next, in Week 10, took No. 32.

Jaworski explains Palmer’s jump thusly:

Palmer played better in the win over Atlanta, with his 78.1 QBR mark the highest since he notched a 79.3 score to open the season. That said, the biggest cause for his rise might be the plethora of new (or relatively new) QBs in the lower ranks.

Palmer completed 13 of his 18 passes in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons, throwing two touchdowns to one interception with an improved QBR of 78.1.

He is currently 13th among NFL quarterbacks in passing yards this season, 15th in completion percentage, 14th in touchdowns and 17th in yards per game.