3 quarterbacks who deserve to be benched after lackluster Week 14
The 14th week of the NFL schedule was full of the unexpected. It started on Thursday Night Football when against all odds, the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers delivered a reasonably entertaining and high-scoring affair.
From there, the upsets were plentiful. The Joe Burrow-less Bengals picked up another win, this time in dominant fashion in a critical Wild Card game. The Browns toppled the first-place Jaguars with Joe Flacco under center. The Jets put on a show with Zach Wilson back in the saddle. The Detroit Lions finally fell to the Chicago Bears. And, in case there was any doubt about the true superpower in the NFC East...
Through it all, as always, there was some unfortunate quarterback play. Here are the NFL QBs who most deserve a ticket to the bench after Week 14 stinkers.
3. Josh Dobbs, Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings beat the Las Vegas Raiders 3-0 on Sunday. I repeat, the Minnesota Vikings beat the Las Vegas Raiders 3-0 on Sunday. I'm all for an old-fashioned, grind-it-out rock fight, but Sunday's game was especially unpleasant for the viewers at home. Neither offense could muster more than 231 total yards.
While Minnesota ultimately escaped with the fourth-quarter field goal and the victory, it's hard to draw many positives from their performance aside from sustained placement in the NFC Wild Card race. The QB play was, naturally, very bad. So bad that Josh Dobbs was benched mid-game — a decision Kevin O'Connell should probably stick with in the weeks to come.
Dobbs' miraculous first two weeks in Minnesota overshadowed a largely unimpressive campaign with the Arizona Cardinals, who went 1-7 with Dobbs at the controls prior to the trade deadline. It would appear Dobbs has regressed to the mean. On Sunday, he completed 10-of-23 passes for 63 yards before O'Connell pulled the plug in the fourth quarter. Dobbs notably took five sacks for a combined 47 yards lost.
There's no perfect solution to the Vikings' quarterbacl problem with Kirk Cousins injured, but it would appear Nick Mullens has the upper-hand moving into next week. He led the Vikings' game-winning drive, completing 9-of-13 passes for 83 yards in roughly a quarter of the time Dobbs played.