Justin Herbert is getting crushed in the pocket. Geno Smith has lost his downfield touch. Jake Browning and Cooper Rush are about as expected.
Week 5 was more about solid quarterback play than specific letdowns. Only two established starters crashed and burned in lopsided defeats.
But what crashouts they were.
The improved play of guys like Cam Ward (first NFL win, thanks in part to some witchcraft), Spencer Rattler and Bryce Young all led to clutch comeback wins Sunday. Those better-than-expected performances were cantilevered by frustrating home flops by trusted veterans. Justin Herbert and Geno Smith headline this week's crop of gross quarterbacks -- but who was truly the most baffling?
To get a better idea of who performed best relative to expectations in Week 5, I've compared every starting quarterback's expected points added (EPA, found here in real time thanks to some exceptional work from The Athletic's Ben Baldwin) to their 2025 average through four games. The players who sunk below their own standard the hardest? They're the ones who get written about. A first-time starter like Dillon Gabriel, who couldn't lead the Cleveland Browns to a win in London thanks in part to a negative EPA? He's off the hook.
Cooper Rush, on the other hand? Well, a week light on bad QB performances means we're gonna flip his rock over and see what crawls from underneath. But before we dig into the passing schadenfreude, let's talk about the quarterbacks who exceeded their standard in Week 5.
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
- 2025 EPA/game: 6.6
- Week 5 EPA: 17.5
- Difference: 10.9 points better
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
- 2025 EPA/game: -2.2
- Week 5 EPA: 10.1
- Difference: 12.3 points better
Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
- 2025 EPA/game: -14.2
- Week 5 EPA: 2.0
- Difference: 16.2 points better
Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints
- 2025 EPA/game: -4.2
- Week 5 EPA: 12.5
- Difference: 16.7 points better
Now, on to the grossest, most underwhelming quarterbacks of Week 5.
4. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
- 2025 EPA/game: 0.7
- Week 5 EPA: -2.7
- Difference: 3.4 points worse
The Chargers led 10-0 early and Jayden Daniels didn't look like himself. After a Week 4 hiccup, it appeared Los Angeles had gotten back on track.
That was a lie.
The lack of protection that had bubbled to the surface following Rashawn Slater's season-ending injury and roared to a boil after Joe Alt departed with a high ankle sprain continued to wear down a once-potent offense. Herbert had been pressured on more than half his dropbacks the previous two weeks, then faced a top-three pass rush in Week 5. The Commanders didn't have to blitz to get to Herbert; a four-man rush mostly did the job.
.@Dorance_ALegend doing Dorance things 💪#RockChalk x NFL Jayhawks
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) October 5, 2025
NFL Sunday Ticket On YouTube https://t.co/xarN1TOmWepic.twitter.com/OHDT8vLEeb
Herbert was sacked four times at a cost of 7.3 total EPA. He was hit on 40 percent of his dropbacks. He completed 76 percent of his passes but his average attempt went just 3.8 yards downfield.
Only a single throw went more than 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. More than 41 percent of his throws were short tosses to the right. Once the Commanders caught up with that, it was easy pickings for the Washington defense.
Pressure, however, played a minimal role in Herbert's most costly mistake of the afternoon. With the chance to make it a one-possession game midway through the fourth quarter, the Charger quarterback tried to thread a needle and instead fired a tipped third-and-goal pass into the arms of Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil.
Johnny 🤝 Mikey
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 5, 2025
📺 #WASvsLAC FOX pic.twitter.com/tbY1L3YD0i
Joe Alt will return, which will help stabilize the offense. That could give Herbert the cover he needs to sustain drives. But the bigger question may be whether he can be enough to overcome a defense that looked elite the first three weeks of the season before showing real cracks the last two.
3. Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals
2025 EPA/game: -17.4Week 5 EPA: 0.5Difference: 17.9 points better, buttttt
This wasn't Browning's worst game of the season. In fact, it wasn't even close to the -31.8 EPA he put up in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings. But it bears mentioning here, because for extended stretches he turned Ja'Marr Chase into a valuable cornerback.
Ja'Marr Chase, it should be noted, is one of the NFL's best wide receivers.
Then:
Got Kerb out there in centerfield 🙌#DETvsCIN 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/DbNQ9mmzB4
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 5, 2025
Those were back-to-back plays! Chase finished his day with as many tackles (three) as Tee Higgins had receptions. While Browning recovered to shine in garbage time -- all three of his touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter of a game Cincinnati trailed 28-3 headed into the final frame -- it was still a grim performance for a team that has vacated its Super Bowl hope.
2. Cooper Rush, Baltimore Ravens
- 2025 EPA/game: -7.1
- Week 5 EPA: -6.9
- Difference: 0.2 points better, but uhhhhhh...
Coming into Week 5, Rush had a career EPA of -2.2 per game. Not great, but about what you'd expect from a backup. His 13 attempts late in a lost game to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 resulted in nine completions but just 52 yards. Still, a home game against a struggling Houston Texans offered an opportunity to create hope in what could wind up a lost season in Baltimore.
Well, the Ravens may as well convene a search party for its Super Bowl hopes. An injury-ravaged defense couldn't hold up against C.J. Stroud and Rush had no prayer of keeping up. Derrick Henry ran for only 33 yards on 15 carries and Rush struggled to push the ball downfield. He attempted only three passes that traveled more than 15 yards downfield despite trailing by 14 points or more for the final 35 minutes.
The good news is all three of those passes were caught. The bad news is only two went to Ravens teammates.
Locked downnn 🔒
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 5, 2025
📺: @nfloncbs / @paramountpluspic.twitter.com/sC9NTOi1N1
Rush's lack of connection with a receiving corps no longer lifted by the rising tide of Lamar Jackson was evident throughout the afternoon. Houston's directive was to squash out the hopes of any momentum-swinging deep balls, as evidenced by the nine yards of cushion Zay Flowers got each snap -- per NextGenStats, second only to Denver's Marvin Mims on Sunday. Rush settled for short passes that didn't amount to much, then struggled when asked to do more.
Here, he throws low and behind Mark Andrews to turn what should have been an easy 10-yard gain into a turnover.
SNATCHEDDD!!!!
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 5, 2025
📺 : @nfloncbs / @paramountpluspic.twitter.com/ROukqQgpZk
That's about what you'd expect from Rush, the bargain variant of a brand name NFL quarterback. Things are good enough at first glance -- like a 70 percent completion rate and nine yards per attempt -- but are just off enough to create problems once you scratch the surface. Now the Ravens are 1-4 and, if staring down another Rush start, in serious, serious trouble.
1. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
- 2025 EPA/game: -1.9
- Week 5 EPA: -9.4
- Difference: 7.5 points worse
No quarterback in the NFL had a higher completion percentage over expected (CPOE) than Smith from 2022 to 2024. His ability to fit throws into tight windows downfield revitalized his career and kept the Seattle Seahawks from an arduous rebuild following the Russell Wilson trade.
Through five games his -2.0 CPOE ranks 23rd out of 33 qualified quarterbacks through four-plus weeks. The playmaking touch that frustrated opponents in the Pacific Northwest hasn't come with him to the desert. He attempted seven deep throws in a futile effort to will the Raiders back into a game they lost 40-6. He completed one.
Both his interceptions came within five yards of the line of scrimmage -- one on a tip at the line and another thanks to a truly horrible misread of the Colts' coverage.
RAHHHHH INTERCEPTION
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 5, 2025
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/U88GsCCa6L
Smith threw nine interceptions in the entirety of the 2023 season. He's already at nine just five games into his Las Vegas tenure. His 5.5 percent interception rate is more than 250 percent higher than it was as a Seahawk (2.2). That's partially attributable to a receiving corps in which Jack Bech, Tre Tucker and Albert Okwuegbunam all had at least five targets, but that doesn't excuse some of the straight-up misses Smith has been generating as a loving tribute to his New York Jets days.
The Raiders signed Smith to a two-year, $75 million extension after acquiring him from Seattle. They can move on from him after 2025 while eating $18 million in dead cap space, or they can keep him on as a potential mentor should this team sink all the way to the top of the 2026 NFL Draft. The only thing clear at the moment is this version of Geno smith is not the answer in Las Vegas.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Justin Herbert, Geno Smith and the grossest QBs of Week 5
Category: Football
