Week 8 NFL losers: Desmond Ridder on short leash; is Brock Purdy average?

The 49ers still have Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk, so is Purdy just going through a rough patch or is this who he really is? The question that needs answered now is did Shanahan and the 49ers pull the trigger too early on trading Trey Lance? Shanahan and GM John Lynch told everyone who would listen that Purdy was the perfect QB to run San Francisco’s offensive system, but his last three games speak for itself.

Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants: The Giants are down to their third-string QB after Tyrod Taylor was taken to the hospital with a rib injury, which means things are about to get exponentially more difficult for Barkley. Rookie Tommy DeVito completed 2-of-7 passes for -1 yards in Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Jets, and it’s tough to see New York depending on him throwing it 20 or more times per game. 

Barkley rushed 36 times for 128 yards against the Jets, and his workload could be just as heavy behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL until either Taylor or Daniel Jones is back in the lineup.

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans: Tannehill had a front-row seat for Will Levis’ NFL debut in Sunday’s 29-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He had to sit and watch the rookie second-round pick light up the Falcons secondary to the tune of 238 yards and four touchdowns. It also took Levis just one game to double the number of touchdowns Tannehill threw in six games. If Levis keeps playing the way he did on Sunday, he might keep Tannehill on the bench even when he’s fully healthy.

C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans: Stroud was clearly the best rookie quarterback in the NFL entering Sunday’s clash with the Carolina Panthers. Not only did Bryce Young outperform him — Young threw for 235 yards and a touchdown; Stroud threw for 140 yards and zero touchdowns — he also earned his first NFL win at Stroud’s expense. Stroud’s streak of five straight games with a touchdown pass was also snapped. 

Conversely, Young’ 40-yard pass to Jonathan Mingo was the longest of his career, and Sunday was the first game of his career with a passer rating over 100. Stroud is still the better of the two through seven games, but his Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have likely taken a hit.

Richard Sherman, NFL analyst: A little over two weeks ago, Sherman took to national airwaves and told the world that Dallas Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb was not a No. 1 WR. In the two games since Sherman’s statement, Lamb has caught 19 of 21 targets for 275 yards and two touchdowns. 

Lamb entered the week with the second-best catch percentage (81), and he ranked in the top 10 among WRs with 40 or more targets in passer rating when targeted (seventh), yards per reception (10th) and yards per route run (10th). Sherman is certainly entitled to his opinion, but after Lamb’s 12-reception, 158-yard, two-touchdown game on Sunday, it looks a little less credible.

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs: Sunday’s 24-9 loss to the Denver Broncos was embarrassing for many reasons. It’s just the second time since Mahomes became the full-time start in 2018 that the Chiefs offense didn’t score a touchdown, and it’s the fourth time in the last 42 games that Kansas City has been held to fewer than 300 yards.

It’s also the first time this season, and the first time since Dec. 5, 2021, that Mahomes was held without a touchdown pass and just the second time in his career he’s thrown multiple interceptions without a touchdown pass. Mahomes has thrown an interception in three straight games, and he’s on pace to throw a career-high 17 interceptions this year.

Pittsburgh Steelers fans: The Steelers offense was already tough to watch, but if fans are subjected to an offense led by offensive coordinator Matt Canada, whose job many have been calling for over the last two seasons, and Mitch Trubisky, who threw two interceptions in one half in relief of Kenny Pickett against the Jaguars, for any significant amount of time, then it could get ugly in Pittsburgh quickly. 

Trubisky was 2-3 as the Steelers starter last year, averaging 178.9 yards passing per game, so there’s little optimism he’s improved with fewer reps since then.