Week 6 of the NFL season began with perhaps the most surprising upset of the season thus far as the New York Giants shocked the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football to earn their second win of the season. Sure, the Eagles hadn't quite played up to their standards entering Thursday's action, but not only did the Giants beat them, but they doubled their score, winning 34-17. Nobody could've realistically expected to see that.
It goes without saying that the early slate on Sunday wasn't nearly as exciting as Thursday's action. It began with the Denver Broncos beating the New York Jets in perhaps the worst game of football to be played, and I wouldn't really say there were any upsets.
As for the quarterback play, Jaxson Dart played his heart out on Thursday, and guys like Justin Herbert and Dak Prescott played well in the early slate on Sunday, but there were some truly poor performances as well. Not everyone who played poorly deserves to be benched, but these four quarterbacks certainly do.
Backup quarterback who might've already lost his job
Cooper Rush, Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens' defense played easily its best game of the season, holding a talented Los Angeles Rams offense to just 17 points, but that didn't even matter, as the Ravens were held to three points. There isn't much the defense can do when the offense puts up a total of three points.
Cooper Rush started his second straight game with Lamar Jackson on the sidelines, and it goes without saying that things did not go well. He completed 11 of his 19 pass attempts for 72 yards and an interception. He even committed a costly fumble. The Ravens replaced him with Tyler Huntley who, while he might not be a long-term solution, looked like a much better fit in this Ravens offense than Rush has all year.
The hope is that after a much-needed bye, Jackson will be healthy and ready to go in Week 8 when the Ravens take on the Chicago Bears. If, for whatever reason, Jackson is unable to play, it's pretty clear Huntley should leapfrog Rush on the depth chart and start. The fact that John Harbaugh made the move suggests that Rush might've lost his job whether Jackson comes back or not.
Replacement: Lamar Jackson/Tyler Huntley
Rookie quarterback who looked overmatched
Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns
Dillon Gabriel gave Cleveland Browns fans some hope in his first NFL start in Week 5. His numbers didn't light up the screen as he completed just 57.5 percent of his throws and had less than 200 passing yards, but he had two touchdown passes, didn't turn the football over, and kept the Browns in the game. They lost, but Gabriel certainly did his job. The same cannot be said about Week 6.
Gabriel did not turn the ball over, which is good, but just about everything else went poorly for the youngster. He completed just 29 of his 52 (!) pass attempts (55.8 percent) for 221 yards, and he took six sacks. It's really hard for a quarterback to average just 4.3 yards per attempt, but that's what Gabriel did.
I understand the circumstances. The Browns don't have much to work with offensively at all, and he had to face a talented Mike Tomlin-led defense that usually has its way against rookie quarterbacks. Still, while Gabriel didn't turn the ball over, he looked overmatched out there. The Browns probably won't bench him after one lackluster game, but it might be worth giving another rookie, Shedeur Sanders, a look.
Replacement: Shedeur Sanders
Overpaid veteran with no future on his team
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins fell to 1-4 in Week 5, but Tua Tagovailoa genuinely played well in the defeat even without Tyreek Hill, giving fans some hope that perhaps he'd go on a nice run. That optimism waned in record time on Sunday. Tagovailoa threw an interception on his first pass attempt of the day, and just never got it going. Say what you want about the Chargers' defense being potent, but Tagovailoa simply has to play better than he did.
Tagovailoa went 21-for-32 passing for 205 yards. He threw a touchdown pass, but that first-quarter interception was one of three picks Tagovailoa threw on the day. One of them did admittedly come in the last play of the game when the Dolphins had virtually no shot of coming back anyway, but it's really hard to turn the ball over three times, especially with Justin Herbert on the other side, and expect to win.
Will the Dolphins bench Tagovailoa for this performance? Probably not, and his contract has a lot to do with that decision. It's becoming abundantly clear, though, that he is not the answer in Miami, as the Dolphins fell to 1-5 with the defeat. The Dolphins might as well see what their offense looks like with someone else running the show now, and Zach Wilson is the next man up.
Replacement: Zach Wilson
Failed experiment on its last legs
Justin Fields, New York Jets
The New York Jets hoped that, at the very least, Justin Fields would be a serviceable placeholder at the quarterback position until they find their long-term solution under center. After Week 1, there was reason to believe Fields was the solution long-term. After Week 6, it's hard to believe that Fields has a starting job to begin with.
Fields played perhaps the worst game I've ever seen a starting quarterback play. Harsh? Maybe, but the stats back it up. He went 9-for-17 passing for 45 total yards. He took nine sacks and lost 55 yards on those sacks. That's right, the Jets had -10 passing yards in London. There's no shame in getting beat by an elite Denver Broncos defense, but there absolutely is shame in recording -10 passing yards in an entire NFL game. I mean, how is that even possible?
Head coach Aaron Glenn has made it clear that Fields won't be losing his job yet, but that doesn't mean he's making the right decision. Tyrod Taylor might not be the future in New York, but he's an experienced veteran who undoubtedly can run the offense better than Fields right now. Sticking with Fields puts the Jets in a worse position to win football games and also risks upsetting the locker room as the Jets now sit at 0-6.