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Ten worst QB performances from NFL Week 13

Eli Manning

For one quarterback, NFL Week 13 will be remembered for nothing but good reasons. Tom Brady became the winningest quarterback in NFL history.

Unfortunately, plenty of quarterbacks found themselves on the complete opposite side of the coin. NFL Week 13 produced a number of dismal performances from the league’s top signal callers, giving us plenty of performances to choose from.

Drew Brees is a future Hall of Famer. So, what did he do to earn a spot on this list? What about MVP candidate Matt Ryan? Why was Blake Bortles’ game against Denver’s famed “No Fly Zone” defense especially bad?

Who produced the worst QB performances from NFL Week 13?

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

The circumstances were certainly in Brees’ favor on Sunday. Win or lose, we can always count on a big day from Brees in The Superdome, right?

The Detroit Lions put a fly in the ointment of that particular theory on Sunday.

In addition to not throwing a touchdown pass, Brees threw three interceptions. He did throw for 326 yards, but needed 31 passes on 44 attempts to get that total. Obviously, that’s not the kind of efficiency that we’ve come to expect from Brees, especially at home.

As a result, Detroit got to experience the rarest of all things — a win that did not require a fourth quarter comeback. Against Brees in New Orleans, that was not exactly predictable.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

NFL Week 13, Matt Ryan

Statistically, Ryan had an average day against the Kansas City Chiefs. He did throw for a solid 297 yards, picking those yards up with a bland 22-of-34 performance.

But Ryan makes this list because of two mistakes that quite frankly, an NFL quarterback can’t make — especially one as good as Ryan.

The first came in the second quarter. After Atlanta had led for most of the first half, Kansas City tied the game midway through the second quarter. The Chiefs then took their first lead of the day on a pick-six from Eric Berry on a terrible read by Ryan (watch here).

The Falcons climbed back to take another lead. But thanks to another Ryan to Berry connection, the lead was short lived.

Following a touchdown, Atlanta hoped to gain a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Ryan, his pass was nabbed by Berry, who sprinted 100 yards to the other end zone for two points (watch here).

So, that’s nine points that Ryan handed directly to his opponent. That simply can’t happen, especially in a close game.

Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars

Bortles against the Denver defense wasn’t exactly a fair fight. In fact, it often resembled Shaquille O’Neal battling in the low post against Muggsy Bogues.

The Jacksonville quarterback was 19-for-42. On its own, that kind of mediocrity would have landed Bortles a spot on this list with flying colors. But Bortles didn’t stop there.

He threw two interceptions. The second of those picks was returned for a Broncos touchdown (watch here).

Stunningly, the Jaguars remained competitive for most of the game. That all changed when Bortles committed his third turnover. From there, Denver ran most of the clock out and kicked the game clinching field goal.

Bortles’ game certainly wasn’t surprising, which is part of the problem. This was supposed to be his breakout year. Any quarterback can have a bad game (see Ryan and Brees), but when it consistently happens to a team’s supposed franchise quarterback, it should be surprising. With Bortles, games like this have been common and predictable.

Paxton Lynch, Denver Broncos

Of course, Bortles’ outing gets worse when we consider that it was a winnable game. That was largely due to an ineffective Denver offense, led by Lynch.

The Broncos won the game but handily lost the yardage (333-206) and time of possession (34:34-25:26) battles. Lynch didn’t turn the ball over, but he finished the game 12-for-24, passing for only 104 yards. With even an average performance from Lynch, Denver would have routed Jacksonville.

Lynch — who was taken in the first round as a quarterback of the future — has struggled mightily during his two NFL starts. In those two games, Lynch is 35-for-59 for 327 yards with one touchdown, one interception, and a 73.2 quarterback rating. Not exactly what anyone wants to see from a potential franchise quarterback.

Games like this from Lynch serve as a reminder that despite his struggles, Trevor Siemian is clearly the No. 1 starter in Denver.

Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert, San Francisco 49ers

Colin Kaepernick

A bad weather game between the 49ers and Chicago Bears was going to produce some awful quarterback play. We got that early, when the two teams played the opening quarter without completing a pass.

Matt Barkley eventually worked his way into an average day, though, going 11-of-18 for 192 yards. Chicago’s quarterback was far better than San Francisco’s dynamic duo.

Kaepernick started the game and went 1-for-5, passing for all of four yards. He was eventually benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert, who finished the game at 4-for-10 for 35 yards, getting sacked for a safety to top things off.

To be completely fair, the performances cannot be pinned squarely on the quarterbacks. Passing in a snowstorm is always tough. The offensive line also didn’t hold up its end of the bargain, surrendering six sacks.

But Kaepernick and Gabbert can’t be exonerated, either. The two combined for 39 passing yards. That, along with the six sacks for 33 yards, gave San Francisco a net passing total of six yards. Six!

Both men are set to hit free agent market following the season. If nothing else, this game served as a warning for cold weather teams considering signing either quarterback.

Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams

When you’re a rookie quarterback headed into Foxborough for a date with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, you can’t lead a one-dimensional offense.

Unfortunately, it had to be just that for Goff and the Rams. An early 17-0 Patriots lead effectively took the run away from the Rams. The results were ugly.

Goff finished the day going 14-of-32 for 161 yards, one garbage time touchdown and two interceptions.

He couldn’t establish any rhythm until the very end of the game. By that point, the outcome had been decided.

At 0-3 since taking over for Case Keenum, the No. 1 pick has yet to record a win. While Goff has a long way to go, we can certainly say that he hasn’t been a smashing success, either.

Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles

Wentz’s day against the Cincinnati Bengals can be divided into two parts. Unfortunately for he Eagles, neither part was anything special.

As the Bengals were building a 29-0 lead, Wentz was 10-for-22 for 118 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. From that point on, Wentz was 26-for-38, passing for 190 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Carson WentzIn total, that’s a 36-for-60, 308 yard, one touchdown, three interception performance.

Wentz’s rookie season has featured a few unquestioned positives. One clear negative, though, has been his inability to throw the ball downfield. Week 13 in Cincinnati was a perfect example of that.

A 308-yard game looks great, especially for a rookie quarterback on the road. But if you’re completing 36-of-60 attempts, you should be well above 308 yards. As it is, Wentz averaged just over five yards per passing attempt.

Worse is that while the Bengals were running away with the game, Wentz was doing next to nothing. Like his fellow first rounders Goff and Lynch, Wentz had a week of growing pains.

Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins

While Tannehill’s play during Miami’s six-game winning streak didn’t remind anyone in Miami of the Dan Marino era, the quarterback’s play was solid.

By comparison, Sunday’s performance against the Baltimore Ravens was purely dreadful.

Tannehill simply could not find any rhythm in a game that was never remotely competitive. He did manage one touchdown pass, but that came in the fourth quarter with the Dolphins trailing 24-0. Not exactly coming through in crunch time.

Unlike the last few years, these late games are meaningful for Tannehill and his team. Miami entered the game in a playoff spot. No-showing any game is bad, especially when you’re on a contender late in the year. But the Ravens and Dolphins could end up vying for the same playoff spot at season’s end. Should that happen, Baltimore now has the tiebreaker.

All things considered, Tannehill’s performance wasn’t just bad — it was unacceptable.

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

Rivers finished the day going 15-of-26, passing for 225 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. That’s certainly well below his standard. But in case anyone has any doubt as to whether Rivers deserved a place on this list, we have to look at those two interceptions.

The first came late in the third quarter with San Diego leading 14-10. Rivers threw not only a pick but a pick-six to Lavonte David.

Then, with a chance to tie late, Rivers made a dangerous pass that he didn’t need to make on a 2nd-and-1. Keith Tandy came down with the ball for Tampa’s second interception, sealing the game.

In a game decided by seven points, two Rivers turnovers provided a potential 14-point swing. That’s certainly a rough afternoon for a veteran quarterback.

Eli Manning, New York Giants

Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers can be overwhelming on occasion, especially at Heinz Field. That was not the case on Sunday. Big Ben was 24-of-36, passing for 289 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while the team scored 24 points.

It was a fairly modest pace. Eli Manning and company just couldn’t keep up.

The Giants were shut out until midway through the third quarter, when New York benefited from a short field set up by a Le’Veon Bell fumble.

Manning added another touchdown in the final seconds. But outside of fantasy football, it had zero impact. Manning finished the game 24-of-39 with 195 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Losing a shootout would have been one thing. But the New York offense just couldn’t keep up with a modest effort from its opponent. In a playoff race, that’s a bad look for a battle tested quarterback.

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