Where there are winners, there are losers; however, not all losers are created equal, as some teams feature players who single-handedly cost them the game. These players are favorably called bobbleheads.
“You win some, you lose some” is a phrase you’ve probably heard at least a few times in your life. It's also something these players in the NFL probably had to hear from their coaches after their dismal performances in week six of the NFL season.
Here are the guys whose play this week earned them the title of bobblehead.
New York Jets: quarterback Justin Fields
It's no secret that the New York Jets are a bad team. They are the only winless team up to this point in the NFL season, sporting a 0-6 record. They've been blown out, walked off and sprinkled a few failed comebacks in there for good measure.
It would not be fair to blame the whole team for their loss this week, as the defense only allowed 13 points off 246 total yards and got a safety to boot.
That's where Fields comes in. To his credit, he did not turn the ball over, but that doesn't excuse his abysmally low 58.7 passer rating.
He threw the ball 17 times for a measly 45 yards. He also took nine sacks, including one on fourth down while only trailing by two points in the fourth quarter, which essentially ended the game.
He led the team to nine points, although after seeing his stat line, you might be tempted to give more credit to kicker Nick Folk.
The game ended with a final score of 13-11 in favor of the Broncos.
The Jets are set to play the Panthers at home for week seven, but their fans are probably thinking about the prospect of picking first overall.
Tennessee Titans: quarterback Cam Ward
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It's rarely easy to be the first overall pick in the NFL. Usually, you're going to a team that's picking first overall for a good reason — that reason being they were probably horrible the previous year.
However, none of that excuses playing so poorly against a team that, walking into the matchup is possibly even worse than you. Ward turned the ball over three times in a poor performance against the Las Vegas Raiders.
For a majority of the game, Ward was unable to do anything with the ball. Through three quarters, he had only 107 yards in the air to go with his two turnovers at that point, and the team's two-touchdown deficit.
The Raiders would tack on another field goal before Ward would start “stat padding.” He doubled his offensive output to try and make his final stat line look prettier, which he did, but he also added another lost fumble, leading his team to a 10 point loss.
Maybe they'll fare better against the red hot New England Patriots next week at home.
Dallas Cowboys: The Defense
Bobbleheads are usually for one player, but for the much maligned Cowboys defense, this is a long time coming.
Going into week six against the Carolina Panthers, the weakness of this defensive unit was no secret. They have the worst defense in terms of total yardage, the worst passing defense and the worst third down defense. They are also bottom 10 in just about every other major category including rushing, scoring and red zone play.
They allowed former Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle to run wild, with 183 rushing yards and 56 more through the air – that's 239 total yards, and quite the revenge game. Credit to Dowdle, obviously, as these are very impressive numbers, but as a unit, the defense should be ashamed of the way they let one guy beat them.
Things get even worse for this defense when you look at the other side of the ball, as the Cowboys actually have a top-tier offense — the team has the top yardage offense and top 10 in every major category which means passing, rushing, scoring, third down efficiency and red zone percentage.
Who knows what the Cowboys’ record could be if they even had a defense that was merely below average. All we do know is that they will go back home to play the Commanders in week seven.
Marley Herndon is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @Dailylobo
