The NFL is a quarterback-driven league. People are tuning in to observe Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen do downright loopy issues with a soccer; they wish to see Tom Brady proceed his assault on the file books; they’re rooting for younger up-and-comers like Trevor Lawrence.
It’s a quarterback world, and we’re all simply dwelling in it. During the 2022 season, nonetheless, it has usually occasions additionally been a backup quarterback world.
The Wild Card spherical was no exception, with three groups being led into the playoffs by passers not atop the depth chart firstly of the 12 months. Their groups solely went 1-2, however they performed as outstanding a job as any backup QB may hope for.
Take the Baltimore Ravens’ Tyler Huntley, who arrived within the NFL in 2020 as an undrafted free agent. With the group having Lamar Jackson beneath contract as its unquestioned QB1 — a minimum of at that cut-off date — Huntley’s future was clear: sit on the bench, and be able to go ought to the time come.
It did come each in 2021 and 2022, with Huntley beginning a mixed eight common season video games instead of an injured Jackson. This 12 months, he additionally acquired the possibility to play in a postseason contest.
Then, there are Brock Purdy and Skylar Thompson. Both are in the same state of affairs: they entered the league as seventh-round picks within the 2022 draft, and began out because the third quarterbacks on the San Francisco 49ers’ and Miami Dolphins’ depth charts, respectively. When the choices forward of all of them went down injured, it was their time to show themselves.
Now, right here is the half the place we have now to speak about efficiency for Purdy, Thompson and Huntley. Because, effectively, they’re backups for a motive.
Purdy’s 49ers did win their Wild Card recreation towards Seattle in moderately lopsided trend, pulling away within the second half to advance on a 41-23 win. The teenager completed with a powerful stat-line — 18-for-30, 332 yards, three touchdowns — however he did have his ups and downs whereas working in one of many NFL’s most quarterback-friendly offensive schemes.
Thompson and Huntley, in the meantime, got here up on the fallacious finish but additionally had their moments. Miami stored it shut towards Buffalo, dropping 34-31 regardless of getting into the competition as 14-point underdogs; Thompson did have some encouraging performs regardless of ending up finishing simply 18 of 45 throws for 220 yards with one landing and two picks.
Huntley’s Ravens additionally fought tooth and nail versus the heavily-favored Bengals. And, boy, did he do his greatest to maintain his males on this one: he discovered success each as a passer and as a runner, executing coordinator Greg Roman’s calls on a excessive stage. Until he didn’t, that’s: his fumble whereas making an attempt to achieve the ball throughout the road on a quarterback sneak proved to be the distinction towards the reigning AFC champions; the ball got here free and Cincinnati returned it 98 yards for the sport’s decisive landing.
Huntley’s efficiency was due to this fact not not like Thompson’s and Purdy’s. There was some good and a few dangerous. It was what you’d anticipate from a backup QB.
Still, the three additionally didn’t fully soften down with all eyes on them. Sure, that may be a low bar to clear however we’ve additionally seen backup quarterbacks falter in probably the most spectacular of fashions when requested to all of a sudden carry the load. Looking your manner, 2014 Ryan Lindley.
Obviously, not everyone may be 2001 Tom Brady or 2017 Nick Foles. But if there’s something like a Foles-Lindley spectrum for backup quarterback play within the postseason, all three most likely have been a bit nearer to the previous than the latter. But once more, it was a blended bag all through for all of them.
In a manner, they due to this fact completely represented one of many greater storylines for the 2022 season: backup passers unexpectedly being thrown into motion.
Only 10 of the NFL’s 32 groups noticed their quarterbacks begin all of their video games. Eight of these golf equipment — all however the Jared Goff-led Detroit Lions and the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers — made it into the playoffs.
The different 22 groups had, at one level, name up the reinforcements both resulting from harm or efficiency. The 49ers, Dolphins and Ravens are amongst them, as are three different postseason individuals: the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys, coincidentally all residing within the hyper-competitive NFC East.
That meant that gamers reminiscent of Gardner Minshew or Cooper Rush acquired their shot. The similar was true for Mike White and Bailey Zappe, Jarrett Stidham and Brett Rypien, John Wolford an Malik Willis. A ragtag group of gamers if you happen to ever noticed one.
But on the finish of the day they performed an important position in writing the nonetheless ongoing story of the 2022 NFL season. The similar is true for Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley, and the one one left standing: Mr. Irrelevant himself, Brock Purdy.
Will Purdy lead San Francisco to the promised land? Maybe, perhaps not. At the very least he’ll proceed to carry the flag excessive for a minimum of another week, one thing no person anticipated when he first joined the 49ers again in May.
But given how the present season goes, seeing him begin a divisional spherical recreation subsequent week is par the course. Turns out it’s, in any case, the 12 months of the backup quarterback.