3 NFL quarterbacks who should be benched after Week 8

1. Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

One of the most difficult situations a coach can face is having a team that is ready to win but is being held back by his quarterback. The Steelers find themselves in this exact predicament as Kenny Pickett hasn't taken the second-year leap most were hoping for, entering Week 8 with a 4-2 record but a mediocre statistical profile as he is completing fewer passes now than he did as a rookie, seeing his completion percentage drop from 63 percent to 60.9.

Pickett left today's game with a rib injury and Pittsburgh turned to Mitch Trubisky, who looked more effective in a 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Trubisky completed 15-of-27 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, albeit with two interceptions, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt compared to just 4.6 per attempt for Pickett.

No one expects Trubisky to be a world-beater but he at least has experience guiding a team to the playoffs in the past from his days in Chicago. Pittsburgh has largely been winning in spite of its quarterback as Pickett has thrown just one touchdown in the month of October, simply game-managing for now.

Like we discussed with Ridder earlier, a mental reset may not be the worst thing for Pickett and a rib injury could allow Mike Tomlin to give it to him without inciting a quarterback controversy. With a short week on tap against Tennessee, it makes plenty of sense to bench Pickett on Thursday and try to steal this game with Trubisky before re-evaluating the situation after the mini-bye that follows the contest.