In Thursday’s loss to the Ravens, the Jets proved while they will have a top-10 draft selection, while Baltimore won the AFC North title.
Unsurprisingly, the Jets were handed their ninth loss of the season by a team much better than them.
The Ravens, entering the game as two-touchdown favorites, wound up winning by three. Baltimore beat the Jets’ No. 2 rushing defense like a drum. New York had its opportunities in the game, but never stood a chance. Adam Gase’s offense could never get going, and it looked like boys against men on the field on the defensive side of the ball.
Let’s take a look at some interesting stats from Gang Green’s latest embarrassing loss.
Lamar Jackon revenge tour
(Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports)
Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen were the four quarterbacks selected before Lamar Jackson in the 2018 NFL draft.
Those four quarterbacks have a combined 38-52 record after the Ravens beat the Jets 42-21 on Thursday Night Football. With Thursday’s win, Jackson is now 18-3 as a starter.
The Miami Dolphins made the decision to bench quarterback Josh Rosen earlier this season — in doing so Miami protected Rosen from himself.
One thing we can all agree upon? The 2019 Miami Dolphins’ offense is not very good.
That statement might be the easiest evaluation during the weekly bouts involving Miami. Sure, they’re scrappy. They have fight. They don’t quit. Much of that is due to the reckless, backyard style spearheaded by the bearded madman himself: Ryan Fitzpatrick. His ability to extend plays with his legs and savvy under pressure have covered up some of the warts this offense possesses and while simultaneously allowing some of the skill players to make something out of nothing. But Fitzpatrick also taken some serious licks from a multitude of defenders.
With Rosen under center, this team was different. And he would be getting annihilated behind this porous offensive line. The skill players would have no chance to make something out of nothing, because Rosen himself can’t make something out of nothing. It’s not his style. By benching the second year quarterback, multiple positives happened for the aqua and orange:
Rosen can continue to to be groomed to the pro game without being destroyed on the field. Josh was not the pro-ready prospect he was sold as coming out of UCLA. And if he cannot correctly identify the defense, he cannot effectively operate the offense, thus hampering his own development as well as the production of the entire team.
Additionally, Rosen is a traditional pocket passer. This piecemeal offensive line has Fitzpatrick running for his life on nearly every play, and he’s still taken 3.5 sacks per start this season despite his ability to evade pressure. Can you imagine Rosen behind this line these past two months? He very likely would have been pulled for injury if he hadn’t been pulled for another player.
Fitzpatrick galvanized the offense, catapulting them into a more competitive state. Guys like Devante Parker and Mike Gesicki have experienced nice bumps in their past production with Fitz in the lineup. Even being down by several scores, the offense doesn’t roll over. This allows the coaches and Chris Grier to identify who is worth keeping around past year zero.
Finally, the move protects Josh Rosen, the asset. Whether he is in the long-term plans or is destined to yet again be sent off to a third team in as many seasons, he offers no value as damaged goods.
The fact is, Miami found it worth their while to bring Rosen over from Arizona for one reason or another, and they quickly realized they weren’t going to get his best or be able to give them their best in 2019. Don’t write him off for next season quite yet. Yes, he appears to be the type of quarterback that needs stability around him to produce at a high level.
It just so happens that Miami has assets galore after the 2019 season. The offensive line needs a complete overhaul. If successful in that endeavor, and Rosen grows as a pro behind the scenes, there’s a chance we see his best ball next season. Whether that includes a rookie waiting in the wings remains to be seen.
All things considered, The Dolphins truly did do Josh Rosen a favor in not leading him to slaughter in 2019. The results will speak for themselves in the untold future.
Kyler Murray has the exact same number of pass attempts that Josh Rosen did in 2018. How do the two QBs stack up?
The Arizona Cardinals have had a rookie starting quarterback for two consecutive seasons. In 2018, it was Josh Rosen. This year, it is Kyler Murray. It just happens to be that through 11 games this season, Murray has exactly the same number of passing attempts that Rosen did his rookie season, meaning there are some easy comparisons to be made.
The eye test will tell you Murray is having a superior season than Rosen did last year. Just how much better?
Murray has 393 passing attempts this season through 11 games. Rosen had 393 passing attempts all last season, in 14 games and 13 starts.
How much better has Murray been?
He has completed 37 more passes than Rosen did (254 to 217).
Naturally, his completion percentage is better (64.6 to 55.2).
He has more 425 more passing yards (2,703 to 2,278).
He has more touchdown passes (14 to 11).
He has far fewer interceptions (5 to Rosen’s 14).
He has a much higher yards per attempt (6.9 to 5.8).
His passer rating is more than 24 points higher (91.2 to 66.7).
That doesn’t even factor in the running ability. Rosen had 138 rushing yards. Murray has 418 so far and has scored three touchdowns on the ground.
Rosen won three games in 13 starts. Murray has three and a tie in 11 games.
In every metric imaginable, Murray’s season is superior to Rosen’s rookie season.
If there was any doubt about whether the Cardinals made the right decision in drafting Murray and moving on from Rosen, that should be gone at this point.
Murray simply has been far better and has shown much more promise for the future.
Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.
Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.
He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.
Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.
All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.
By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.
To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.
With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:
32. Miami Dolphins
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Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.
31. Chicago Bears
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For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.
30. Cincinnati Bengals
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Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”
29. Washington Redskins
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The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.
Josh Allen is ranked as the second-best quarterback from the 2018 draft according to ESPN’s Matt Bowen.
The Buffalo Bills Josh Allen may have been the third quarterback who heard his name called at the 2018 draft. However, he’s moved up a spot in the position, according to ESPN.
ESPN currently ranks Allen as No. 2 on his list of quarterbacks from 2018 cohort, settling in behind Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.
Comparison of quarterbacks drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft through November 15, 2019, via Pro Football Reference.
According to ESPN there isn’t much to differentiate between the middle portion of the grouping behind the electric Jackson.
Here’s how ESPN explains that middle grouping:
“Let’s be honest here – Nos. 2-4 on this list are extremely close, and it’s not because they’ve all been excellent. After a season’s worth of starts, Allen, Mayfield and Darnold all have major issues and rank near the bottom of the league in multiple statistical categories. But this is my ranking, and I have Allen just barely ahead of Mayfield because of his development in a Bills system that has highlighted his natural tools.”
While several pundits have questioned the offensive identity for Buffalo’s unit, ESPNfeels the staff has done well with Allen, adding “the Buffalo coaching staff continues to put the former No. 7 overall pick in favorable positions that cater to both his arm talent and movement skills.” In addition to his arm, Allen has been lethal in the run game, leading this group with 14 rushing touchdowns to date.
He’s also the best among these quarterbacks with respect to QBR in the red zone.
ESPN also tabbed Allen’s arm strength as his best trait. Allen is completing 64.4-percent of his passes traveling 10-20 yard range, which ranks seventh in the NFL.
Allen, while still a work in progress, is inching his way up the rankings among his contemporaries. Being No. 2 is not a bad thing at this point and his play could get even better.
