We saw several backup quarterbacks have to come in and relieve, or in one case start for, their starters due to injuries in Week 2. Here is a ranking of each person’s performance:
4. Andy Dalton, Dallas
Dalton, a former decade plus starter for the Cincinnati Bengals, was relived of his starting duties midway through the previous season in Cincinnati before that job was returned to him when his backup proved to be even worse than he was. Dalton was ultimately not brought back to Cincinnati after Joe Burrow was drafted to be his successor.
Jerry Jones took a liking to what he saw in Dalton and brought him in as Dak Prescott’s backup for a cool $3 million. This number is important because they paid him almost twice as much as New England did to Cam Newton to start.
Dalton came in midway through the third quarter after Dak was rocked on a hit near the goal line. Against all common wisdom, Dallas allowed Dalton an opportunity to throw a pass which sailed out of bounds for an incompletion.
Prescott returned to the game shortly thereafter.
Final numbers for Andy Dalton: 0/1, 0 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs
3. Nick Mullens, San Francisco 49ers
Mullens is the only one on this list who was on their current team last year, as well as being the only one who started a game for their current team. The 49ers saw a lot of Nick Mullens in 2018 after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a knee injury. Mullens went 3-5 as a starter for them, completing 64% of his passes, along with a 14 TD, 10 INT run.
He entered today’s game against the New York Jets after Garoppolo was unable to return due to an ankle injury. The ankle injury came early in the game when he was rolled up during a sack, but despite that Garoppolo played the entire first half and played well throwing 2 TDs and leaving the game with a 21-3 lead. The lead against an inferior team was the likely reason the 49ers decided Jimmy G would not play during the second half.
Mullens played solidly but did not wow anyone. He was playing without TE George Kittle who did not play at all, and then lost starting RB Raheem Mostert in the second half to a leg injury. This slowed the 49er offense for most of the second half, although Mullens did lead two scoring drives to keep the Jets at bay and give the 49ers a 31-13 victory. He also threw an interception that killed another potential drive.
Garoppolo must be hurt because head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team would look at bringing in veteran quarterbacks this week. It’s also an indictment on what Shanahan saw from Mullens. It’s possible that Mullens would get a start next week if Garoppolo is unable to play as signing a veteran qb and having him learn the system in that time is almost impossible.
Final numbers for Nick Mullens: 8/11, 71 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INTs
2. Jeff Driskel, Denver Broncos
Driskel first appeared on QB Watch’s radar last year as a backup in Detroit for Matthew Stafford. Driskel went 0-3 as the emergency starter there, and that’s after a 1-4 run as the emergency stater in Cincinnati the year before. He entered today’s game in Denver after starter Drew Lock took a vicious hit to his right shoulder in the first quarter.
It’s unlikely he had much time with the first-string offense in practice at all so far, so Driskel coming in as an emergency backup did raise alarms amongst the Denver faithful. Despite that, Driskel actually played well, having inherited a 7-0 deficit to the Pittsburgh Steelers and keeping the Broncos in the game until the end where they ultimately lost 26-21. He looked rusty during the first half, but in the second half started to loosen up, make first downs and show enough leadership that Denver was able to put several scoring drives together. He showed enough poise and flash during the game that he could be a decent starter for Denver with more practice and reps with the first-team offense.
Driskel, who also makes more than Cam Newton, is the likely starter for Denver next week should Lock’s shoulder continue to be an issue. But Denver has no other quarterbacks on the roster so they may be in a competition with San Francisco to in order to fill out their roster.
Final numbers for Jeff Driskel: 18/34, 256 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
1. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Our only quarterback on this list who started a game this week, and a rookie to boot. Herbert was drafted 6th overall by the Chargers in the 2020 NFL Draft and there was a lot of speculation that he may not be game ready for the Chargers which led them to sign veteran Tyrod Taylor as the starter while Herbert developed.
In a cruel twist of fate, Taylor suffered a strange pre-game injury that has yet to be fully explained. Either way, Herbert was called into immediate action and told he was going to start his first game. Today. Against the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Kansas City Chiefs. Not an easy task for many quarterbacks, let alone someone making their NFL debut.
Herbert showed right away that he was not your average rookie. Much like the 1st pick in this draft, Joe Burrow, Herbert appears to be farther along in terms of player development than most. On his very first drive, Herbert completed several big passes and ran in for a score to put them up 7-0. He played well enough to put them up 14-6 at the half, 17-9 at the end of the third quarter and had them in a position to win the game late in the 4th quarter when the game was tied 17-17 and the Chargers were at the goal line. Head coach Anthony Lynn took the ball out of Herbert’s hands and repeatedly tried to run the ball in, which is a move that may have cost them the win as the Chargers were unable to get a TD.
A lot of the Chargers’ lead can be tied with the fact that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was having a disastrous game until the 4th quarter. But that still shouldn’t take anything away from the fact that Herbert never truly struggled in his pro debut. He did throw a costly interception but for the most part Herbert was able to keep the ball moving, showing great poise in the process.
While the Chargers ultimately lost in OT, 23-20, it would be impossible for the Chargers not to start Herbert next week. Even if Tyrod Taylor is healthy and ready to go, it’s now clear that the Chargers have a potential quarterback of the future on their hands and it’s time for them to begin developing Herbert.
Final numbers for Justin Herbert: 22/33, 311 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
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