3 QBs who deserve to be benched after Week 16 and who’d replace them

This late in the season, it was odd to see so many quarterback changes. Some before Week 16 even kicked off, some during game action and others that should be prompted after the week’s concluded. 

Several quarterbacks showed during the early window on Sunday, they just aren’t what their team needs. For most of the teams they need more than a quarterback to even begin to turn the season around. 

Nonetheless, the quarterback is always the most scrutinized position on the field, next to the head coach. So here’s who needs to be benched because, well let’s be honest. Several teams severely need an upgrade at quarterback. And several teams have nothing to lose by making a switch under center. 

3. Philadelphia Eagles fans pleaded for Kenny Pickett and they realized he’s not the answer they thought he was. 

The saying goes: Go with the devil you know over the one you don’t know. Now that’s not say that Jalen Hurts or even Kenny Pickett are the devil. But what it means is Philadelphia fans were reminded that without Hurts, there’s a drop-off under center. 

And after Philly fans got what they pleaded for in Kenny Pickett leading the charge, they were reminded why their in-state rival, Pittsburgh, sent him away. It’s even funnier they made it the Eagles’ problems. 

Where Pickett struggled — and why if Hurts doesn’t clear concussion protocol before Week 17, Tanner McKee should get the start — was that he didn’t do enough to ice the game for the Eagles. 

While they tried to run the clock out, Pickett needed to put together a good enough drive. Instead, he got outplayed by a rookie quarterback and lost the game. He finished with 143 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

The defense forced a late interception and the Eagles failed to get a first down. On top of that, they didn’t score a touchdown in the second half and had 12 points off field goals. 

Yes, the offense was always going to drop off with a new quarterback thrust into the lineup. But Pickett’s inability to turn drives into touchdowns should be enough of an alarm to Nick Sirianni to consider McKee. 

He may not be the answer either, but he could be a better option than Pickett while Hurts gets healthy. 

2. After being stuck with Drew Lock, New York Giants fans are probably missing Daniel Jones

The New York Giants seem to be in a worse position without Daniel Jones than with him. Because entering Sunday, neither Lock nor Tommy DeVito had a passing touchdown in a game. Lock finally ended that streak with the Giants’ lone touchdown pass against the Atlanta Falcons. 

That said, the Giants have absolutely no reason to stick with Lock. They could go to DeVito to close out the season and give him one final curtain call to the fan base, but aside from that, there’s now much else to do. 

Lock has been disappointing to say the least in New York and Sunday proved he probably doesn’t deserve to be on the field any more. The Giants’ offense has regressed since they moved on from Jones. 

And while none of the rostered quarterbacks were ever going to be the answer, Sunday solidified it’s certainly not Lock. The Giants lost their 10th straight game and were blown out in Michael Penix Jr.’s first NFL start. 

The NFL Draft can’t come soon enough for New York. They’ll have their eyes on their replacement and whether it’s Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. 

1. The Jameis Winston Experience proved to us it wasn’t all that bad after another bad Dorian Thompson-Robinson performance

Dorian Thompson-Robinson has shown us exactly who he is. And why Kevin Stefanski keeps going back to him as if something will change is puzzling. In Cleveland's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Thompson-Robinson had 157 yards and two interceptions with no touchdowns. 

What makes that bad is, at least we know Jameis Winston would have thrown in a few touchdowns with about 300-plus yards. The Browns clearly have a quarterback problem, but cycling through the entire quarterback depth chart isn’t going to make anything better. 

The idea, at least what it appeared to be, was to hope Thompson-Robinson would solve the turnover issue Winston had while still being productive. Yet the offense regressed after making yet another switch. 

This needs to be a one-game decision for Stefanski and the Browns. Because let’s call it how it is, the Browns’ season is over. Nothing done now will change how this season unraveled in front of our eyes. 

Thompson-Robinson is a good runner, but he’s injury prone and on the smaller side as a quarterback. He’s not a great passer, he turns the ball over. There may not be much left in this season, but it’s certainly pointless to continue playing him when it solves nothing.