For the first time since Ben Roethlisberger took his first NFL snap in 2004 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he joins Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in dubious milestone, as all four quarterbacks were part of a losing effort on the same week.
The Pittsburgh Steelers? 1-2. The Denver Broncos? 1-2. The New England Patriots? 1-2. The New Orleans Saints? 0-3. Drew Brees might have been the best quarterback in the NFL last season when it came to putting up numbers (while Aaron Rodgers won the MVP), but it’s been pretty bad for both him and his team so far this season.
Brees is 4th in the NFL in passing yards with 904, but is averaging only 6.6 yards per attempt, 27th in the NFL, while his completion percentage is a terrible 54.7%. In a full season, he’s never thrown less than 57.6%, and that was a decade ago, when he played for the Chargers. This Sunday, in the 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, he threw for 240 yards and was intercepted for the fifth time this season, taking his seventh sack.
Brady is sixth so far in the NFL in passing yards with 887. His completion percentage is 66.9%, 10th in the NFL. His 7.52 yards per attempt in ninth in the NFL but he’s thrown only four touchdown passes so far this season, while throwing only one pick. A quick survey of his numbers and taking a closer look, especially at their 31-30 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, it’s pretty obvious it isn’t Brady’s fault that the Patriots are only 1-2.
Peyton Manning? No one expected him to be great so quickly, maybe ever again. Manning is 12th in the NFL so far with 824 passing yards, completing 60% of his passing which is 21st in the NFL at the moment. Since his rookie season (1998, 56.7%), Manning has never completed less than 62% of his passes. He’s thrown five touchdowns to three interceptions, averaging 7.17 yards per attempt.
Ben Roethlisberger? He’s just waiting for someone to protect him. So far, he’s been sacked nine times this season, tied for 6th in the NFL. His rating is second best in the NFL with 109.2, and although it isn’t always the best indicator for QB performance, it’s easy to see his performing at a very high level this season, with 904 yards (4th in the NFL), completing 68.3% of his passes with 7.53 per attempt and throwing only one pick to his 8 touchdown passes. Surprisingly, this might not be the direction for the Steelers, who have no running game at the moment, averaging only 65 yards on the ground per game, 29th in the NFL.
Then came the replacement refs, and did it to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers as well.