It’s difficult to overstate just how bad Siemian was against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. He went 25-of-35 for 207 yards, but that doesn’t even remotely tell the whole story. He threw one interception and was lucky to avoid several more. He fumbled twice. He failed to do anything to jumpstart the offense.
Sure, he may be battling a shoulder injury, but it is becoming increasingly obvious with each passing week that Siemian is not the long-term answer for this franchise at the quarterback position. Unfortunately, the Broncos don’t really have a lot of other options right now.
Allen had a difficult matchup against one of the league’s tougher defenses. In his defense, his team did win the game. Still, he was not a big part of the victory. The Chargers’ leading wide receiver was targeted seven times by quarterback Philip Rivers, but managed to catch just three passes for a modest 41 yards. Overall, this was his worst game of the season to date. He’ll probably improve — he’s been better before and will be better again — but he’ll be disappointed with how he looked on Sunday.
The end of Browns OT Joe Thomas’s snap streak
Joe Thomas’ iron man status tended to be underrated in sports. Thomas was drafted No. 3 overall in 2007 and had played every single regular season snap since — a total of 10,363 consecutive snaps. The man picked ahead of him, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, has already retired in part because of the physical toll the NFL took on his body, so it says a whole lot that Thomas has been able to withstand everything and play constantly — especially for a team that has had virtually no success in his time there. That streak ended on Sunday because of an arm injury. It’s truly a shame, but Thomas is deserving of a lot of recognition and applause now that his streak is over.
Green Bay Packers wide receivers
The Packers badly missed Aaron Rodgers on Sunday, and if you need further proof of that, you need only look at the numbers Green Bay’s wide receivers put up. The team’s leading receiver, Martellus Bennett, caught just two passes for 17 yards. Former Pro Bowler Randall Cobb could only manage 15 yards on two receptions. Jordy Nelson, one of the NFL’s best, could only manage one 13-yard reception. The Packers went from having an excellent passing game to a nearly nonexistent one in the span of a week — and the entire receiver corps will suffer for it.
Adrian Peterson, RB, Cardinals
Peterson really raised the bar for himself in his Arizona debut a week ago, with a breakout 134-yard, two touchdown performance. For his next act, well, he offered very little against the Los Angeles Rams. Peterson could only tally up 21 yards on 11 carries. Part of that was due to the fact that Arizona was getting blown out and looked to the air. The other big problem was the fact that Arizona’s passing game didn’t offer enough to keep defenses honest. Peterson’s monster Week 6 may prove to be the exception, not the expectation for what will be in store.
Chicago posted a surprise win on Sunday, but Trubisky continues to demonstrate why John Fox and the Bears’ coaching staff were so hesitant to turn the keys to the offense over to him. The rookie completed just four passes — which happens to be the same number of times he was sacked by the Carolina Panthers — and leaned entirely on the running game to win the game. Trubisky may be the future of the Bears, but even in victories, he’s inspiring little confidence in the present.
Drew Stanton, QB, Cardinals
Is it fair to single out a backup quarterback who only saw playing time because starter Carson Palmer broke his arm? Well, yes, it is, because this isn’t some untested rookie coming in to hold down the fort.
Stanton is an 11-year NFL veteran who has seen plenty of game action during his career. He completed just five of his 14 pass attempts and threw one of the worst interceptions you will ever see at the NFL level. Stanton simply isn’t a starter. Even by the standards of NFL backups, he’s just unbearably bad.
