While Week 2 of the NFL season provided an absurd number of jaw-dropping performances, a few quarterbacks delivered some of the worst stat lines we’ll see this year.
In a week where 10 passers finished with a 100-plus quarterback rating, the likes of Carson Wentz and Daniel Jones weren’t even remotely close to matching those marks. While a bad game doesn’t always guarantee a loss on Sunday, few teams are lucky enough to escape with a victory when their quarterback turns the ball over and can’t hit open receivers.
We saw that on full display with the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and so many others. On a day when their peers shined, some signal-callers fell flat on their face. Here are the five worst quarterback performances from Week 2 of the NFL season.
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
If the Eagles made Jalen Hurts the new backup quarterback in Week 2 to motivate Wentz, the plan backfired. Coming off a disastrous Week 1 performance, Wentz at least had the excuse of playing behind a horrendous offensive line in the season-opening loss. Philadelphia did a much better job of protecting him on Sunday and it didn’t make a difference.
Facing the Los Angeles Rams, Wentz threw two interceptions for the second consecutive week. Even more alarming than his habit of throwing the football to the wrong team, he’s missing nearly as many throws as he completes. The Eagles’ star connected on 26-of-43 attempts in Week 2, bringing his completion rate to 58.8% through two starts. Meanwhile, he is averaging just 6.02 yards per attempt and leading an offense that can’t move the football. If Wentz’s struggles continue in Week 3, there’s no one else to blame but the quarterback.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking the NFL’s best teams each week
Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears
The Bears were loving life in the first half of Sunday’s game. The defense erased the New York Giants and Chicago’s offense was moving, with Trubisky throwing two touchdowns early. Everything felt right for head coach Matt Nagy and it looked like this team’s quarterback woes were over. As it always does, reality came roaring back in Chicago.
Of Trubisky’s 190 passing yards, only 31 of them came in the second half. He also threw two interceptions in the final quarters, leading to points for the Giants. As for Trubisky’s first touchdown, credit David Montgomery for turning a floating pass into an unbelievable score. You can look at Trubisky’s first-half quarterback rating (136.1) and be impressed, but history tells us his second-half stats are a better indicator of his abilities.
Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers
Bridgewater landed a sizable contract this offseason with the Panthers confident he could be their starter. In terms of a supporting cast, pairing offensive coordinator Joe Brady with a crew of weapons that includes Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson is outstanding. Unfortunately, Bridgewater isn’t making the most of this golden opportunity.
Yes, he threw for 367 passing yards in Week 2 and came out of the first two games with 637 passing yards and a 72.3% completion rate. However, Bridgewater turned the ball over three times on Sunday and the Panthers paid the price in a 41-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If McCaffrey’s ankle injury is serious, Carolina will be asking Bridgewater to do even more. If that happens, he must start protecting the football.
NFL Week 3: Previewing next week’s top games
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
We saw signs of greatness from Jones in Week 1, mixed with a few baffling decisions and poor throws. The Giants knew there would be rough moments with their 23-year-old quarterback and they saw the worst in Jones in Week 2. Facing the Bears, New York’s second-year quarterback made even more mistakes on Sunday.
A 62.5% completion rate is far from ideal, but it’s worse when the quarterback averages 6.01 yards per attempt. Unsurprisingly, Jones also threw an interception and lost a fumble. It’s become an alarming trend during his first 15 NFL starts. Jones has the second-most turnovers (27) in the NFL since the start of the 2019 season and the most per game by a Super Bowl era quarterback in their first five seasons, per The Ringer.
With Saquon Barkley likely out for the season, snapping the one-game streak of Jones playing with his full cast of weapons, things will get worse. The blame doesn’t all fall on Jones, but he’ll shorten his NFL career if he doesn’t stop giving the ball away.
Dwayne Haskins, Washington Football Team
When Haskins is throwing the football to Terry McLaurin, great things happen. The exciting quarterback-receiver duo connected for 125 receiving yards and a score in Week 2, giving Washington’s fans a reason to feel good in a one-sided defeat. Outside of McLaurin, the rest of Haskins’ performance was tough to watch.
A big part of the problem is the supporting cast. Washington uses a former quarterback, Logan Thomas, at tight end and is trotting out a below-average offensive line. Arizona racked up four sacks and eight quarterback hits on Sunday, getting into Haskins’ head. Washington’s conservative offense saves Haskins from worse stats, but completing 19-of-33 attempts for 223 yards isn’t pretty to witness. This is a make-or-break year for Haskins and if he doesn’t improve, even in an offense that doesn’t help him out, Washington might consider replacements in 2021.