This year has been pretty weird for the NFL fan to navigate through. The Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots lost iconic players during the offseason; Antonio Brown wreaked more havoc off the field than on it; a lot of suspicious and inconsistent calls; and at least two faces manning the pocket through the span of the year.
Some already consider this season as the Year of the Backup Quarterback, and Adam Schefter's latest report seems to confirm this to be not just as a passing trend.
With Jeff Driskell, Brian Hoyer and Ryan Finley starting today, exactly half of the NFL will have turned to multiple starting QBs this season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 10, 2019
It's never been a comfortable sight for fans whenever backup quarterbacks take to the field instead of the team's established starters. There's a reason why they're the backups and not the man who starts the game on the field.
However, circumstances have dealt these same teams with terrible hands, forcing them to give their backups a lot of starting minutes. The Colts had to give Jacoby Brissett a contract extension due to Andrew Luck's sudden retirement. Gardner Minshew got his snaps due to the injury Jacksonville Jaguars starter Nick Foles sustained.
There were also circumstances where it was more ceremonial than results-based. Longtime New York Giants signal-caller Eli Manning moved over to allow Daniel Jones to develop in the harsh conditions of the NFL. Josh Rosen also got snaps due to the horrific start Ryan Fitzpatrick had during the start of the season.
The multiple QB experiment has been working so far. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk revealed that teams who used multiple starting QBs are actually winning football games. The best example of this is the New Orleans Saints' Teddy Bridgewater. He played as if Drew Brees never had to leave and get his hand fixed.
These are surely confusing times for the NFL fan, but it's also one that he should be excited about.
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