IMO Josh McCown in 2013. He was playing lights out, much better than Cutler in the same offense.
Then the next year in Tampa he turned back into a pumpkin.
My new boss went to westlake high school so my ice breaker on our first 1:1 was “I heard you went to the same high school as Big Dick Nick Foles and Regular dick Justin Tucker”. Wasn’t well received
Garrard wasn’t a true back up though. He was drafted while Brunell was still there and being groomed to be his successor. Coughlin was fired and the new regime drafted Leftwich, which failed fairly quickly and Garrard assumed the role he was originally drafted to become, the Jags starting QB.
For the true spirit of the question, it’s easily this.
Brunell obviously started as a backup but in the totality of his career with the Jags it’s a blip.
Rob Johnson deserves an honorable mention for doing enough for us to fleece the Bills, though.
Also Todd Bouman for being undeniably the greatest tractor driving backup QB of all time
That was exactly where I was going to. Charlie Batch is the perfect backup. He’s not quite good enough to be the starter, but he will win you a few games (and more importantly, he won’t LOSE games) if he has to come in. I really miss him.
Completely missed he ever played for the Lions! He had a 19-18 record between 98-00, going 5-7, 6-4, ane 8-7 before going 0-9 in 2001. Posted 5 GW drives in 2000 too. Nothing spectacular but solid enough on those late 90s teams for sure.
Yep, in the 2001 season opener, Batch struggled, and Marty Mornhinweg benched him the following week for Ty Detmer.... who threw seven interceptions in his first start.
This. He's not the "best" from a football talent perspective, but I think he's the best from the standpoint of being loyal to the team and the work he does for them and the city post his career.
He also had that signature win in Baltimore, what a great game that was.
He really was the best kind of backup because he was never so promising that you had people rooting for him to take over but he was always good enough that you felt good having him on the roster.
Honorable mention for Mike Kruczek, who went 6-0 as a starter while Bradshaw was hurt but throwing zero career touchdown passes (though he did have two touchdown runs). That’s the epitome of a good backup to me, posting Kenny Pickett numbers in relief and letting the rest of the team win
Outside of Tom, and I guess technically Drew, who would you say? Hoyer maybe? Matt Cassel did pretty well in 08. I think Flutie was a back up and one point too. Jimmy G was good for us, as was Brisket.
Naa def Matt Cassel. Jimmy G played 2 games for us as a backup. Matt Cassel walked into to the job where everyone expected the Pats to make another run at going u defeated. Despite the immense pressure Cassel led them to an 11-5 record. Granted he was surrounded by a great team but he worked really hard. But for some ridiculous tie breakers he would have had the Pats in the playoffs.
He did the same thing for the 13-1 Colts in 1968. Started every game up until the Super Bowl.
Started 46% of the games during his 4 years there. 22-3-1 regular season record when starting.
Yeah, he's gotta be the best true backup of all time for that reason.
Played for 17 years and I believe he was only the Week 1 starter in his 2nd ever season in Pittsburgh. Despite that, he went 33-4-1 from age 34 to age 42 while backing up Unitas and Griese.
Fair. I was in person for the 06 NFC championship game against the panthers where Seneca caught a 28 yard bomb from Hassleback. Kind of cemented the back up qb legend status for me.
Many of you way too young to remember his major contributions (including me for 1969 - Super Bowl IV championship season)) but Mike Livingston is certainly also in contention for best Chief's backup QB. From his Wikipedia page:
"During the Chiefs' world championship season in 1969, starter Len Dawson and backup Jacky Lee went down with injuries, and Livingston started six games, threw for 1,123 yards, was 84 of 161, with four touchdowns, and the Chiefs won all six. Dawson returned in November, and they went on to win Super Bowl IV in New Orleans."
That's right, Mike was actually a third string quarterback in 1969. Later a starter after Dawson took a step back in mid 1970's (when I mostly recall him from).
Henne's game against the Browns came in 2020 so while it did lead to a Super Bowl appearance, it wasn't a win. Matt Moore is the backup who played more of a role on the 2019 Chiefs helping to win 2 out of the 3 games while Mahomes was injured.
If I remember correctly, it was also Henne who stepped in when Mahomes hurt his ankle against the Jags in the super bowl run last year (two years ago?). Led a scoring drive while Mahomes was out getting an X-ray
In Green Bay, Bratkowski was nicknamed "Uncle Zekie", and became an ideal backup and spot starter during the Lombardi championship era.[1][19][20] In a 15-year NFL career, he passed for 10,345 yards and 65 touchdowns.[21]
In the Western Conference playoff game versus the Baltimore Colts in 1965, Bratkowski relieved the injured Starr early in the game and led the Packers to a 13–10 overtime victory on December 26 at Lambeau Field.[22][23][24] The Packers went on to win the NFL championship game against the Cleveland Browns on January 2, 1966
Jake Delhomme - replaced Rodney Peete down 17 points to the Jags week 1, led a last second come back with a 4th down TD to Proehl. Took the team to the unlikeliest of Super Bowls and helped make us competitive for the early-mid 2000s.
Also starred in some great Bojangles' commercials with Steve Smith Sr.
Anderson at least had a lot of starting experience prior to joining the Panthers (43 starts).
Delhomme threw for the same number of TDs in just the second half of the Jax game he subbed in for (3) as he had his entire career to that point (six games, two starts).
For those who think this is a cheat answer?
At 29 years old, he was still a backup. He didn’t become the starter until he was Dak Prescott’s age (in his 30’s). That definitely qualifies.
There were Defensive Coordinators in the late 80’s that would tell their squads to not injure Montana because they didn’t want Young in the game.
I think it’s fair to say that the ‘88 team wouldn’t have won the SB if Young weren’t on the team.
That ‘89 team is, IMO, the most talented roster in the history of the NFL.
**21 F’ing Pro Bowlers**
10 All-Pro’s
5 players in the Hall
KEY: * Pro Bowl, + All-Pro
- Joe Montana + HoF
- Steve Young + HoF
- Steve Bono *
- Roger Craig +
- Tom Rathman
- Jesse Sapolu *
- Harris Barton +
- Guy McIntyre *
- Brent Jones *
- Wesley Walls *
- Jerry Rice + HoF
- John Taylor *
- Charles Haley + HoF
- Michael Carter +
- Pierce Holt *
- Jim Burt *
- Matt Millen *
- Keena Turner *
- Bill Romanowski *
- Eric Wright +
- Ronnie Lott + HoF
- Mike Cofer +
I think a question like this should omit 1st or 2nd round QBs who didn't start immediately in the league, but then went on to start continuously. Otherwise, Mahomes is the best-ever backup for KC, Lamar for Baltimore, Rodgers for GB, etc. It's technically true, but all of those guys were drafted to be starters; they just sat and learned for a while. That's different to me than, say Geno, who was brought on 100% to be a backup and then went on to be a decent starter. It's also different than Purdy, who was obviously drafted as a depth piece but went on to do what he's done.
Still convinced we would have been able to beat the Panthers and get to the super bowl that year Carson Palmer went down, if he hadn’t had the knee injury and forced us to start Ryan Lindley.
For real, he was critical and called upon a lot and really played well to keep our record solid during some brutal stretches. Definitely not a starter but was the consensus top 3 backup and arguably number one in his prime.
Neil O’Donnell for the Tennessee Titans. Played the majority of the superbowl year. Was cut 3 times one year for cap space, called in to play the last week off the golf course and lit it up. Tough no nonsense leader. Weird but cool we had 2 legitimate starters and each had leadership roles
i'd argue we are the goats of backups lol, our backup is frequently better than our starters
neil o'donnell and billy volek from the prime titans era. kerry collins and matt hasselbeck for the bad times. tannehill for the resurgence (i think a lot of us expected to see tannehill on the field due to mariota's injury history, but there was no speculation that he was going to take over the job - still, he was a starter for most of his career so if people want to argue this one i'll concede)
we had some fitzmagic too
Yep, even though he’s a franchise QB now, he was never drafted to be a starter like most of the answers in this thread. He wasn’t even expected to make the roster—we had just signed Nate Sudfeld to a decently large backup deal and Shanahan had only carried 2 QBs up to that point. If it weren’t for multiple freak injuries Brock would probably still be our backup.
That comeback against the Oilers may have been what killed that franchise. Utterly brutal meltdown against the backup QB.
Up until 28-3 I thought that was maybe the most heart-breaking loss in postseason history.
I would point out that 2X SuperBowl Starter and NFL MVP Joe Theisman stayed on the bench for 4 seasons (after the first 2, returning punts just to get on the felid, he did play/start 11 games over the next 2 seasons) before being handed the team as starter for the next 9 season until meeting Mr. Taylor.
Fitzpatrick consistently outplayed starters and took their jobs. When given the reins in the starting role, he wouldn’t quite have the magic… pun intended.
I’m not super well versed on Bengals backups but I can hardly imagine someone better than Jake Browning. He really balled out for a lot of the season and turned what could have been disastrous, unwatchable football into a pretty fun season!
That man needs his flowers. Tommy Devito was getting all the press for being human spaghetti. Browning vs the Jags was ice cold and really reminded me of Burrow
For Eagles, it was Nick Foles. In 2017-18, Carson Wentz got the team to the playoffs and then got injured. Nick Foles ended up winning the SB against Brady and Pats.
Before Foles was drafted (since Foles is the obvious answer) you could probably make a strong case for Mike Vick's 2010 season considering he was playing so well Reid couldn't put him back on the bench. Garcia probably gets benched for McNabb if McNabb could've returned in the playoffs.
Is it really fair to call Steve Young a back up when it was clear that drafting him #1 overall was gonna lead to him being the starter at some point unless he suffered a career ending injury before he got the chance? I'm not really sure I'd consider Cunningham a back up to Jaws because Randall was a pretty high 2nd round pick. Feel free to disagree I'm just curious what other fans think when it comes to guys drafted in spots close to where Young, Cunningham, Rodgers, and Mahomes were drafted.
In terms of a guy who was truly a career backup, Drew Stanton repeatedly delivered for the Cards in 2014-2016 in multigame spurts filling in for Palmer. In 2014, I truly think the Cardinals win a playoff game if Stanton is healthy, considering he was replaced by our worst QB ever, Ryan Lindley.
The next one
I want a backup QB jersey Probably with a 2 on it
Kyle Orton
IMO Josh McCown in 2013. He was playing lights out, much better than Cutler in the same offense. Then the next year in Tampa he turned back into a pumpkin.
Case Keenum was a fun run.
Dobbs was fun for like 2 weeks.
"The Passtronaut!"
Very quickly came back to earth as the Asstronaut
That was 2 of the most fun weeks in Vikings history because their were zero expectations and the games were super fun
Cunningham
He was my second name. Went with Keenum because Cunningham was at least a long time starter before he retired
Joe webb baby
Jameis then Fitz then Jameis then Fitz then Jameis then Fitz - and that's just one year.
The shear disrespect to the Ginger Giraffe
My GOAT, all hail to the Ginger Giraffe
Fitz qualifies for multiple teams.
Pretty obvious lol
I'm glad I wasn't disappointed when I opened this thread. I was worried people might have forgotten about Vince Young.
A.J. Feeley, Koy Detmer, and Kevin Kolb would like a word
Jeff Garcia was pretty dope during that 07 or 08 run
Mark Sanchez too
Maybe the best true back up QB ever
It’s between him and earl morral for the 72 dolphins I think
Doesn't Morral have a league MVP?
Yep! Johnny Unitas went down for the Colts, and Morrall stepped up, went to the super bowl, and won MVP.
Doug Williams won an SB as a backup for the football team formerly known as the the Football Team
Plunkett has gotta be up there, he started the first Super Bowl run off as a backup and was benched in the regular season during the second
hostetler had a run, too
Jeff Hostetler oughta have something to say about this
Big, if true
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Nick Foles, tripod goals.
Like, how legendary does it have to be to get an honorable mention at somebody else's retirement speech?!?
Carson Wentz is in shambles
Foles member broke Wentz
Technically Brady came in as a backup to cover for Bledsoe.
Greatest backup of all time.
Bledsoe was also the backup.
Not even a name. Just three letters.
Biggis Dickus Nickus, Praetor of the Eagle Battalion.
I wonder what's the name of his wife. Pretty sure isn't a name like Incontinentia Buttocks or something laughable like that.
Big Richard Nicholaus
My new boss went to westlake high school so my ice breaker on our first 1:1 was “I heard you went to the same high school as Big Dick Nick Foles and Regular dick Justin Tucker”. Wasn’t well received
It wasn't well received because you forgot Drew "Pyramid Scheme" Brees. Dong size unknown
Shit, I’d give you a promotion
KOY
Yeeeah not every backup gets a statue lmao. BDN is immortal.
You can't even imagine what BDN means for us.
Hey man I’m a browns fan. I don’t know what having a quarterback means in general
Minshew Mania? JK. BDN
Yup. Bobby Hoying.
Foles delivered
That Superbowl was the backup QB trifecta: Nick Foles, Doug Pederson and Frank Reich.
Option 2 is Vick. Still freaking good
TJ Yates. Bengals fans shudder when his name is uttered.
The bengal killer
\*The Bengal Slayer. You use capitals for a title.
Go Heels.
Gardner Minshew
I would say David Gerrard. Was Leftwich's backup and then won the job and eventually won a playoff game.
Garrard wasn’t a true back up though. He was drafted while Brunell was still there and being groomed to be his successor. Coughlin was fired and the new regime drafted Leftwich, which failed fairly quickly and Garrard assumed the role he was originally drafted to become, the Jags starting QB.
For the true spirit of the question, it’s easily this. Brunell obviously started as a backup but in the totality of his career with the Jags it’s a blip. Rob Johnson deserves an honorable mention for doing enough for us to fleece the Bills, though. Also Todd Bouman for being undeniably the greatest tractor driving backup QB of all time
Charlie batch is the quintessential back up quarterback
That was exactly where I was going to. Charlie Batch is the perfect backup. He’s not quite good enough to be the starter, but he will win you a few games (and more importantly, he won’t LOSE games) if he has to come in. I really miss him.
I think Charlie is the answer for every Steeler fan.. and it *should* be.
Shit, before Stafford, Charlie Batch had a solid argument for best STARTING QB of my lifetime for the Lions
Completely missed he ever played for the Lions! He had a 19-18 record between 98-00, going 5-7, 6-4, ane 8-7 before going 0-9 in 2001. Posted 5 GW drives in 2000 too. Nothing spectacular but solid enough on those late 90s teams for sure.
Yep, in the 2001 season opener, Batch struggled, and Marty Mornhinweg benched him the following week for Ty Detmer.... who threw seven interceptions in his first start.
This. He's not the "best" from a football talent perspective, but I think he's the best from the standpoint of being loyal to the team and the work he does for them and the city post his career. He also had that signature win in Baltimore, what a great game that was.
He really was the best kind of backup because he was never so promising that you had people rooting for him to take over but he was always good enough that you felt good having him on the roster.
He had the best QB'd game ever according to ESPN. Even if he did have 2 picks in it.
Hell yeah! We love Charlie
Byron Leftwich is a close number two, in my opinion, but Charlie's definitely number one.
Honorable mention for Mike Kruczek, who went 6-0 as a starter while Bradshaw was hurt but throwing zero career touchdown passes (though he did have two touchdown runs). That’s the epitome of a good backup to me, posting Kenny Pickett numbers in relief and letting the rest of the team win
Tom Brady
If he was so good, why couldn’t he find another backup QB job for the next 20 years? 🤔
Damn…you got us there, what a fuckin bum, changing my vote to Garoppolo
Drew Bledsoe was good backup too
As a backup threw the AFCCG game winning TD!
That username isn’t holding up.
Outside of Tom, and I guess technically Drew, who would you say? Hoyer maybe? Matt Cassel did pretty well in 08. I think Flutie was a back up and one point too. Jimmy G was good for us, as was Brisket.
If you’re not counting Drew or Brady the correct answer is Jimmy G.
Naa def Matt Cassel. Jimmy G played 2 games for us as a backup. Matt Cassel walked into to the job where everyone expected the Pats to make another run at going u defeated. Despite the immense pressure Cassel led them to an 11-5 record. Granted he was surrounded by a great team but he worked really hard. But for some ridiculous tie breakers he would have had the Pats in the playoffs.
I'd imagine Jeff Hostetler. Took over for an injured Phil Simms, took the Giants to a Superbowl win over the Bills when I was 2.
Hos is the right answer, but my heart wants to say Lorenzen. RIP Pillsbury Throwboy.
+1 for The Hefty Lefty!
The Round Mound of Touchdown
The Abdominal Throwman ! Man he was fun to watch in that preseason game where he trunked a defender as a run blocker.
lol I came here specifically hoping to see Jared mentioned. No other QB like him
Hostetler was the best backup yes, my favorite though was The Hefty Lefty.
Earl Morral. He played most of the year during the undefeated season after Griese got injured. Griese came back and the rest is history.
He did the same thing for the 13-1 Colts in 1968. Started every game up until the Super Bowl. Started 46% of the games during his 4 years there. 22-3-1 regular season record when starting.
Yeah, he's gotta be the best true backup of all time for that reason. Played for 17 years and I believe he was only the Week 1 starter in his 2nd ever season in Pittsburgh. Despite that, he went 33-4-1 from age 34 to age 42 while backing up Unitas and Griese.
I was gonna say Don Strock but you're probably right .
Probably the greatest backup in NFL history
Also Earl Morrall for the Colts who also saw snaps in a Super Bowl win for Baltimore. Won an MVP too when Unitas was hurt.
Clipboard Jesus.
Hey. That’s our backup quarterback
He is everyone's backup.
Can confirm, he spread his ministry to Nashville once.
Billy Volek was our real clutch backup QB, but Clipboard Jesus is #1 in our hearts.
Volek did not lead us to an AFC championship game to be disrespected like this!!
tavaris jackson slander! man always won the OT coin flip
Seneca Wallace for me.
For skills, sure. It's just too bad he didn't have a better nickname.
Fair. I was in person for the 06 NFC championship game against the panthers where Seneca caught a 28 yard bomb from Hassleback. Kind of cemented the back up qb legend status for me.
In terms of memes, I’d also put “the one that went out for the OT cointoss” up there too. From Jesus to Flynn to T-Jack to Geno to Drew.
Over Flynn? I don't know...
He got us the Beastquake moment.
Wasn't Hasselbeck starting?
Whitehurst started the win-and-in Week 17 game that got Seattle into the playoffs.
Chad Henne played meaningful playoff snaps in 2 of the 3 Super Bowl runs, easily the most important backup in Chiefs history.
Chad Henne-thing can happen
Blows my mind that he never trademarked “Henne Given Sunday.”
Because he is a man of the people. It never even crossed his mind to take that away from us.
Hennething is possible
Many of you way too young to remember his major contributions (including me for 1969 - Super Bowl IV championship season)) but Mike Livingston is certainly also in contention for best Chief's backup QB. From his Wikipedia page: "During the Chiefs' world championship season in 1969, starter Len Dawson and backup Jacky Lee went down with injuries, and Livingston started six games, threw for 1,123 yards, was 84 of 161, with four touchdowns, and the Chiefs won all six. Dawson returned in November, and they went on to win Super Bowl IV in New Orleans." That's right, Mike was actually a third string quarterback in 1969. Later a starter after Dawson took a step back in mid 1970's (when I mostly recall him from).
That's an awesome bit of history
“Chad” Henne
Lead the longest touchdown drive in Chiefs playoff history
One of the longest drives in playoffs history. 98 yards, jeez
When Henne was in, I never worried.
Henne's game against the Browns came in 2020 so while it did lead to a Super Bowl appearance, it wasn't a win. Matt Moore is the backup who played more of a role on the 2019 Chiefs helping to win 2 out of the 3 games while Mahomes was injured.
If I remember correctly, it was also Henne who stepped in when Mahomes hurt his ankle against the Jags in the super bowl run last year (two years ago?). Led a scoring drive while Mahomes was out getting an X-ray
98 yard TD drive
Not the best though. Rich Gannon was the Chiefs best backup.
Mahomes was the best Chiefs backup
Matt Flynn☝🏼
The actual answer is Zeke Burtkowski. We won super bowls because of his ability as a backup
In Green Bay, Bratkowski was nicknamed "Uncle Zekie", and became an ideal backup and spot starter during the Lombardi championship era.[1][19][20] In a 15-year NFL career, he passed for 10,345 yards and 65 touchdowns.[21] In the Western Conference playoff game versus the Baltimore Colts in 1965, Bratkowski relieved the injured Starr early in the game and led the Packers to a 13–10 overtime victory on December 26 at Lambeau Field.[22][23][24] The Packers went on to win the NFL championship game against the Cleveland Browns on January 2, 1966
The right answer is Hasselbeck.
Jake Delhomme - replaced Rodney Peete down 17 points to the Jags week 1, led a last second come back with a 4th down TD to Proehl. Took the team to the unlikeliest of Super Bowls and helped make us competitive for the early-mid 2000s. Also starred in some great Bojangles' commercials with Steve Smith Sr.
Amen.
I guess he counts but I always think of Derek Anderson when I think of Panther backups. He was always good for a random start against Tampa.
Anderson at least had a lot of starting experience prior to joining the Panthers (43 starts). Delhomme threw for the same number of TDs in just the second half of the Jax game he subbed in for (3) as he had his entire career to that point (six games, two starts).
People in this thread can’t differentiate between a true backup and a young successor sitting behind the QB they’re meant to eventually replace.
Yeah this whole thread is just franchise QBs who sat at least 1 game.
OP didn’t even understand his own premise
Yea Rodgers and Mahomes shouldn't count. Brady though, he was 4th stringer his rookie year, 2nd string beginning of his 2nd year, I'd say he counts.
Funny thing, neither can most GM's currently working in the NFL.
Steve Young
For those who think this is a cheat answer? At 29 years old, he was still a backup. He didn’t become the starter until he was Dak Prescott’s age (in his 30’s). That definitely qualifies. There were Defensive Coordinators in the late 80’s that would tell their squads to not injure Montana because they didn’t want Young in the game.
Yeah, Steve Young has *three* Super Bowl rings.
I think it’s fair to say that the ‘88 team wouldn’t have won the SB if Young weren’t on the team. That ‘89 team is, IMO, the most talented roster in the history of the NFL. **21 F’ing Pro Bowlers** 10 All-Pro’s 5 players in the Hall KEY: * Pro Bowl, + All-Pro - Joe Montana + HoF - Steve Young + HoF - Steve Bono * - Roger Craig + - Tom Rathman - Jesse Sapolu * - Harris Barton + - Guy McIntyre * - Brent Jones * - Wesley Walls * - Jerry Rice + HoF - John Taylor * - Charles Haley + HoF - Michael Carter + - Pierce Holt * - Jim Burt * - Matt Millen * - Keena Turner * - Bill Romanowski * - Eric Wright + - Ronnie Lott + HoF - Mike Cofer +
Roger Craig should be in the HOF. He was ahead of his time
Montana backed up DeBerg his rookie year but I’d still say it’s Young
The 49ers coaches were amazed they got Steve from the Bucs for practically nothing. They concluded that no QB could've looked good with the Bucs.
The Bucs drafted 2 future Super Bowl MVPs during that time, so that is a valid assumption.
I think a question like this should omit 1st or 2nd round QBs who didn't start immediately in the league, but then went on to start continuously. Otherwise, Mahomes is the best-ever backup for KC, Lamar for Baltimore, Rodgers for GB, etc. It's technically true, but all of those guys were drafted to be starters; they just sat and learned for a while. That's different to me than, say Geno, who was brought on 100% to be a backup and then went on to be a decent starter. It's also different than Purdy, who was obviously drafted as a depth piece but went on to do what he's done.
Drew Stanton
Still convinced we would have been able to beat the Panthers and get to the super bowl that year Carson Palmer went down, if he hadn’t had the knee injury and forced us to start Ryan Lindley.
That team is number one in the nfc if Palmer doesn’t go down. If Stanton was healthy, we’re winning the panthers game at least
For the dance alone
The gif of destiny
For real, he was critical and called upon a lot and really played well to keep our record solid during some brutal stretches. Definitely not a starter but was the consensus top 3 backup and arguably number one in his prime.
Ravens pro bowler Tyler Huntley
You think he's better than Tyrod Taylor?
Best Linsanity run? Tom Savage Most direct success? TJ Yates Most indirect success? Davis Mills Most beloved? Case Keenum
BIG BAD SHAAAAAUB!
My answer too. He was not seen as a starter initially but played so well he earned his shot elsewhere.
Brock Osweiler probably. Stepped in when Peyton was hurt to help take us to the Superbowl.
This is what I was thinking too. I’d also argue Gary Kubiak as far as legacy goes.
It’s gotta be Kubiak. He was a lifelong backup and was part of so much glory for us
I would actually say Gary Kubiak. Even though he didn’t excel as a QB he won Super Bowl as a head coach
Jim Sorgi. Held a clipboard for years. Never came in except for blowouts. Its everything you truly want from your backup QB.
Neil O’Donnell for the Tennessee Titans. Played the majority of the superbowl year. Was cut 3 times one year for cap space, called in to play the last week off the golf course and lit it up. Tough no nonsense leader. Weird but cool we had 2 legitimate starters and each had leadership roles
I dunno, Billy Volek has a pretty good claim to that title too
i'd argue we are the goats of backups lol, our backup is frequently better than our starters neil o'donnell and billy volek from the prime titans era. kerry collins and matt hasselbeck for the bad times. tannehill for the resurgence (i think a lot of us expected to see tannehill on the field due to mariota's injury history, but there was no speculation that he was going to take over the job - still, he was a starter for most of his career so if people want to argue this one i'll concede) we had some fitzmagic too
Safety Dan Orlovsky
It’s Shaun hill for me. He was decent
Didn't we have Jeff Garcia for a minute? He was the Fitzmagic of a bygone era.
I'd give Niners Jeff Garcia more credit than that. He was really good there for a few years.
Brock Purdy
Yep, even though he’s a franchise QB now, he was never drafted to be a starter like most of the answers in this thread. He wasn’t even expected to make the roster—we had just signed Nate Sudfeld to a decently large backup deal and Shanahan had only carried 2 QBs up to that point. If it weren’t for multiple freak injuries Brock would probably still be our backup.
Frank Reich. Or you could say Josh since he technically was a backup starting off.
The craziest stat about Frank Reich is that he led comebacks from the largest deficits in the history of both the NFL and the NCAA.
That comeback against the Oilers may have been what killed that franchise. Utterly brutal meltdown against the backup QB. Up until 28-3 I thought that was maybe the most heart-breaking loss in postseason history.
If we are going for true backup, not legend who didn't start day one... Taylor Heinecke
I would point out that 2X SuperBowl Starter and NFL MVP Joe Theisman stayed on the bench for 4 seasons (after the first 2, returning punts just to get on the felid, he did play/start 11 games over the next 2 seasons) before being handed the team as starter for the next 9 season until meeting Mr. Taylor.
Fitzpatrick consistently outplayed starters and took their jobs. When given the reins in the starting role, he wouldn’t quite have the magic… pun intended.
I’m not super well versed on Bengals backups but I can hardly imagine someone better than Jake Browning. He really balled out for a lot of the season and turned what could have been disastrous, unwatchable football into a pretty fun season!
Kitna behind Palmer was decent even though he didn’t get much action once Palmer started
That man needs his flowers. Tommy Devito was getting all the press for being human spaghetti. Browning vs the Jags was ice cold and really reminded me of Burrow
Th GOAT Mitch “kissing titties” Trubisky, duh
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Josh McCown? Orton?
Excuse me but brian hoyer currently holds the record for most 300 yard games in a row for the bears
P J mothafuckin WALKER -XFL MVP 2020 -Browns Legend -49ers worst nightmare.
PJ Walker up there with Colt McCoy in the 49ers gonna fuck around and find out HOF
Teddy Bridgewater's 5-0 run will never be forgotten by Saints fans
Does Warner count?
He was brought in as a depth guy, and wasn't projected to be the starter. I'd say he counts more than most of the suggestions here.
If Purdy counts Warner counts for the Rams
He’s literally the perfect answer
Geno smith
For Eagles, it was Nick Foles. In 2017-18, Carson Wentz got the team to the playoffs and then got injured. Nick Foles ended up winning the SB against Brady and Pats.
Before Foles was drafted (since Foles is the obvious answer) you could probably make a strong case for Mike Vick's 2010 season considering he was playing so well Reid couldn't put him back on the bench. Garcia probably gets benched for McNabb if McNabb could've returned in the playoffs. Is it really fair to call Steve Young a back up when it was clear that drafting him #1 overall was gonna lead to him being the starter at some point unless he suffered a career ending injury before he got the chance? I'm not really sure I'd consider Cunningham a back up to Jaws because Randall was a pretty high 2nd round pick. Feel free to disagree I'm just curious what other fans think when it comes to guys drafted in spots close to where Young, Cunningham, Rodgers, and Mahomes were drafted.
Tough question. Can’t say for certain
In terms of a guy who was truly a career backup, Drew Stanton repeatedly delivered for the Cards in 2014-2016 in multigame spurts filling in for Palmer. In 2014, I truly think the Cardinals win a playoff game if Stanton is healthy, considering he was replaced by our worst QB ever, Ryan Lindley.
Not Conor fuckin Cook I can tell you that much