Aaron Rodgers and 3 quarterbacks who should be benched after Week 13

New York Jets fans thought Aaron Rodgers was going to be their savior. They were merely a quarterback away from being at the very least, a playoff team for the first time in a decade. Unfortunately, they couldn't have been more wrong.

In addition to all of the drama he has caused, Rodgers has looked like the 40-year-old that he is (for one more day). He had struggled mightily entering New York's Week 13 game against the Seattle Seahawks, and his play on Sunday wasn't much better than what Jets fans have seen all year.

Sure, he had two passing touchdowns, but he also completed just 21 of his 39 passes (53.8 percent) for 185 yards and he threw a pick-six. Garrett Wilson had just five receptions for 41 yards, the connection with Davante Adams continues to be sporadic at best, and to top it all off, Rodgers failed to convert on yet another game-winning drive.

Is Tyrod Taylor better than Rodgers? Maybe not, but what's the point of starting Rodgers at this point? The Jets are 3-9, have clinched their ninth straight losing season, and will almost certainly miss the playoffs. Rodgers might want to come back for 2025, but the Jets shouldn't want any part of him. Ripping the band-aid off now is better than waiting until later. It won't happen, but it should.

Rodgers is just one of several quarterbacks who struggled in Week 13 to the point where they need to see the bench.

3) Kirk Cousins is making it hard to resist seeing what Michael Penix can do

The Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a massive four-year deal, hoping he'd be the quarterback to lead them to a Super Bowl win. Much like Rodgers, he was hoping to rebound coming off a torn Achilles. Things have been better for Cousins and the Falcons than they have for Rodgers and the Jets, but Sunday's game was a rough one for Kirk and Co.

The Falcons defense did its job, holding Justin Herbert and the Chargers to just 17 points. You'd think holding the opposition to 17 points with Cousins and a lot of talented skill-position players would be enough to win, but that was not the case. The Falcons fell 17-13, and Cousins was a big reason why.

Cousins completed 24 of his 39 passes for 245 yards. That in itself isn't awful, but the fact that he didn't have a single passing touchdown and threw four - yes, four - interceptions certainly is. Cousins now has 17 passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions on the year.

Sticking with Cousins is almost certainly what Raheem Morris will elect to do, and it's hard to blame him fully, but the Falcons did just draft Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Games like this one have to make it at least a little tempting to see what the rookie can do. It can't be much worse than what we just saw.

2) The Cowboys gain nothing by starting Cooper Rush

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants to win their second game in a row. The problem, though, is that they're 5-7 on the year. Sure, their season isn't mathematically over, but what are the odds that this team will actually make the playoffs with Dak Prescott sidelined for the remainder of the season? The answer is quite low.

Cooper Rush has started four games in Prescott's absence and, to his credit, hasn't been horrible in three of the four. He's worthy of being the team's starter with Prescott out, and gives the Cowboys a better chance to win than if they were to start Trey Lance, but what does the organization gain, here?

Rush has proven he's a capable backup, but he's never going to start in Dallas as long as Prescott is healthy. He's 31 years old and will be a free agent at the end of the year. Chances are, Rush will look to land somewhere without having to play behind one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL history.

Plus, Rush gives the Cowboys a better chance to win than Lance. With their season practically over, getting a better draft pick is more valuable than earning a couple of meaningless regular season wins. Rush deserves to start and likely will, but the Cowboys gain more by seeing what Trey Lance can do, and they can finally get a real look at the player that they inexplicably traded a fourth-round pick to acquire.

1) Drew Lock should be benched if Tommy DeVito is healthy

The New York Giants made a surprising decision, starting Tommy DeVito over Drew Lock in place of the soon-to-be-released Daniel Jones. This was surprising mainly because Lock had slotted ahead of DeVito on New York's depth chart all season behind Jones.

DeVito's first start of the season went poorly, and he wound up suffering an injury at the end of that game, which forced him to miss Thursday's game against Rush's Cowboys. Lock started in his place and while things went a bit better for him than they did for DeVito, he wasn't stellar either.

Similarly to Rush, the Giants gain practically nothing by starting Lock at this point. Sure, he might be a bit better than DeVito, but the Giants are 2-10 on the year. Their focus should be on 2025 and beyond. That means starting a player like DeVito, a 26-year-old who might play well enough to earn a backup quarterback spot on their roster next year, instead of Lock, a 28-year-old who will be a free agent after the year.

DeVito gives the Giants a better chance to lose than Lock based on what we've seen in their starts this season (which is a good thing), and DeVito has more of a chance to be with the organization in 2025 and beyond. If he's healthy, he should get the nod over Lock.