Six worst QB performances from NFL Week 6

If we had to use one word to describe the quarterback play in NFL Week 6, it would be surprising.

The relative competence of the play we saw was somewhat of a shock, especially given the overall mediocrity that we’ve seen around the league throughout 2016.

With that said, the poor play of a few signal callers in Week 6 was also surprising. The struggles of a few future Hall of Fame quarterbacks were undeniable. The same can be said about a few younger guys who have been rock solid throughout the 2016 season.

Which quarterbacks turned in the worst performances of NFL Week 6?

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

A general rule of thumb for defenses playing Aaron Rodgers is that they have to apply pressure. Yes, Rodgers may make plays anyway, but if he’s given time there’s no maybe about it.

At least, that’s normally the case. Things didn’t quite work out that way against the Dallas Cowboys, though.

The Packers kept Rodgers fairly clean. He just couldn’t make the plays.

The Green Bay offense is just off. Rodgers did throw for 294 yards on Sunday, but he needed 31 completions to get there. A Rodgers interception set up a Cowboys field goal, while a fumble ended a long, potential scoring drive.

Even when Dak Prescott’s first career interception set the Packers up with a short field and a chance to get back in the game, Rodgers and the Green Bay offense turned it into only three points.

Rodgers is a two-time MVP and will certainly end up in Canton at the end of his career. He just hasn’t looked like a legend in 2016. If the Packers are going to be title contenders or even make the playoffs, Rodgers has to be much better than we’ve seen so far.

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

With Roethlisberger, we have to unfortunately start with the fact that he was hurt in this game. The injury not only hobbled him against the Miami Dolphins, but will keep him out of action for a while.

That explains some what happened on Sunday, but not all of it.

In truth, he wasn’t playing that well before the injury. In fact, a great deal of Big Ben’s positive stats (including his lone touchdown pass) came late, well after he returned to the field.

The Steelers seem to be on the wrong side of at least a few baffling upsets per season. So, while the Dolphins have struggled in 2016, this result was at least somewhat predictable.

But Roethlisberger going 19-for-34 for 189 yards with one touchdown and two picks? If you predicted anything like that, you should be buying lottery tickets.

Against even a great defense, a game like this is well below Roethlisberger’s standard. Miami’s defense is far from great.

The Steelers’ quarterback started slow and never worked his way into a groove.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers

Looking at the positives first, Kaepernick ran the ball reasonably well. He ran for 66 yards on eight carries, and on a few occasions he showed the combination of strength and speed that once made him an unquestioned star.

Unfortunately, a quarterback has to throw the ball, too. In that aspect, Kaepernick struggled.

Now, he was unquestionably better than Blaine Gabbert. Kaepernick didn’t throw any interceptions and generally put the ball where only his teammates could get it. Unfortunately a quarterback can be much better than Gabbert and still nowhere near good enough.

Really, that best explains Kaepernick’s performance against the Buffalo Bills.

In total, Kap was only 13-for-29. He also threw for a mere 187 yards, with 53 coming on one touchdown pass. Even that touchdown pass can be scrutinized. Torrey Smith will never be more wide open, but Kaepernick significantly under threw his speedy receiver.

The fact that Smith still scored says more about Buffalo’s defense on that play than anything.

Certainly, the conditions weren’t ideal. Kaepernick hasn’t played or practice much over the last year and New Era Field was quite windy.

But even with all of that in mind, Kaepernick’s performances will need to get much better.

Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles

The good news for Wentz is that he didn’t throw an interception. Unfortunately, he didn’t throw a touchdown pass, either. In fact, like the Philadelphia offense, Wentz didn’t do much of anything.

The Eagles scored only two touchdowns — one on a kickoff return, another on an interception. The Eagles were also outdone by the Washington Redskins by more than 2-to-1 in both total yards (493-239) and first downs (26-12).

Wentz completed only half of his passes, going 11-for-22 for 179 yards.

To be completely fair, Washington put constant pressure on the rookie quarterback. Certainly, Wentz wasn’t the only player in green to struggle.

Still, the quarterback is the leader of the team and certainly the offense. Despite the struggles of Philadelphia’s players, this was a winnable game. In games like this, a quarterback needs to rally his team. Wentz didn’t do that.

The Eagles and Redskins both appear to be in competition for the NFC East crown, a wild card berth, or both. Philadelphia needed a big game from its quarterback.

Instead, Wentz put out a completely forgettable effort.

Trevor Siemian, Denver Broncos

The good news for Denver’s quarterback is that he completed 30 passes on Thursday Night Football. The bad news? Well, just about everything else he did.

Siemian didn’t throw any interceptions, but needed a staggering 50 attempts to complete those 30 passes. Despite completing 30 passes, Siemian threw for only 230 yards.

As a frame of reference, Marcus Mariota threw for 284 yards on Sunday while completing only 17 passes. Siemian’s totals work out to rather bland averages of 4.6 yards per attempt, and 7.7 per completion.

Siemian may well develop more throughout his career. But at this point, he’s a game manager.

Granted, Siemian may generally be smart enough to avoid interceptions. Still, he’s not Tom Brady, either. When he is forced to throw anything remotely close to 50 passes, far too many are going to fall innocently to the ground.

More often than not, the Broncos aren’t going to win those games, either.

Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders

Generally speaking, Carr has been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks this season. In Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs, though, that was not the case.

Things were going Oakland’s way early. The Raiders led 7-0 early and looked to add to that lead when Carr dropped back and threw downfield to Michael Crabtree. Unfortunately for Oakland, that play didn’t go well.

That set up a short field for Kansas City which eventually resulted in a touchdown.

Later in the game, a Carr fumble ended a drive that had gone deep into Chiefs’ territory. Who knows how differently this game goes without those turnovers?

Carr finished with a rather underwhelming stat line of 22-for-34 for 225 yards, one touchdown and one interception. When not targeting Amari Cooper, Carr was 12-for-20 for 96 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. That works out to a 67.9 passer rating. The Raiders have too many weapons for Carr to be so one dimensional.

Oakland’s quarterback has been strong this season. But in Week 6, his effort left a lot to be desired.