A pair of NFC East teams will have rookie quarterbacks making their first NFL starts this week. The Cowboys will go with preseason sensation Dak Prescott, while the Eagles will send out No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz. Expectations for production should be conservative in Week 1.
Over the last three seasons, a dozen other rookie quarterbacks have made starts, and most put up lesser numbers in their first game. On average, they threw for 212 yards and 1.6 TDs. Eight out of 12 them lost those games, too.
The opening-game numbers for those rookie passers are shown below.
ROOKIE QUARTERBACKS, 1ST CAREER STARTS | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Opp. | Com | Att. | Yards | TD | INTs | Result |
2013 | Jeff Tuel, Buff. | at K.C. | 18 | 39 | 229 | 1 | 2 | L |
2013 | Matt McGloin, Oak. | at Hou. | 18 | 32 | 197 | 3 | 0 | W |
2013 | EJ Manuel, Buff. | N.E. | 18 | 27 | 150 | 2 | 0 | L |
2013 | Mike Glennon, T.B. | Ariz. | 24 | 43 | 193 | 1 | 2 | L |
2013 | Geno Smith, NYJ | T.B. | 24 | 38 | 256 | 1 | 1 | W |
2014 | Johnny Manziel, Clev. | Cin. | 10 | 18 | 80 | 0 | 2 | L |
2014 | Zach Mettenberger, Tenn. | Hou. | 27 | 41 | 299 | 2 | 1 | L |
2014 | Blake Bortles, Jax. | at S.D. | 29 | 37 | 254 | 1 | 2 | L |
2014 | Teddy Bridgewater, Minn. | Atl. | 19 | 30 | 317 | 1 | 0 | W |
2014 | Derek Carr, Oak. | NYJ | 20 | 32 | 151 | 2 | 0 | L |
2015 | Jameis Winston, T.B. | Tenn. | 16 | 33 | 210 | 2 | 2 | L |
2015 | Marcus Mariota, Tenn. | at T.B. | 13 | 15 | 209 | 4 | 0 | W |
--Andy Richardson