We saw some of the worst NFL quarterback performances of the season during Week 9 action. Rookie Clayton Tune led his Arizona Cardinals to less than 60 total yards of offense in a 27-0 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Remaining in the NFC West, Brett Rypien was a disaster in replacing an injured Matthew Stafford in a blowout Los Angeles Rams loss to the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, Geno Smith’s struggles continued for the Seattle Seahawks.
These are among the five worst NFL quarterback performances from Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season.
Related: Ranking all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks
Clayton Tune, Arizona Cardinals
- Clayton Tune stats (Week 9): 11-of-20 passing, 58 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
Arizona’s decision to bench, and then ultimately trade Joshua Dobbs, will be under a microscope for some time now. As Dobbs was leading his new Minnesota Vikings team to a surprise win, Tune put up one of the worst quarterback performances we’ve seen in some time.
Facing relentless pressure from Cleveland’s defense, the rookie fifth-round pick was sacked a whopping seven times. He finished with a mere 17 net passing yards on 20 attempts. You read that right. Less than a yard per pass. From a broader context, Arizona tallied 58 total yards and seven first downs in setting NFL offenses back decades. The good news? Kyler Murray is nearing a return to the field. The bad news? Arizona finds itself at 1-8 and as the worst team in the NFL heading into Week 10.
Related: NFL offfense rankings after Week 9
Tyson Bagent, Chicago Bears
- Tyson Bagent stats (Week 9): 18-of-30 passing, 220 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
The good feelings that came with Bagent leading Chicago to a win in his debut as a starter back in Week 7 has given into reality. The undrafted free agent from Shepherd threw two interceptions in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
With Justin Fields still sidelined to injury on Sunday, Bagent put up the worst performance of his career. That included throwing three interceptions and turning the ball over four times in a 24-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. A game that the Bears were within striking distance was impacted by the youngster’s turnover-prone ways.
Bagent’s four turnovers resulted in a total of 10 points for the Saints in what was a mere touchdown game. We should expect struggles from a rookie quarterback who played against less-than-stellar competition in college. But Bagent’s turnovers doomed the Bears as he put up one of the worst NFL quarterback performances from Week 9.
Brett Rypien, Los Angeles Rams
- Brett Rypien stats (Week 9): 13-of-28 passing, 130 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
An undrafted free agent out of Boise State back in 2019, Rypien has not been anywhere near a starter-caliber quarterback in the NFL. In fact, he entered Sunday’s action against the Green Bay Packers having thrown four touchdowns compared to eight interceptions in nine career games (two starts).
So, it was not necessarily a surprise that Rypien struggled on the road against what is a good Packers defense in what was ultimately an ugly 20-3 loss. Taking over for an injured Matthew Stafford, Rypien turned the ball over two times in Los Angeles’ most-recent loss.
As with Bagent, the turnovers accounted for 10 Packers points in what was not necessarily as lopsided of a game as the final score would indicate. The only saving grace here is the fact that Rams head coach Sean McVay believes Stafford will be able to return for the 3-6 Rams against Seattle following their Week 10 bye.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
- Bryce Young stats (Week 9): 24-of-39 passing, 173 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
The Carolina Panthers are not good enough to win when their quarterback turns the ball over three times. Heck, most teams aren’t good enough. But when two of those turnovers result in pick-sixes from the opposing team, it’s an exercise in futility to compete.
“Offensively, it happens. And as a quarterback, it happens. I told Bryce in there that I’ve seen the best quarterbacks in the game have way worse games than this. Way worse,” Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich after the game. “So you don’t flinch. In some ways, it’s good for him to go through this. In some ways, it’s good to have to bounce back after something like this.”
Unfortunately, there have been too many of these games for Young. The rookie No. 1 pick has accounted for eight touchdowns and nine giveaways roughly half way through his first NFL season. While Sunday’s performance was brutal, perhaps it can act as a learning experience.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
- Geno Smith stats (Week 9): 13-of-28 passing, 157 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Smith threw an interception and lost a fumble in Sunday’s brutal 37-3 road loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He also completed well less than 50% of his passes while averaging 5.6 yards per attempt. In no way is this going to cut it.
For Smith, it’s just the continuation of major recent struggles. The reigning NFL Comeback Player of the Year has accounted for four touchdowns and eight giveaways over the past four games. Dating back to Week 12 of last season, that split stands at 22 touchdowns and 18 giveaways in 15 starts. One now has to wonder whether the first half of last season was a fluke for a quarterback who was nothing more than a journeyman leading up to the 2022 campaign.