Judging by the standings alone, the stakes of Sunday’s Week 13 matchup between Tampa Bay and Carolina had been remarkably low. Both groups had shedding data.
Yet the sport was way more compelling than it appeared at first look — as a result of few video games this season have provided a greater perspective on one of the crucial important questions within the NFL: How affected person ought to a staff be with its younger quarterback?
Less than two seasons right into a profession wherein Bryce Young has already gone from the primary total draft decide to a benching solely 18 video games later, Young used his legs and his arm to steer the Panthers on what gave the impression to be a game-winning drive, because the Panthers took a 23-20 lead with solely seconds left in Sunday’s fourth quarter.
Then Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield began his personal heroics, first main the Buccaneers to a tie after which a win in extra time. It wasn’t the primary time he and Young have mirrored one another. Like Young, Mayfield was a Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 total draft decide who shortly went from an obvious franchise cornerstone, in Cleveland, to a castoff.
And each at the moment are doing what few anticipated at numerous factors of their respective careers — succeeding after having acquired second possibilities.
“Speaking from expertise of the ups and downs of the league, to see it by, come out on the opposite aspect, it makes you stronger in the long run,’’ Mayfield informed reporters Sunday. “Knowing who he’s working with now could be an enormous a part of that with the positivity and confidence facet of it. [Young] has the potential to do something he needs to do.’’
With quarterback contracts reaching as much as $60 million yearly and relaxed guidelines permitting for extra passing, the place has by no means been probably extra pricey — and useful. That mixture has created a brief leash even for prospects, together with first-round draft picks.
The stakes are stark.
Find a quarterback who works and a staff may be arrange for years of sustained success. (Just ask the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs.) Draft one who doesn’t dwell as much as expectations and it could kick off a doom spiral that lasts even longer. Just ask Cleveland, which has began 39 completely different quarterbacks since 1999 and produced only one playoff win throughout that quarter-century.
The quarterback in that lone Browns playoff recreation was Mayfield, whom Cleveland prized so extremely that it chosen him with the No. 1 total draft decide in 2018. Yet simply two seasons after he led the Browns to the playoff win at Pittsburgh, Mayfield was out of a job, traded to make room for his substitute, Deshaun Watson. When Mayfield struggled sufficient at his subsequent cease, Carolina, that he was reduce, Cleveland’s determination to maneuver on was by no means questioned.
That has modified.
Mayfield’s play with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 was adequate to earn him a one-year contract with Tampa Bay, and with the Buccaneers, the fourth cease of his profession, he has undergone a revival. He has received one other playoff recreation; posted career-best averages for completion proportion, quarterback score and yards per recreation; and used a Pro Bowl season in 2023 to earn a three-year, $100 million contract extension. The turnaround has led to questions in Cleveland about whether or not the Browns ought to remorse their determination to maneuver on from him after 4 seasons, whereas Cleveland’s acquisition of Watson has gone so poorly that the franchise’s existential seek for its quarterback stays ongoing.
Could his instance create a “Mayfield Effect,” wherein groups are extra affected person in evaluating their younger quarterbacks to keep away from the remorse of shifting on too quickly from passers who go on to thrive elsewhere?
“Probably not,” mentioned an NFL government who evaluates expertise, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to be candid. “Teams will take an enormous swing on a possible franchise quarterback.”
Translation: If a staff’s beginning quarterback hasn’t changed into a bona fide choice and there’s a probability to draft a coveted quarterback, a staff is prone to pursue the second choice.
And but it’s notable, and maybe not coincidence, that this has been the season of the second (or third) possibilities for quarterbacks throughout the NFL.
In Week 13 alone, Indianapolis earned a last-second win in New England that was engineered by quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was drafted three picks after Young in 2023 and was benched in October solely 10 begins into his profession. Yet shortly, the Colts reversed course and reinstalled him as their starter. In his third recreation again as starter, Richardson threw for a landing with 12 seconds left Sunday, then ran within the game-winning two-point conversion.
In Minnesota, the Vikings improved to 10-2 after Sam Darnold, a former high 10 decide who beforehand disenchanted with the New York Jets and the Panthers, threw the game-winning landing with 1 minute left. During his first six seasons, Darnold had by no means thrown for greater than 19 touchdowns; with 5 video games remaining, he already has 23.
And Pittsburgh improved to 5-1 with Russell Wilson because the starter after he threw for 414 yards Sunday in opposition to Cincinnati, the second-highest complete of his profession. Less than a yr in the past, the Denver Broncos benched Wilson, a former Super Bowl champion, main him to signal on in Pittsburgh for the league minimal. Now, the Steelers personal the third-best file within the AFC.
When Carolina benched Young in September, the Panthers had their causes: His 4-18 file was the worst by a former high decide within the Super Bowl period, according to ESPN. But the Panthers had causes to not entertain trades for Young, both. They “completely” believed Young might develop right into a franchise quarterback, mentioned their coach, Dave Canales — who was the offensive coordinator in Tampa throughout Mayfield’s 2023 revival. Was that the Mayfield impact, or was it a staff merely doing its due diligence?
Either approach, Young has seemed promising since he returned and fewer like a venture. After having thrown 11 landing passes within the first 20 video games of his profession, he has thrown for six in his final 5. Against Tampa Bay, Young threw for 298 yards, the second-most of his profession, and after the sport was over, ready for him at midfield for a handshake was Mayfield.
