Having a star player struggle early in an NFL season can often be the deciding factor for a team in getting off to a fast or disappointing start.
Here are five struggling NFL players who need to start rebounding in Week 4:
QB Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans
According to ESPN’s Total QBR, Mariota ranks 31st out of 31 qualifying quarterbacks to start the 2016 season. The second-year quarterback has been turnover-prone, with four interceptions and two lost fumbles, and he’s struggled on third downs (the Titans are converting less than 40 percent in 2016). Tennessee is also just 1-2 to start the season, largely due to a pair of Mariota turnovers returned for touchdowns against Minnesota and three more giveaways from the Titans quarterback during a 17-10 loss to the Raiders last Sunday.
Week 4 will provide a tough test, as the Texans top-ranked pass defense (allowing 151.3 passing yards per game) awaits the Titans in Houston. Mariota still needs to get his season on track.
WR Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals’ bombs-away offense is sputtering, partly because Floyd and quarterback Carson Palmer can’t get on the same page. Floyd has been targeted 24 times this season, but he has just nine catches for 134 yards and one touchdown. No receiver with at least 20 targets has a lower catch rate than Floyd’s 37.5-percent mark in 2016.
The former first-round pick might be fighting the stresses of a contract season, but the Cardinals need him to start producing. He’s not making the easy catches or getting open down field. Floyd is expected to play in Week 4 (concussion) against the Rams, a team he still hasn’t caught a touchdown pass against in eight career games. Sunday would be a good time for his first.
WR Golden Tate, Detroit Lions
The numbers to start 2016 are ugly for Tate, who came into the season with almost 200 receptions and over 2,000 receiving yards during his first two seasons in Detroit. Through three games, he has just 13 catches for 94 yards (7.7 yards per catch) and zero touchdowns—putting him on pace for 69 catches and 501 yards in 2016.
The Lions are spreading the ball around in the post Megatron days, while free agent pickup Marvin Jones (who leads the NFL in receiving yards) looks like Matthew Stafford’s new favorite target. But as defenses pay more attention to Jones, tight end Eric Ebron and running back Theo Riddick, the Lions will need Tate to do more. He could start Sunday against Chicago’s shaky secondary.
QB Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are talented but young, and they currently aren’t capable of overcoming the hoard of mistakes being made by their third-year quarterback. Bortles is on pace for 32 interceptions, and his passer rating of 75.0 currently ranks 28th among quarterbacks. He threw two late interceptions and took a pair of unforgivable sacks in the second half last Sunday, as Jacksonville coughed up a late lead and lost to the Ravens last Sunday.
Bortles simply has to be better, starting early Sunday morning against the Colts in London. The Jaguars are desperate for a win, and all eyes will be on Bortles to deliver it, especially against a suspect Colts defense. Another shaky performance could directly threaten the job security of Gus Bradley, the only head coach he’s ever known in the NFL.
QB Brock Osweiler, Houston Texans
Three quarterbacks from the AFC South make the five-player list, which pretty much tells the tale of the league’s annually disappointing division. The Texans might be 2-1, but Osweiler—the newest quarterback addition to the AFC South—has thrown more interceptions (four) than Houston has touchdown drives (three) after three games. He was downright dreadful in Week 3, when he averaged 4.8 yards per attempt and failed to lead the Texans into the red zone during a 27-0 drubbing at the hands of the Patriots.
The Titans are up next for Osweiler and the Texans. While Tennessee hasn’t been kind to quarterbacks in 2016, Houston didn’t sign a $72 million check this offseason for the results Osweiler has delivered to start the season. Sunday provides an opportunity to get things turned around.
