Month: October 2026

We’re not even a month into the season, and six NFL teams have already had to replace their starter for at least one game. The Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears have had to replace two potential starters, and they got two very different results from their QB3s. Cooper Rush sabotaged a talented Falcons offense that immediately broke out once Michael Penix Jr. returned to the lineup. In Chicago, the Bears offense didn’t suffer any hiccups with Case Keenum stepping in for Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent. Having Ben Johnson dialing up the plays certainly made things easier for Keenum. The best backup quarterback might just be a good play-caller. Every NFL season offers several reminders of how handy a good backup can be, and this one is no different. So with that in mind, let’s rank which teams could survive without their starting quarterback and which ones would be ruined by a QB injury. Tier 5: ‘We’re Losing This Game’ Cade Klubnik and Kyle McCord could develop into mid-tier backups at some point, but we just haven’t seen enough from either to get a good feel for their respective ceilings. We’ve seen more than enough of Tommy DeVito and Kyle Allen to know an offense is in trouble if either of them is in the starting lineup. Both quarterbacks struggle to make routine throws consistently and compound that issue with questionable decision-making. Tier 4: It Will Be Bad, But It Might Be Fun! Enjoying these three comes down to your taste in quarterback play. If you enjoy quarterbacks frantically trying to escape pressure and occasionally pulling off miracle completions, these are your guys. Pickett has the most experience; Huntley is more well-rounded thanks to his running ability; and Howell has the best arm but shaky pocket presence. If you combined their skill sets, you’d get Baker Myfield. Watching Jalon Daniels fire off tight-window throws in the preseason was a blast. But that tape was also full of sprayed passes, so don’t expect an efficient stat line from the Day 3 pick as he fills in for an injured Baker Mayfield. If Shedeur Sanders had Daniels’ arm and athleticism, he’d be much higher on this list. He approaches the game as if he does, which can get him into trouble. The long sacks and throws into coverage offset his good plays. Trey Lance and Justin Fields are one bad preseason away from officially losing their “high potential” tag, if they haven’t already. Lance made some dreadful decisions and had a few frustrating misses during his preseason run. Fields is still dealing with the issues that plagued his rookie season. Both can produce a jaw-dropping throw or two per game, but neither is reliable down-to-down. Fields has Andy Reid and Ken Walker in his corner, so he’d have a fighting chance if he had to play this season. Lance would be overwhelmed by the Chargers’ offensive dysfunction. Tier 3: Can Execute A Game Plan – But It Better Be A Good One At their athletic peaks, these three would have landed in the first tier. Erratic throwing ability and waning athleticism don’t make a winning combination for quarterbacks, though. It’s been over six years since Trubisky and Taylor put together a full season of competent play. Josh Dobbs played relatively well for Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota, but who doesn’t, other than J.J. McCarthy? These three can still lead you to a win if they don’t have to do too much and the defense can keep the scoring in the high teens. These quarterbacks have a good grasp on their offenses and just enough accuracy to complete passes, but they can’t make all the throws needed to lead a successful passing game. They’re the quarterbacks who prove that arm strength matters. Andy Dalton still isn’t immune to lapses in judgment, as we saw this past week on Monday night. Quinn Ewers has some Mac Jones potential but needs more reps to fully realize it. Jarrett Sidham and Mason Rudolph are essentially the same quarterback. They’re solid backup options in theory, but once they step on the field, it becomes apparent why they’ve never gotten a real shot at a starting job. This group is the dividing line between the competent backups who can keep an offense on the rails for a game or two and those who will completely tank their teams. Davis Mills has been a valiant backup in Houston, thanks to quick processing and decent accuracy. Tyson Bagent and Stetson Bennett haven’t played much, but both seem to be in the perfect systems to maximize their skill sets. Tier 2: It Might Be Bad, But It Will Be Fun Carson Wentz and Jameis Winston offer the same experience as fill-in quarterbacks: they’ll make a few solid throws, but an inexplicable mistake is always around the corner. I still believe. Anthony Richardson would be the second-youngest starter in the NFL right now, and he’s coming off a solid preseason showing. Richardson’s inability to make simple passes has been a limiting factor, but he’s put some legitimately great throws on film. His contributions to the run game make him a viable spot starter. Tier 1: Little To No Drop-off If you’re looking for “The Next Sam Darnold,” Rattler is a strong candidate. He’s got legitimate arm talent and looks comfortable in the pocket. With a little more accuracy and significantly fewer mistakes, Rattler could lock down a starting job eventually. Gardner Minshew can be tolerable in small doses. At his best, Minshew can do a passable impression of Baker Mayfield. He doesn’t have the arm to make some of the throws Baker can, but, like the Bucs quarterback, he can spread the ball around and knows how to escape from crumbling pockets. Minshew’s zeal for play-making comes at a cost, though: he runs himself into sacks, and he can be reckless when throwing outside the pocket. This might be too high for Tua Tagovailoa based on what he put on tape in 2025. I’m willing to give him a pass – that Dolphins offense was a mess from top to bottom – and consider his larger body of work. Tagovailoa still has a skill set that can thrive in a point-and-shoot offense. Drew Lock is basically a value-brand Sam Darnold, so Seattle doesn’t have to change its approach when the former second-round pick has to play. He’s got a live arm and a desire to use it. Lock’s accuracy is hit-or-miss, but when he’s on, he can put on a show. The Raiders offense would likely improve in certain areas if Fernando Mendoza replaced Kirk Cousins. Mendoza is more mobile and more willing to push the ball downfield. The Las Vegas offense would be more explosive with Mendoza but not nearly as consistent. Over the last two years, Washington’s offense has actually been more efficient with Marcus Mariota on the field. Jayden Daniels offers a higher ceiling, but Mariota raises the floor. And while Mariota doesn’t create as many explosive plays, he’s been more accurate. Kyle Shanahan wouldn’t lose any sleep if Mac Jones had to step in for Brock Purdy at any point this season. He doesn’t create out of structure like Purdy, but he plays the point guard role just as well. There was a slight uptick in San Francisco’s offensive success rate when Jones played in 2025. Joe Flacco’s complete lack of mobility is really the only thing holding him back from still being a starting-level quarterback. If his offensive line keeps him in a clean pocket, Flacco can pick apart a defense at all three levels. If Joe Burrow misses time, the Bengals have a backup who can keep the ship afloat.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

When Justin Herbert threw a costly interception in the Los Angeles Chargers’ loss to the Buffalo Bills last week, Tom Brady was more than blunt when he assessed the quarterback’s errant throw. “There’s a safety in the middle of the field. Poor awareness, poor decision, throws him a meatball sub,” Brady said of Herbert’s throw, which landed right in the arms of Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Brady’s quote quickly went viral. FOX Sports’ video of the quote generated over 300,000 likes on Instagram, while a handful of posts on X about Brady’s comment garnered several thousand likes and views. But how did Brady learn about the term that’s become popular on social media for whenever a quarterback throws a bad pass? In the latest edition of #AskTom, Brady let everyone know that his kids have helped keep him hip to popular social media vernacular. “Chill, chill. Relax. Everyone’s got to remember, I’ve got three kids, OK? So, that should just point you in the right direction,” Brady said when asked who told him to say “meatball sub.” Brady’s “meatball sub” remark was the second straight week that he said something on a broadcast that quickly made the rounds on social media. A week earlier, he called one of Dak Prescott’s passes a “piss missile” in the Dallas Cowboys’ victory over the Washington Commanders. Brady apologized for the “piss missile” comment in last week’s edition of #AskTom. But he isn’t apologizing for his “meatball sub” quote, although he admitted that some of his passes were meatball subs. “I threw a lot. I probably threw over 200 interceptions in my career. I would say somewhere between 25 and 50 [were meatball subs],” Brady said. “And, believe me, Coach [Bill] Belichick, he never let me forget those.” That led Brady to express his appreciation for the coaching he got from Belichick over his career as he touched on that topic and more in this week’s #AskTom. Here’s what Brady had to say about Case Keenum’s surprising performance, Sean Payton’s gutsy calls in the Broncos’ win over the Rams and how cleats can make a difference in a quarterback’s throw. Case Keenum is 38, third on the depth chart and hasn’t started since 2023, but he helped the Bears beat the Eagles on Monday night. What does a week like this look like for a veteran thrust into the spotlight? Brady: Well, there’s definitely some nerves and anxiety as you prepare for the week. It’s been a long time since you’ve been the starter. It’s been a long time since the team really needed you to step up and play well. But, look, when you’re a veteran quarterback and you’ve got a lot of years of experience, as that ball’s kicked off and you run your first play, you settle in very quickly. There’s a lot of experience you can rely on and he’s really well-coached. I love this Ben Johnson offense. There were a lot of great throws out there and he made a lot of great decisions. That’s what it takes. That’s why you’re the backup. That’s why you pay ya to deliver for your team. Sean Payton went for it twice in the third quarter to tie the game in the Broncos’ win over the Rams. How much of that is a coach’s decision vs. the QB potentially going and fighting for the chance to win there? Brady: In the end, it’s all about the head coach’s decision. What I think a lot of people need to understand is that the head coach needs to be accountable for every decision — offensively, defensively or special teams. It all comes down to one guy: the head coach making the decisions. He’s the one responsible in those big moments to make the call and put his team in the best position to win. Who told you to say meatball sub? Also, can I get an exact number of meatball subs that you threw during your career? Brady: Chill, chill. Relax. Everyone’s got to remember, I’ve got three kids, OK? So, that should just point you in the right direction. And I threw a lot. I probably threw over 200 interceptions in my career. I would say somewhere between 25 and 50 [were meatball subs]. And, believe me, Coach [Bill] Belichick, he never let me forget those. Was Bill calling them meatball subs? Was that where that lingo came from? Brady: No, [Belichick would say]: “Brady, you bum.” And I just took it like a man. I learned from it, and hopefully I didn’t go out there and repeat them too often. Actually, I’m glad you brought that up, because I think, and what I notice so much in the NFL is there’s so many people telling everybody how great they are all the time. I don’t think a lot of young people understand that the best way to learn is by getting outside their comfort zone and learning from coaches who are really pushing them. Coaches are the ones who should be telling you the truth every day. I was very fortunate. I had the greatest coach in the history of the NFL. He never let me forget when I threw an interception. He never glazed over it. He didn’t move on. He let me know about it, created awareness about it and he let me sit in the pain of letting the team down for a day or two before moving on. I think it was great learning for me, even though it was painful. It let me grow up. It helped me toughen up. It let me gain the respect of my teammates and coaches when they saw that, and I was able to move on and put it behind me. Did you have that perspective in the moment, or was that something that came afterwards? Brady: All of it’s learned. I think the great fortune for me is, being retired for four years, I look back on all the things that allowed me to be the player I wanted to be. I’m so grateful for everybody that was on my journey and all the coaches that pushed me and pushed me every single day, when they had higher expectations for me and they knew I could achieve them and they pushed me to do that. That’s what every great athlete should want. You should want a coach that’s demanding and calls you out when you’re not playing up to your standard, because that’s going to elevate your game. Yeah, it may sting in the moment a little bit, but when you reflect back at the end of a long career, you’re going to be appreciative and respectful of the coaches that did just that. How much attention did you pay to a field and the cleat choice going into a game and what did that have to do with your throwing mechanics? Brady: It was always important that you had to know the surface that you were playing on. But, listen, I loved grass fields. I hated turf fields. What we’re doing to kids at turf fields in high school, college and, ultimately, when they get to the pros, the wear and tear on those bodies over time really takes a toll. I really love the grass fields. So what, it’s a little bit slick? So what, it’s a little bit muddy? I’d much rather fall on a grass field than not. I think the most important point when you have a field that’s a little bit slick is you wear a longer seven-stud, so it digs into the surface. A lot of guys actually didn’t like playing with the long seven studs. But I always felt as a quarterback, if I was able to drive the ball, I would need a really firm base in the pocket. And when I plant on the back foot of either a three-step, five-step or seven-step drop, the back cleats really allowed me to dig into the surface to transfer my ground force going backwards into going back into my hitches. If I was hitching into the throw, I could create a lot of ground force going into my target, the right amount of torque with my body — my shoulder-hip dissociation — and then, when I released the ball, I still maintained the whip. The problem is, if you lose your ground force because you’re slipping on the surface, your whole mechanics shift to only using your torque and this really relaxed whip in your arm. So, I would say you become much stronger with your throw. The whole point, I would say, is to get the ground force from your legs into your torque into the whippy arm. That’s how you generate the maximum force throwing a football. Equipment managers everywhere are scrambling this week after that, Tom. Brady: Hey, go figure it out, young equipment managers. You have to figure it out, too.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports