New quarterbacks are coming this week. At least three. But I don’t know how much any of them are going to help.
We’ve seen Kirk Cousins on the field twice this year, and it doesn’t seem like he can play anymore. Atlanta used him in a blowout loss at home against Miami, and he was at the helm when they frittered away their lead yesterday.
The Falcons are putting Michael Penix on IR, so it’s looking like Cousins will be starting for the duration. I don’t see him doing much (especially this week, with Drake London out).
With Dillon Gabriel in the concussion protocol, Shedeur Sanders likely will be starting on Sunday. It should be pretty rough. He’s just not there yet, in terms of pocket awareness and knowing what he’s doing. He went 4 of 16 against the Ravens, with 2 sacks and an interception. If he’s getting the green light on Sunday, I will be mulling whether to make a waiver claim on the Raiders defense.
Sanders at least isn’t lacking confidence. In September, he stated that he believes he’s better than the starters on some other teams. “I know for sure,” he said. “I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I'm capable of doing better than that.”
Tyrod Taylor, I think, is the most interesting of the new guys. He’s got a lot more passing ability than Justin Fields. I could see him adding 50-80 yards per game above that admitted low bar. He passed for 197 yards and 2 TDs in a start at Tampa Bay earlier this year. And Taylor can still run. He’s run for at least 23 yards in each of his last eight full games (as a starter), including 48 yards in that Bucs game. Taylor has averaged 232 passing yards in his last eight full games as a starter.
If we’re in one of those Superflex leagues, Taylor is the guy I’d be filing a claim on. And if Taylor can elevate the Jets up to around 200 passing yards per week, maybe we can see something viable out of guys like Adonai Mitchell and Mason Taylor. If nothing else, Breece Hall won’t have to watch Fields run in the team’s short touchdowns.
But realistically, expectations should be low. Among quarterbacks who’ve attempted at least 15 passes this year, there are only three starting this week who’ve averaged even fewer yards per attempt than Cooper Rush, and these guys are them.
| PASSING YARDS PER ATTEMPT | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Com | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Yds/Att |
| Sam Darnold, Sea. | 191 | 272 | 70.2 | 2,541 | 17 | 10 | 9.34 |
| Drake Maye, N.E. | 230 | 320 | 71.9 | 2,836 | 20 | 5 | 8.86 |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 117 | 172 | 68.0 | 1,442 | 15 | 3 | 8.38 |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 204 | 293 | 69.6 | 2,456 | 18 | 7 | 8.38 |
| Daniel Jones, Ind. | 223 | 319 | 69.9 | 2,659 | 15 | 7 | 8.34 |
| Jared Goff, Det. | 216 | 310 | 69.7 | 2,490 | 21 | 4 | 8.03 |
| Brock Purdy, S.F. | 67 | 99 | 67.7 | 786 | 7 | 4 | 7.94 |
| Andy Dalton, Car. | 25 | 37 | 67.6 | 293 | 1 | 1 | 7.92 |
| Jordan Love, G.B. | 210 | 310 | 67.7 | 2,421 | 15 | 3 | 7.81 |
| Mason Rudolph, Pitt. | 14 | 18 | 77.8 | 139 | 1 | 0 | 7.72 |
| Marcus Mariota, Was. | 92 | 140 | 65.7 | 1,065 | 7 | 5 | 7.61 |
| Matthew Stafford, LAR | 223 | 338 | 66.0 | 2,557 | 27 | 2 | 7.57 |
| Mac Jones, S.F. | 201 | 289 | 69.6 | 2,151 | 13 | 6 | 7.44 |
| Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 180 | 269 | 66.9 | 1,995 | 16 | 1 | 7.42 |
| Jacoby Brissett, Ari. | 142 | 213 | 66.7 | 1,570 | 10 | 3 | 7.37 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 233 | 361 | 64.5 | 2,625 | 18 | 6 | 7.27 |
| Carson Wentz, Min. | 110 | 169 | 65.1 | 1,216 | 6 | 5 | 7.20 |
| Michael Penix, Atl. | 166 | 276 | 60.1 | 1,982 | 9 | 3 | 7.18 |
| Caleb Williams, Chi. | 194 | 325 | 59.7 | 2,329 | 13 | 4 | 7.17 |
| Justin Herbert, LAC | 250 | 376 | 66.5 | 2,691 | 19 | 9 | 7.16 |
| Tyler Shough, N.O. | 51 | 83 | 61.4 | 586 | 3 | 2 | 7.06 |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 228 | 329 | 69.3 | 2,319 | 17 | 6 | 7.05 |
| Jayden Daniels, Was. | 105 | 168 | 62.5 | 1,184 | 8 | 2 | 7.05 |
| C.J. Stroud, Hou. | 161 | 242 | 66.5 | 1,702 | 11 | 5 | 7.03 |
| Russell Wilson, NYG | 69 | 119 | 58.0 | 831 | 3 | 3 | 6.98 |
| Baker Mayfield, T.B. | 216 | 340 | 63.5 | 2,365 | 17 | 3 | 6.96 |
| Jaxson Dart, NYG | 128 | 204 | 62.7 | 1,417 | 10 | 3 | 6.95 |
| Jameis Winston, NYG | 19 | 29 | 65.5 | 201 | 0 | 1 | 6.93 |
| Geno Smith, L.V. | 178 | 267 | 66.7 | 1,844 | 11 | 12 | 6.91 |
| Tyler Huntley, Balt. | 27 | 37 | 73.0 | 254 | 1 | 0 | 6.86 |
| Aaron Rodgers, Pitt. | 192 | 289 | 66.4 | 1,969 | 19 | 7 | 6.81 |
| Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 213 | 312 | 68.3 | 2,123 | 17 | 13 | 6.80 |
| Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 202 | 338 | 59.8 | 2,151 | 11 | 8 | 6.36 |
| Bo Nix, Den. | 237 | 387 | 61.2 | 2,421 | 18 | 8 | 6.26 |
| Bryce Young, Car. | 197 | 314 | 62.7 | 1,962 | 14 | 7 | 6.25 |
| Spencer Rattler, N.O. | 174 | 256 | 68.0 | 1,586 | 8 | 5 | 6.20 |
| Justin Fields, NYJ | 128 | 204 | 62.7 | 1,259 | 7 | 1 | 6.17 |
| Jake Browning, Cin. | 80 | 124 | 64.5 | 757 | 6 | 8 | 6.10 |
| Joe Flacco, Cle.-Cin. | 228 | 373 | 61.1 | 2,268 | 14 | 9 | 6.08 |
| Davis Mills, Hou. | 72 | 120 | 60.0 | 726 | 3 | 1 | 6.05 |
| J.J. McCarthy, Min. | 74 | 140 | 52.9 | 842 | 6 | 8 | 6.01 |
| Kyler Murray, Ari. | 110 | 161 | 68.3 | 962 | 6 | 3 | 5.98 |
| Cam Ward, Ten. | 194 | 332 | 58.4 | 1,954 | 6 | 6 | 5.89 |
| Cooper Rush, Balt. | 34 | 52 | 65.4 | 303 | 0 | 4 | 5.83 |
| • Tyrod Taylor, NYJ | 43 | 69 | 62.3 | 379 | 3 | 3 | 5.49 |
| Joe Burrow, Cin. | 21 | 36 | 58.3 | 189 | 2 | 0 | 5.25 |
| Dillon Gabriel, Cle. | 109 | 184 | 59.2 | 937 | 7 | 2 | 5.09 |
| • Kirk Cousins, Atl. | 32 | 52 | 61.5 | 250 | 0 | 0 | 4.81 |
| • Shedeur Sanders, Cle. | 4 | 16 | 25.0 | 47 | 0 | 1 | 2.94 |
—Ian Allan