Tag: gross quarterbacks

Jared Goff, Deshaun Watson, Derek Carr and the grossest quarterbacks of Week 7

Goff’s MVP hopes took a massive shot in Baltimore. Just like he did. And Derek Carr, woof.

Jared Goff, welcome to the club. It’s not one you wanted to join.

The Detroit Lions’ starting quarterback had been efficient and occasionally prolific in his team’s 5-1 rise to the top of the NFC. Detroit’s offense was clicking under coordinator Ben Johnson and the retread passer, once scuttled by the Los Angeles Rams in favor of Matthew Stafford, had emerged as a potential MVP candidate.

Then the Baltimore Ravens invaded his village like a pack of Nordic barbarians, razed the progress he’d made over six weeks and reduced the Lions to ashes in Week 7. Goff had his worst game of 2023 and arguably his worst with Detroit as the Ravens cruised to a 38-6 win that was somehow not as close as that final score suggests.

But did that make him this week’s most disappointing quarterback? Fortunately, we’ve got tools to better understand just how damaging these underwhelming performances were. Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player.

By comparing each passer’s Week 7 EPA against their 2022 and 2023 combined average, we get a better picture of just how frustrating their days were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com. So let’s take a look at who disappointed the most in the seventh game (for most players) of the 2023 season.

Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow and the grossest quarterbacks of Week 6

Burrow underwhelmed in a win. Purdy, well, lost to PJ Walker.

Week 6 was a wellspring of bad quarterbacking. Roughly half the league’s starting quarterbacks slapped together below average performances through the early games Sunday.

Russell Wilson kicked off the week with an exceptionally “Thursday” Thursday night performance in an impotent game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Joe Burrow and Geno Smith each underperformed in a Cincinnati rock fight between two 2022 playoff teams. And Brock Purdy struggled without injured playmakers Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel against the Cleveland Browns’ elite defense.

That’s but a sampling of the truly gross play that inundated the league Sunday.

Who was the worst quarterback this week? Fortunately, we’ve got tools to better understand just how damaging these underwhelming performances were. Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player.

By comparing each passer’s Week 6 EPA against their 2022 and 2023 combined average, we get a better picture of just how frustrating their days were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com. So let’s take a look at who disappointed the most in the sixth game (for most players) of the 2023 season.

Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Mac Jones and the grossest quarterback performances of Week 5

Mac Jones was a disaster.

How bad is it in New England? Well, through the early games Sunday the Patriots were host to two of the four worst quarterback performances of Week 5.

That means Mac Jones was so bad he warranted replacement. And his replacement, Bailey Zappe, was so bad he made Jones look like a reasonable option. By their powers combined the New Orleans Saints handed Bill Belichick the worst home loss of his storied career.

Jones and Zappe weren’t good, but they also weren’t alone. A pair of NFL candidates also turned in regrettable performances — one in a win. So while the Patriots are the schadenfreude main course, other helpings were served up across the league.

Who was the worst quarterback this week? Fortunately, we’ve got tools to better understand just how damaging these underwhelming performances were. Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player.

By comparing each passer’s Week 5 EPA against their 2022 and 2023 combined average, we get a better picture of just how frustrating their days were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com. So let’s take a look at who disappointed the most in the fifth game of the 2023 season.

Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, Mac Jones and the grossest quarterback performances of Week 4

Burrow clearly isn’t himself. Cousins clearly is. Both these things are problems.

Kirk Cousins led the Minnesota Vikings to their first win of 2023 in Week 4. He didn’t make it look easy.

The veteran quarterback threw a pair of interceptions — both deep in enemy territory — but managed to earn a comeback victory in Charlotte. That left him as an aberration on this week’s list of worst quarterbacks. He’s the only winner among this six-man crew.

He’s not the only big name, however, nestled between the growing pains of rising quarterbacks like Jordan Love and Desmond Ridder is Joe Burrow — a preseason MVP candidate who has clearly been affected by the calf injury that stole his preseason. His inability to create throwing space and generate deep balls has been a massive detriment for a now 1-3 Cincinnati Bengals team.

Who was the worst quarterback this week? Fortunately, we’ve got tools to better understand just how damaging these underwhelming performances were. Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player.

By comparing each passer’s Week 4 EPA against their 2022 average (or the small sample size of their 2023, if they hadn’t played enough) we get a better picture of just how frustrating their days were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com. So let’s take a look at who disappointed the most in the fourth game of the 2023 season.

Desmond Ridder, Zach Wilson and the grossest quarterback performances of Week 3

Zach Wilson couldn’t even live up to Zach Wilson standards. Desmond Ridder and Sam Howell fell apart in unique ways. Ryan Tannehill, woof.

Some of the NFL’s best quarterbacks shined brightest in Week 3. Tua Tagovailoa fully dismantled the Denver Broncos. Josh Allen did the same on a smaller scale to the Washington Commanders. Justin Herbert put together a massive afternoon, then watched the Minnesota Vikings give away a win before his Los Angeles Chargers could.

The NFL is all about balance, however. These star performances were cantilevered by truly awful ones in losing — and winning! — efforts. That’s why this column exists. Now we’ve just got to figure out who truly played the grossest football of the bunch.

Who was the worst? Fortunately, we’ve got tools to better understand just how damaging these underwhelming performances were. Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player.

By comparing each passer’s Week 3 EPA against their 2022 average (or the small sample size of their 2023, if they hadn’t played enough) we get a better picture of just how frustrating their days were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com. So let’s take a look at who disappointed the most in the third game of the 2023 season.

Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson and the grossest quarterback performances of Week 2

Lawrence’s struggles kept the Jaguars out of the circle of trust. And hey, what’s going on with Joe Burrow?

Week 2 was highlighted by great quarterbacking performances. Geno Smith outdueled Jared Goff in a Michigan battle of redemption stories. Lamar Jackson gave the Baltimore Ravens an early two-game lead on the defending AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals. Baker Mayfield — Baker Mayfield! — threw for 300-plus yards for the first time since October 2021.

That is not what we’re here to discuss. We are here to celebrate the worst performances of Week 2.

There was no shortage of garbage quarterbacking last week — so much so that we went eight deep with passers who advanced stats deemed a net detriment to their offenses. But as offseason rust dissolves we found more stable performances. Teams improved to 1-1 and kept their fanbases from punching the panic button for at least one more Sunday.

Despite these improvements, there was some bad football on display in Week 2. Joe Burrow struggled for a second straight Sunday. Justin Fields’ comeback efforts against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended with an interception, sack and another interception all in a four-play span. Zach Wilson played up to expectations, which just means he threw a bunch of interceptions in a loss.

Who was the worst? Fortunately, we’ve got tools to better understand just how damaging these underwhelming performances were. Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player.

By comparing each passer’s Week 2 EPA against their 2022 average we get a better picture of just how frustrating their days were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com. So let’s take a look at who disappointed the most in the follow up to their 2023 debuts.