3 NFL quarterbacks who should be benched after Week 8
By John Buhler
These NFL starting quarterbacks did not get it done in the early-afternoon window in Week 8.
As it is every weekend, there are at least three NFL starting quarterbacks who played badly enough to merit being benched the following week.
While some quarterbacks are not going to be benched because they just had a bad game and the gap between he and his backup is cavernous, there are other signal-callers out there who might be rapidly approaching clipboard-holding duties. The only thing that matters in this league is winning on Sundays, and these three quarterbacks were reasons why their teams all lost.
Here are three quarterbacks who need to either ride some pine get better fast for next Sunday.
3 NFL quarterbacks who played badly enough to be benched after Week 9
44. Scouting Report. QB. Atlanta Falcons. Matt Ryan. 3. player. Pick Analysis
Matt Ryan had a busted left hand, but he needed to play better vs. Carolina
The Atlanta Falcons were playing well and quarterback Matt Ryan was playing great for the last month. Unfortunately, he got his left hand stepped on vs. the Carolina Panthers early in the ballgame and he was a shell of himself vs. a very winnable opponent. Carolina was reeling and Atlanta needed to assert its dominance at home and blew it. The Falcons lost to Carolina, 19-13.
Ryan might have been bleeding like a pig after getting his left hand stepped on, but he had two terrible interceptions and fumbled the ball vs. a feisty Carolina defense. Though he completed 20-of-27 passes, he only threw for 154 yards on the afternoon, averaging a pitiful 5.4 yards per passing attempt in a division game. Sam Darnold did not play well either, but Ryan was worse.
No, Ryan is not getting benched because head coach Arthur Smith is not about to start Josh Rosen under any circumstances. However, this game was a referendum on the Atlanta offense and their run defense. This was a grind-it-out type of game and Atlanta came up short in its defensive battle because its former NFL MVP starting quarterback played like a guy who has lost his fastball.
For a tortured Atlanta fanbase, Ryan sacrificed this game so the Braves can win the World Series.