The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Week Three Quarterback Debuts
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Week Three Quarterback Debuts
The 2019 NFL season has witnessed many changes to the quarterback landscape of the league. While there still are plenty of familiar faces under center such as Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, and Aaron Rodgers, numerous teams find themselves with a fresh quarterback running the show, whether it be by choice or injury. Week Three highlighted the shifting quarterback cast more so than the first two weeks, as a slew of backups had their first chance at the helm this past weekend. As can be expected from multiple offenses and various situations, the performances from the fresh gunslingers ranged from good to ugly as the organizations adjust. Here are some takeaways from this past week.
The Good
Daniel Jones
When the Giants took Jones with the sixth pick in this year’s draft many people considered the selection to be a mistake. Daniel Jones had his first chance to prove the doubters wrong against Tampa Bay this week, and he did just that with an incredible outing completing 23 of 36 attempts for 336 yards and four total touchdowns in a victory for the Giants. More impressive than the stat line and win was the way that it happened. The Giants quickly trailed 12-3 by the end of the first quarter, and star running back Saquon Barkley suffered a game-ending ankle injury in the second quarter. As Barkley hobbled off the field, so too, it seemed, did any hope the Giants had of winning. The Giants entered halftime trailing 28-10.
Daniel Jones and the New York offense entered the second half poised to make a comeback. On the very first play from scrimmage, Jones linked up with Evan Engram for a 75-yard catch and run. Jones would complete a pass to Sterling Shepard to convert the two-point attempt. Jones demonstrated his ability to lead a controlled drive down the field in the second Giants series of the half. He and the Giants offense executed an eight play, 80-yard drive highlighted by a 46-yard pass to Darius Slayton, and capped off by a seven-yard touchdown grab by Shepard. The Giants had quickly chiseled the halftime deficit down to three, as they now trailed 28-25.
Following some defensive stops and a Tampa Bay field goal to extend their lead to 31-25, Jones and his offense got the ball back with 3:16 to play in regulation. The rookie dubbed “Danny Dimes” once again marched his offense down the field, completing a 21-yard pass to Slayton and a 36-yarder to Shepard in the process. A five-yard completion by Bennie Fowler moved the ball to the Bucs’ twelve-yard line. On a crucial 4th and five play, Jones navigated pressure in the pocket and scrambled into the end zone with 1:16 left to play. The seven-yard scramble was Jones’ second rushing score of the day, and following Aldrick Rosas’ successful PAT the Giants snagged a one point lead in the closing moments of the contest. A struggling Giants defense allowed Tampa Bay to drive the ball down to their 16-yard line, but was fortunate that Matt Gay pushed the 34-yard field goal wide right as time expired.
Down 18 points at the half, Jones led the Giants to their largest second half comeback since 1970 and secured the squad its first win of the season. Jones accomplished the comeback in fascinating fashion, as the Giants played the entire second half without their best offensive player, Saquon Barkley. The Giants run game was virtually non-existent, as Jones himself led the team with 28 rushing yards. The rookie quarterback in his debut start led the crusade through the air. The former Duke player showed patience in the pocket and accuracy down the field that is hard to come by among rookies. What might be most impressive is the fact that Jones put up these passing stats from an often chaotic pocket, as the Bucs pressured the young quarterback on 55% of his dropbacks. The pressure wasn’t enough to startle Jones, who didn’t throw a single interception and tore up the Tampa Bay secondary all afternoon. With Barkley out four to eight weeks with a high ankle sprain, the Giants will need Jones to continue to look solid for the foreseeable future.
Kyle Allen
Kyle Allen made his first start of the season on Sunday as he filled in for the injured Cam Newton. His first NFL start came in Week 17 a season ago against New Orleans. He looked good against the Saints’ backup defensive unit, throwing for 228 yards and two touchdowns and adding another score on the ground. Allen looked even better this week against Arizona. The beginning of the game was a back and forth offensive duel between two young quarterbacks, and Allen looked up to the task against Kyler Murray’s team.
Allen and the Panthers first got on the board early in the second quarter. On a third and goal play, Allen was chased out of the pocket and fired a dart to Curtis Samuel in the end zone to tie the game up at 7-7. Like Jones, Allen appeared unafraid to be aggressive through the air. With under a minute remaining in the first half Allen linked up with D.J. Moore on a 52-yard score to give Carolina a 14-10 lead.
After halftime, Allen and company picked up right where they left off mounting an impressive 75-yard touchdown drive in response to Arizona’s own touchdown on the first possession of the half. Allen found one of Cam Newton’s favorite targets, Greg Olsen, for a three-yard touchdown grab to seal off the drive. The undrafted free agent looked incredibly poised and efficient in the red zone, which is a great trait in a young quarterback.
An interception by Carolina’s defense granted Allen a short field to start off the fourth quarter. Allen completed a beautiful pass to Samuel, moving the ball to Arizona’s two-yard line, and then found the end zone for a fourth time as he fired a pass over the heads of two Arizona defensive backs and into the hands of Olsen once again.
The second-year quarterback out of Houston finished the game with an efficient 19 for 26 pass attempts for 261 yards and four touchdowns. While Arizona does have a very weak secondary, Allen showed confidence in exploiting the weakness and already showed signs of great rhythm and comfort with his receivers. He did a commendable job spreading the ball around for a backup quarterback in completing passes to seven different receivers. Allen’s 9.2 average yards per pass attempt flexed his ability to throw the ball down the field. All told, Kyle Allen proved he is more than a serviceable backup in his first start this season. His performance serves as a relief to the Panthers as there are rumbles that Cam Newton’s foot injury may actually be quite serious. Newton is already ruled out for Carolina’s Week 4 matchup with Houston, so Ron Rivera’s team will once again field Allen at the quarterback position.
The Bad
Mason Rudolph
Rudolph made his first regular-season NFL appearance last week when he came in for an injured Ben Roethlisberger. After it was announced that Big Ben would miss the rest of the season due to elbow surgery, Rudolph was named the starter for Pittsburgh’s Week Three clash with San Francisco.
Rudolph and the Steelers offense were unable to take advantage of two early interceptions by their defensive unit. Their two drives following the turnovers went for just five and 16 yards and resulted in two Chris Boswell field goals. Rudolph quickly displayed an inability to pull the trigger and take shots at the 49ers secondary. A defensive first half finished with the Steelers clinging to a 6-3 lead.
On the first drive of the second half, Rudolph avoided pressure in the pocket and attempted to force a pass to Juju Smith-Schuster that was intercepted by K’Waun Williams. The second-year quarterback found success later in the third quarter as he linked up with the speedy Smith-Schuster for a dazzling 76-yard catch and run touchdown. Rudolph looked at his best during Pittsburgh’s first drive of the fourth quarter. The quarterback out of Oklahoma State fired an accurate shot downfield towards James Washington, and he probably would’ve completed the long pass if not for a defensive pass interference that was called. The very next play Rudolph floated a pass perfectly into the grasp of Diontae Johnson for a 39-yard touchdown. These two pass attempts displayed flashes of brilliance from Rudolph in what was an otherwise underwhelming performance.
Rudolph’s adversary, Jimmy Garoppolo, displayed much more poise under pressure as he was able to find an open man with greater consistency. When Mason Rudolph’s first read was covered, he too often looked unprepared in the pocket and tried to scramble with little success. The Steelers lost the game and only managed to put 20 points on the board despite its defense forcing five turnovers. Rudolph finished the game completing 14 of 27 passes for 174 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. His final statline was helped a great deal by his two deep touchdowns to Juju and Johnson. Without those two plays, the young quarterback was just 12 for 25 for 59 yards and an interception.
Rudolph’s outlook moving forward isn’t horrible, obviously, as this was only his first start and San Francisco’s defense is better than they might get credit for, but he will need to be more efficient and accurate as his team continues with him under center in the absence of Ben.
Teddy Bridgewater
Teddy has by far the most league experience out of everyone on this list. The former Pro Bowler entered the league in 2014 as the 32nd pick of the first round when he was selected by Minnesota. He started in twelve games in 2014 and all 16 games in 2015, the year he led the Vikings to a playoff berth and was selected for the Pro Bowl. Bridgewater tore his ACL in the summer of 2016 and was sidelined for a while before eventually ending up in New Orleans last season. Following the injury to Drew Brees’ thumb against the Rams in Week Two it was announced that Bridgewater would make his first start of the season in Week Three against the Seahawks.
Bridgewater didn’t impress much in this game, but Sean Payton’s game plan and the Saints’ defense were good enough to secure the victory on the road. Bridgewater showed solid athleticism on a 3rd and 13 during the first New Orleans’ possession when he scrambled up the middle for eleven yards. On the first offensive play of the second quarter, Bridgewater misfired on a pass targeting Taysom Hill and probably should have been intercepted. The majority of Bridgewater’s passes were short throws near the line of scrimmage, and he struggled to find any success looking downfield. The Saints’ first offensive touchdown came on a 29-yard catch and run by the explosive Alvin Kamara. The play highlighted Kamara’s elusiveness and playmaking, and didn’t showcase much of Bridgewater’s aerial abilities as Kamara caught the pass behind the line of scrimmage.
Teddy looked at his best on the first Saints drive of the second half. The scoring drive featured 18 and 15-yard completions to Michael Thomas to get the Saints offense into striking distance. On a 4th and goal play from the one-yard line Bridgewater once again found Thomas on a screen play for a one-yard touchdown pass. The six-year quarterback out of Louisville looked unsteady on a 3rd and four play early in the fourth quarter when he attempted to force the ball to Thomas on an out route. The pass should have resulted in a pick six by Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright who dropped the sure interception.
Bridgewater finished the contest completing 19 of 27 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown in a 33-27 Saints victory. Two non-offensive Saints touchdowns played a vital role in the win. Additionally, Alvin Kamara’s dominant game helped take the pressure off of Bridgewater and the passing attack. Kamara finished with 16 rushes for 69 yards and a touchdown, as well as nine receptions for 92 yards and another touchdown through the air. Kamara gave Bridgewater his only 20+ yard pass of the game on his 29-yard dump off that resulted in a touchdown. In his post-game press conference, Bridgewater expressed relief in having Kamara on his side.
“He’s like a human joystick,” Bridgewater said of the two-time Pro Bowler. “We’re glad he’s on our team, and he’s one of those guys who’s one of the leaders on offense.”
It is pretty obvious that the Saints’ offense will rely heavily on Kamara’s abilities in Brees’ absence. While Teddy did a solid job managing the game and executing Payton’s gameplan, he very easily could have had two interceptions and didn’t look very dangerous firing the ball downfield. It was his first outing with the Saints this year, so there is no reason to be concerned. New Orleans faces a tough challenger next week as they host the 3-0 Cowboys. With Drew Brees likely to miss at least six weeks, New Orleans will be relying on Bridgewater to run the offense in the meantime.
The Ugly
Luke Falk
Luke Falk made his true NFL debut last week when he entered the Jets’ Monday night game in relief for the injured Trevor Siemian. The third-string quarterback was able to connect with receiver Robbie Anderson for a couple of nice receptions but was unable to mount any sort of offensive attack.
Unfortunately, the second-year quarterback didn’t look any better on Sunday against the Patriots following his first full week of practice and preparation as the starter. The Pats defense’s relentless pressure proved to be a major problem for both Falk and Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell. Falk was sacked five times and was under constant pressure, while Bell was left running into stacked boxes all game, totaling just 35 yards on 18 attempts.
Unlike Jones and Allen, Falk was unable to spark any sort of downfield threat. With 11:36 to play in the third quarter on a third and two play, Falk launched a pass deep along the left sideline towards Jamison Crowder. The horribly underthrown pass was easily intercepted by Devin McCourty and further alleviated any concerns New England might have had about Falk’s ability to apply pressure downfield.
Falk simply couldn’t get anything going on Sunday and finished with a dismal passer rating of 47.2 on 12 of 22 attempts for 98 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. The Jets finished the contest 0 for 12 on third-down attempts. The only points New York put on the scoreboard came from a muffed punt that gunner Arthur Maulet recovered in the end zone, and a pick-six thrown by backup New England quarterback Jarrett Stidham that was returned by Jamal Adams.
Adam Gase indicated that Sam Darnold may be ready to return to action in Week 5 for the Jets’ matchup with Philadelphia. The Jets will take this week off with a bye, meaning that when they return in two weeks the Luke Falk era may come to an end, for now, something that 0-3 Jets fans can be optimistic about.
Josh Rosen
The second-year quarterback had plenty of league experience a season ago with a struggling Arizona team. In 13 starts, Rosen led the Cardinals to a 3-10 record. After Arizona drafted reigning Heisman winner Kyler Murray, Rosen was moved to Miami and got to join another struggling team.
Rosen’s spot on this list is very circumstantial. To be fair to Josh he did about as good as one could expect in his first start with the Dolphins. Early on he showed he was willing and able to take shots downfield into the Dallas secondary. On the first Miami drive of the game, Rosen linked up with DeVante Parker for a very accurate, 40-yard, one-handed reception. He exhibited his ability to navigate a crumbling pocket as he rolled left and found Nick O’Leary for 19 yards later in the quarter. That same drive, Rosen found Preston Williams on a flea-flicker pass play for 24 yards. Those two linked up again on an eleven-yard pass play that set up a first and goal for Miami. Three unsuccessful running plays resulted in a field goal. The 10th overall pick in 2018 wasn’t even given a chance to put points on the board through the air. Red zone inefficiency was a trend throughout the day, further diminishing the impact Rosen could have made.
Dropped passes by Fins receivers also hurt Rosen’s performance. With 5:57 to play in the second quarter in a game that was still reasonably close, Williams was unable to corral a touchdown pass as he made contact with the turf. A strong defensive play by Dallas’ Chidobe Awuzie also played a role in the incompletion, but Williams later admitted that he should have made the catch.
As the game marched on into the second half, Rosen and the Miami offense simply failed to produce any meaningful offense. Rosen at least managed to remain aggressive in the passing game forcing a few defensive pass interference calls. He displayed solid downfield accuracy but the efficiency just wasn’t there (thanks in part to subpar receiver play.) The Dolphins were unable to score a touchdown in three red zone visits, but, once again, it's hard to pin those failures on Rosen. Rosen didn’t even get to attempt a pass play during the second trip, and the third red zone visit ended when Kenyan Drake fumbled the ball on a first and goal play and Dallas recovered.
Rosen finished the game completing 18 of 39 attempts and no touchdowns. He also didn’t throw any interceptions, which should keep him ahead of Fitzpatrick on the depth chart for now. Quarterbacking a tank job is not an easy task, and while Rosen showed he has the talent and ability to be a quarterback in this league, Sunday’s performance was an ugly one for the Miami offense.
-By: Jonny Hart