Four backup quarterbacks with four different storylines are likely to be starting on Sunday.
Matt Cassel, trying to recapture the magic of 2008 and 2010, will go for the Cowboys in place of Tony Romo in a road game against the Giants.
EJ Manuel, trying to peel the “first-round bust” sticker that’s been slapped on his suitcase, will call the signals for the Bills in London in place of Tyrod Taylor.
Landry Jones, a fourth-round draft pick in 2013 who didn’t sniff the field until this season, is set to start for the Steelers Sunday in Kansas City even though the Steelers haven’t ruled out Ben Roethlisberger.
Vick, Tuitt, W. Allen out this week for #Steelers. Roethlisberger, C.Allen are questionable. Roethlisberger, however, is not going to play
— Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) October 23, 2015
Zach Mettenberger, a sixth-round draft pick last season, will replace 2015’s No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota for the Titans in their home game against the Falcons.
A lot of people outside of western Pennsylvania probably hadn’t heard of Jones going into the season. Jones hadn’t even cracked the second team or suited up for a game until this season. But assuming Roethlisberger takes another week to heal from his MCL sprain and bone bruise, Jones will outshine the other three backups and Mettenberger will be the dark-horse candidate to be Week 7’s top backup.
The 26-year-old Jones, who became the career Big 12 leader in passing yards at Oklahoma, was a slow learner in the NFL and probably wouldn’t have survived the roster bubble if it weren’t for the Steelers’ tendency to keep three quarterbacks on the roster.
Jones made his regular-season debut last Sunday, and led the Steelers from a 10-6 deficit to a 25-13 home win over the Arizona Cardinals. Replacing an injured Mike Vick, he completed eight of 12 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns to Martavis Bryant in a little less than a half. The Cardinals rank ninth in the NFL with 224.2 passing yards allowed per game. The Chiefs are 25th with 276.7 passing yards allowed per game, and Jones has had a full week to prepare as the starter.
Bryant is making it hard for Steelers quarterbacks not to succeed. He took a short pass from Bryant at the Steelers’ 21-yard line on Sunday and weaved his way through Cardinals defenders the rest of the way for an 88-yard score, making him just the second player in NFL history to have two touchdown catches of at least 88 yards in his first two NFL seasons, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bryant already has 10 TD catches in his first 11 career games and caught six in his first four games last season.
Jones already has a rapport with Bryant, and Antonio Brown is itching to get the ball. After 35 straight games with at least five catches for 50 yards, Brown has caught just three passes in each of the last two games and was outspoken about his reduced role. Brown could be seen lecturing Jones during Sunday’s game. It made Brown look a little bit like a diva, but he was smiling and looked like he was trying to be constructive. The Chiefs defense could be the best prescription for Brown to break out of his slump and make him want to give Jones a more expensive Christmas gift than he gives Vick.
Cassel shouldn’t expect to have Dez Bryant at his disposal Sunday. As the week goes on, it appears less likely Bryant will play according to Fox Sports. Cassel will have a better chance to break the Cowboys’ three-game losing streak if he leans on Jason Witten. The Cowboys’ tight end has 13 career touchdown catches against the Giants, more than any other team.
In his salad days, Cassel led the Patriots to an 11-5 record without Tom Brady in 2008 and made the Pro Bowl in 2010 as the Chiefs won the AFC West. Now 33, Cassel is on his third team in the last three years. In three games with the Vikings last season he threw three touchdown passes and four interceptions. The Giants are 31st in the NFL with 298.5 passing yards allowed per game. Cassel could squeeze out a win or two until Romo returns, but he’s past his prime.
The Bills traded Cassel to the Cowboys because they felt better about Manuel backing up Taylor. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 263 yards in last week’s loss to the Bengals. Sammy Watkins is injured and Percy Harvin didn’t even make the trip to London, so Manuel’s top two receiving targets are no-names Chris Hogan and Robert Woods. LeSean McCoy will have to be the driving force behind the Bills’ offense. If the Bills (3-3) beat the lowly Jaguars (1-5), it probably won’t be because of Manuel.
Mettenberger is looking for his first career win. He was 0-6 in his rookie season. He’ll have his work cut out for him leading the Titans (1-4) against the Falcons (5-1). The Titans’ leading receiver, Kendall Wright, is 43rd in the league with 20 receptions. Their leading running back, Bishop Sankey, is 42nd with 31.8 yards per game.
However, Mettenberger might have more untapped potential than Jones, Cassel and Manuel. He threw eight touchdown passes last season with seven interceptions and he’s averaged 7.9 yards per attempt. Cassel has never averaged 7.9 yards per attempt in his career and Manuel has averaged 6.4 yards per attempt. Mettenberger’s career passer rating is 83.5 compared to 80.1 for Cassel and 78.7 for Manuel. Jones’ rating last week was 149.3, but that’s a small sample size.
Big opportunity for Titans soph QB Zach Mettenberger. He’s got plenty of ability as a passer, could create a trade market for himself.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 23, 2015
Mettenberger could surprise, but Jones has more talent around him than the rest of the backup quarterbacks starting this week in the NFL. Expect him to take advantage.