It was blowout weekend in the NFL. On Sunday, nine of the 10 games in the 1 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. ET window were decided by double-digits, including five by at least 20 points.
With so much bad football, there was a bouquet of options for this week’s worst performances, but here are the five that stood out the most.
Backup NFC South quarterbacks
The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers were forced to start veteran backups Kirk Cousins and Andy Dalton, respectively, with their young quarterbacks out with injury.
Neither Michael Penix Jr. or Bryce Young need to worry about their jobs after the two aging options failed to turn back the clock in blowout losses. The Falcons (3-4) fell at home to the Miami Dolphins (2-6), 34-10. Cousins, 37, was 21-of-31 for 173 yards (5.6 yards per attempt). Atlanta gained a season-low 213 yards and was a putrid 2-of-11 on third downs. If his start was a chance for Atlanta to advertise him for a potential trade before the Nov. 4 deadline, then Week 8 was a spectacular failure.
Dalton, who turns 38 on Oct. 29, was somehow worse in a 40-9 home loss to the Buffalo Bills (5-2), finishing the game 16-of-24 for 175 yards and an interception. He was also sacked seven times, losing 45 yards.
Reliable backups at quarterback are a valuable commodity. And considering the Falcons and Panthers have veterans with several years of starting experience, they should have gotten much more out of their insurance policies. Instead, Sunday showed the game has passed both by.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams
The 2024 No. 1 overall pick had a rough day at the office, being outplayed by Baltimore Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley in a 30-16 road loss.
Williams completed 25 of his 38 attempts for 285 yards but had a back-breaking interception from his own end zone in a 16-13 game with under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. He tried to thread the pass into a tight window but was picked by Ravens corner Nate Wiggins, who returned the ball to the Bears 9-yard line. Baltimore scored a touchdown for a two-possession lead two plays later.
