Sportsnaut
The first week of the NFL preseason wrapped up on Sunday, the unofficial kickoff of the 2025 season. There were some noteworthy showings by players like Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell. However, there were just as many bad performances.
Let’s dive into the worst performances from Week 1 of the NFL preseason. Our list is composed of three quarterbacks, one wide receiver, one running back, two offensive linemen and two defensive players.
Selected by the Houston Texans with the 197th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, quarterback Graham Mertz was abysmal in the preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings. Even if you discount his final interception, which was the result of a tipped pass, he threw two others. Mertz also completed just 50 percent of his 14 pass attempts, easily being outduelled by teammate Kedon Slovis (11-for-15, 71 yards). While Mertz didn’t take any sacks in the game, which he had a penchant for in college, he still led the NFL with 3 interceptions thrown. He’ll get the rest of the preseason to prove himself, but the 24-year-old might be better suited for the UFL.
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Tim Boyle legitimately might be one of the worst quarterbacks in NFL history, at least among those who played 20-plus games. Heading into the 2025 NFL preseason, Boyle has a career 5-13 TD-INT ratio with a 58.1 QB rating. Among qualified quarterbacks in NFL history, that would be the sixth-lowest ever. He looked just like that in his preseason debut with the Tennessee Titans.
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Coming in as relief for first-overall pick Cam Ward, who went 6-for-8 with 67 passing yards and led a scoring drive, Boyle completed just 4-of-13 pass attempts. Most alarmingly, he had nearly as many negative plays (two interceptions and one sack) as passes completed to his teammates on 14 dropbacks. So, why is Boyle on an NFL roster? He’s been around the league, giving him insight into a lot of offensive systems, and he’s well-regarded for his football IQ. In short, he’s effectively another coach in the quarterback room. He’s likely helping Ward behind the scenes, but at some point, NFL teams need to convince Boyle to retire and get into coaching.
Many questioned months ago why Quinn Ewers left college behind, where he had a multi-million-dollar NIL offer on the table from a Power 5 program, to be a Day 3 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Maybe his experience in his first preseason action with the Miami Dolphins made him realize that he made a mistake. In a 24-24 tie versus the Chicago Bears, Ewers completed just 5-of-18 pass attempts. Not only was he alarmingly inaccurate, but he was strip-sacked twice and finished the game by averaging...
