When there’s a winner there’s a loser. Sometimes a player can do everything in their power to win a game and still lose. Just as often, a player’s performance can cost their team the game. These players are favorably called bobbleheads.
Minnesota Vikings: quarterback Max Brosmer
After the recent poor performances from J.J. McCarthy and his recent concussion, it was going to take a lot for fans in Minnesota to be excited for McCarthy to return. Unfortunately, that resulted in giving undrafted rookie Max Brosmer his first NFL start.
Brosmer had a historically bad game, throwing for just 126 yards and four interceptions in an effort that led the Vikings to a grand total of zero points as they fell to the Seattle Seahawks. If his passer rating of 32.8 wasn’t enough of an indicator of just how bad the rookie played, Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of just 22.0 – one of the worst grades given since PFF started in 2007.
It’s easy to root for undrafted guys like Brosmer because people like underdogs, but an underdog that plays as poorly as Brosmer did is just a sad dog, and with J.J. McCarthy having cleared concussion protocol, who knows when Brosmer’s next chance to start an NFL game will be?
Toronto Raptors: forward Sandro Mamukelashvili
If you had told fans of the Toronto Raptors that in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in which their defense ends the 17-year, ten-point streak of Lebron James, while Luka Doncic is out, they probably would have assumed they would win that game; however, that would require you to leave out the fact that Sandro Mamukelashvili, who filled in at center for Jakob Poeltl, would just have a horribly inefficient game.
Mamukelashvili had 13 points, shooting just 30% from the field as he went four for 13. He shot nine three-pointers — unorthodox for a man starting at center — and missed six of them. Having to watch all these missed threes must only be salt in the wound for fans of the Raptors, as the deciding shot in this game was a buzzer beater three from Rui Hachimura.
Dallas Cowboys: tight end Jake Ferguson
There’s a lot of finger-pointing to go around in Dallas after their 44-30 loss in Detroit to the Lions on Dec. 4, and why wouldn’t there be? The defense allowed 44 points, wide receivers George Pickens and Ryan Flournoy had balls deflect off their hands and into the arms of Lions defenders for interceptions, and even the kickoff team played poorly, allowing over 260 return yards and setting the Lions up with excellent field position every time. However, Ferguson had a particularly bad night.
The rough night for Ferguson began in the second quarter. It was third-and-21, and Ferguson had the ball stripped from him for a fumble trying to gain maybe two extra yards while two Lions defenders were tackling him. The Lions offense promptly scored a touchdown four plays later.
On the very next drive, George Pickens had drawn what could have been a massive pass interference call that would have set Dallas up with first-and-goal inside the five-yard line — instead, Ferguson was flagged for illegal use of hands, offsetting what could have been a huge gain.
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The Cowboys’ tight end looked to be having a rather quiet second half, as he made just a couple of short catches, including one on a two-point conversion. Old demons would come back for him though, as he was flagged for offensive pass interference close to the goal line. The penalty may have been declined, and many people including rules analyst Terry McAulay said it was a bad call, but at some point, you just have to admit it wasn't Ferguson’s or the Cowboys’ night.
Marley Herndon is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @Dailylobo
