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Inside: Checking in on backup QBs, plus the Chargers’ struggles and the offseason’s best signing. On the site, we have questions about Jayden Daniels’ future.
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Time for NFL backups
“If you have two quarterbacks, you have none” is an old football cliche in need of revision.
You almost always need two, especially these days. Only 10 quarterbacks started all of their teams’ games last season. In all, 61 different passers made at least one start. That number is higher than it used to be, ever since the NFL switched to a 17-game regular season in 2021:
- 2021 to 2025: An average of 63.2 different starting QBs per season, nearly exactly two per team.
- 2016 to 2020: 56 per year, on average.
It rarely goes well for those backups called into action, though. Years ago, when asked why Peyton Manning’s backups never saw a snap in practice, Colts coordinator Tom Moore famously said, “If 18 goes down, we’re f—ed. Around here, we don’t practice f—ed.”
It’s not always “f—ed,” of course. The 49ers went 5-3 with Mac Jones in 2025. The Vikings started this season 2-0 with Carson Wentz filling in for Kyler Murray, who returns in Week 3. The Seahawks are winning with backup Drew Lock, who’s up to 22nd in Jeff Howe’s QB rankings and behind only Brock Purdy in Austin Mock’s QB Index score:
Few teams are as lucky. Only five of the 30 backup quarterbacks to start a game last year finished the season with a positive win-loss record.
The Bears might be forced to play 38-year-old third-stringer Case Keenum, with No. 2 Tyson Bagent in the concussion protocol. The Commanders will again turn to Marcus Mariota, 2-6 in his eight starts last season. And ahead of Michael Penix’s return, the Falcons showed even four quarterbacks might not be enough.
This year’s Giants could be lost without Dart, despite rostering one of the league’s highest-paid backups.
Not the most inspiring list. In the event of a starter injury, few of those teams would fare better at QB than the Giants. Maybe the Raiders, who have this year’s No. 1 pick as Kirk Cousins’ apprentice?
Other than that, Moore’s Manning sentiment still holds: You’re in trouble without your starter. That even goes for the Giants’ $100 million coach. New York was an attractive destination for him because of Dart.
Meanwhile, John’s brother Jim leads our list of figures who must rebound in Week 3. More on that:
The … hot seat? Not Jim Harbaugh
On Sunday I asked one of my good friends, a Chargers fan since the LaDainian Tomlinson era, about that 26-14 loss to the Raiders. I can’t recall exactly what he said, but it was a mix of profanity and disbelief.
Not disbelief at the loss, but about how he could again let himself begin a season with hope. The Chargers ranked sixth in opening Super Bowl odds. They are now 18th.
That’s because what was supposed to be an explosive Mike McDaniel offense is averaging 14 points per game, fourth-fewest in the NFL. The point differential between the Chargers and their opponents (minus-24) is the league’s third-worst mark.
Much of the pain is self-inflicted. They lead the NFL in false starts, and as Mike Jones points out, are among the leaders in holding calls. Now the schedule gets much more difficult, with games against the Bills, Seahawks, Chiefs, Broncos and Rams.
The younger Harbaugh’s regular-season success in L.A. (22-12 there) insulates his seat. But his new and underachieving coordinators, McDaniel and first-year defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary, don’t have the same security. The pressure is on.
Lawrence might’ve fixed Cincy
Joe Burrow doesn’t need greatness from his defense. He only needs average-ness.
Average has been rare for Cincinnati. In four of Burrow’s six seasons, this defense has finished worse than the top 20 at preventing both points and yards. 2025 was a new low, as it ranked 30th in points allowed and 31st in yards.
The only two years this defense was average, Burrow led the team deep into the playoffs:
The addition of Dexter Lawrence, the best trade of the NFL offseason, has the Bengals defense eighth in points allowed and 16th in yards through two games. Burrow’s offense ranks 10th and 16th in those categories.
Paul Dehner Jr. on the Bengals’ evolving needs:
💬 “For years in Cincinnati, average wouldn’t win a game for the Bengals and their franchise quarterback. He needed to summon his inner Superman every week.
“Now he only needs to summon his inner Andy Dalton. Merely manage the game.”
In Sunday’s win over the Texans, Cincinnati didn’t allow a touchdown, a first for the Bengals since 2022. Lawrence was unstoppable, nearly single-handedly forcing Houston to abandon the run after this fourth-and-1 stop. You’ll see him:
The Bengals (the Bengals!) have the only defense to not allow a running back to gain more than 10 yards on a carry. They have been the NFL’s most successful team against running back rushes, a mark in which they ranked 29th last season. They rank 12th in success rate against the pass, up from 31st in 2025.
The Rams’ offseason acquisitions drew more headlines. Other Bengals additions are also helping. But above all, Lawrence has been the difference-maker.
Extra Points
📊 Quick outs. We learned plenty about Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense this weekend, as Derrik Klassen details. More plays under center, more targets across the middle of the field. Both remain works in progress.
💬 Cheating? Sean Payton accused the Seahawks of Spygate-lite after learning Seattle scouted videos from Broncos training camp (that were posted by fans on social media). A threatened lawsuit by the Seahawks kept this private, Mike Macdonald revealed in an interview.
📃 49ers’ new WR. Brandin Cooks was signed to replenish San Francisco’s depleted receiver corps. That group was already down five potential contributors before Week 3.
📉 Trouble in Green Bay. Matt Schneidman’s story opens with this: The Packers’ best offensive lineman is out for the season. That’s the worst-case scenario for an already-struggling line.
▶️ Most-clicked: The story of Jonathan Owens, a Colts special teamer better known as Simone Biles’ husband.
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