10 NFL QB Watches: 18 backups from Week 18, Jordan Love's payday and Josh Allen owns Miami – CBS Sports

Week 18 is here. Get ready for winner-take-all matchups, win-and-in games, milestones, last chances, and backup quarterbacks… lots of backup quarterbacks.

How fitting that there will be 18 backup quarterbacks starting Week 18, including names like Trevor Siemian, Bailey Zappe, Taylor Heinicke, Aidan O'Connell, Jarrett Stidham and Easton Stick.

Starting off the QB carousel are my 10 QB observations for Week 18:

1. QB carousel hits 66 and counting

Let's welcome five new faces to the QB carousel: Carson Wentz, Sam Darnold, Tyler Huntley, Jeff Driskel and Blaine Gabbert will make their first starts of the season in Week 18.

This brings the number of QBs this season to 66 different starters, the second most in NFL history after 68 in 2022.

If you've learned anything from reading this column over the past few weeks, I hope it's an appreciation for the importance of having a good backup QB.

• This is the third straight season the NFL has seen over 60 different starting QBs. Previously it had only happened four times.
• Almost three-quarters of the league used multiple starting QBs this year (23 of 32 teams).
• And who would have thought we would say the Browns were resting Joe Flacco heading into the playoffs? The Browns are the first playoff team with five starting QBs in a season since the Bears in 1984 (a year before they won a Super Bowl).

For the last time this year, here's a look at every starting QB change in the NFL this year. Kudos to the Vikings, who are still in the playoff hunt despite moving from Josh Dobbs to Nick Mullens to Jaren Hall and back to Mullens in the last five weeks.

2. Rudolph joins the backup QB mania

What has gotten into Mason Rudolph?!?!

Rudolph joins Terry Bradshaw (1982) and Ben Roethlisberger (2010) as the third Steelers QB since 1970 to average more than 10 yards per attempt in consecutive games (minimum 20 attempts). You may have heard about it.

He is the youngest backup QB to get his 15 seconds of fame this season. First it was Josh Dobbs, then Tommy DeVito, Jake Browning and Joe Flacco. Well, Rudolph. If we've learned anything, it's that the spotlight (with the exception of Flacco) doesn't last long.

Chris Trapasso described Rudolph's two games so far where he actually got the ball into George Pickens' hands.

“The Steelers' offense has become significantly more balanced, as there is both a serious threat of deep plays and a good chance that the right decision will be made quickly on short, high-percentage throws,” Trapasso wrote.

We'll see if Rudolph can make it three in a row and get Pittsburgh into the playoffs with a win (and help) against a Ravens team that's paused in the early going.

3. Carson Wentz vs. Sam Darnold is an NFL first

You can admire the beauty of the Week 18 Rams-49ers starting QB matchup between Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold, both of whom are making their only starts of the season.

SportRadar tells me this is the first QB matchup in NFL history between former first-round picks making their only start this year.

Yes, you don't usually see QBs make just one start, but that's the weird part of Week 18 when teams like this rest the starters.

It's a truly unique matchup between former top-three picks who were once considered franchise QBs trying to salvage their careers. Maybe one of them can still do it!

4. I love the rise in stocks

Jordan Love has cashed in nicely this offseason, turning in a top-10 QB performance this year despite a slow start and a historically young supporting cast. I wrote about this earlier this week:

• With 30 touchdown passes in his first season as a full-time starter, he is the tenth QB of all time.
• He scored 16 passing TDs and one interception in his last seven games, leading the NFL in EPA per dropback during that span.
• Green Bay could become the 10th team ever to reach the playoffs after a 3-6 start.
• The Packers would be the youngest playoff team in the last 45 seasons and have already broken records for most receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches by first- and second-year players.

It all adds up to a payday that is expected to be between $200 million and $250 million this offseason. At the very least, it has to exceed Daniel Jones' four-year deal worth over $160 million. He put an exclamation point on his season with a win Sunday against the Bears, clinching a playoff spot.

5. Five-Star Class: 2020 QBs

With Love's breakout season, it's possible that the 2020 QB class could be one of the rare draft classes that produces five franchise QBs, including Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts.

Money talks and by the end of this offseason, when Love and Tagovailoa presumably sign new deals, all five will have signed deals worth at least $200 million apiece, for a total of just over a billion.

Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts should reach 4,000 passing yards this season in Week 18, joining Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert who have already done so in their careers. No draft class has ever produced five QBs with a 4,000-yard passing season in their careers.

Here's a quick look at other QB classes that rolled five points deep:

1957: Len Dawson, Sonny Jurgensen, Jack Kemp, John Brodie, Milt Plum

Two Hall of Famers (Dawson and Jurgensen), an AFL champion (Kemp), an MVP (Brodie) and an NFL starter for a decade (Plum) are pretty good.

1971: Archie Manning, Ken Anderson, Joe Theismann, Jim Plunkett, Dan Pastorini, Lynn Dickey

The 1971 draft class has a case for six good QBs. Manning, Anderson, Theismann, Pastorini and Dickey were all their team's primary starters for about a decade, and Plunkett won two Super Bowls in his third stint with the Raiders. Anderson and Theismann also won MVPs and started in Super Bowls.

1983: John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Ken O'Brien, Tony Eason

Elway, Marino and Kelly are Hall of Famers, Ken O'Brien was the Jets' QB for a decade and Tony Eason started a Super Bowl for the Patriots. Eason was only a primary starter for three years, although he started the 1985 Super Bowl and was voted MVP in 1986.

2012: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill, Russell Wilson, Nick Foles, Kirk Cousins

At some point, these six all had their moments. Wilson won a Super Bowl, Foles was Super Bowl MVP. Tannehill started an AFC title game. Luck and Cousins ​​enjoyed continued success and RGIII burst onto the scene and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year.

However, there is no case where a draft class produced five QBs who all clicked with their draft teams at the same time over an extended period of time. The stars could align for this 2020 class if everyone is banned from their teams for 2024.

6. Josh Allen's video game numbers against the Dolphins

Few QBs have dominated a franchise like Josh Allen has dominated the Dolphins. At least I know that no QB has put up video game numbers as well as him. He is the only QB to average 300 yards and three touchdowns per game (passing and rushing) against one team in NFL history (minimum 10 games). He has multiple touchdown passes in all 12 career games against Miami, the longest streak against any team ever. Miami's defense literally can't stop him as he has 17 touchdown passes and two picks against them under pressure.

No wonder Vic Fangio called him John Elway because of the steroids. It will take some effort from his defense to contain Allen without his top two pass rushers (Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are out for the year) and Xavien Howard (foot injury). Last week, Fangio said that Lamar Jackson has only had one player like him in the last 50 years (Michael Vick), and we've seen what Jackson did to Miami, so perhaps Fangio strikes again here by greasing Allen.

7. Brock Purdy's NFL record

Brock Purdy will not play in Week 18 as the 49ers have the No. 1 seed, meaning his 9.6 yards per attempt this year is now the most in a single season in NFL history (min. 350 attempts) surpassing Matt Ryan (9.3 in the 2016 MVP season) and Aaron Rodgers (9.2 in the 2011 MVP season) for the top grade.

Purdy won't win MVP after the disastrous results on Monday Night Football against the Ravens, but Mr. Irrelevant has an NFL record under his belt that I bet no one thought he'd ever say.

He also joined Patrick Mahomes, Kurt Warner and Justin Herbert as the only QBs with 30 touchdown passes and 4,000 passing yards in their first year as a full-time starter (a list that Jordan Love can also join). Simply an incredible year that deserves its flowers!

8. Stroud will lead the Texans to the playoffs

The Texans and Colts meet on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the playoffs and the loser being eliminated. Houston is the favorite with CJ Stroud back in the saddle, who will be the first rookie QB to start a winner-take-all game in a regular season finale since Robert Griffin III in 2012. You may remember that a limping RGIII led Washington to a 28-18 victory over Dallas behind 200 rushing yards from fellow rookie Alfred Morris.

Stroud can put his own stamp on a historic rookie year, likely becoming the fifth rookie with 4,000 passing yards in a season. I was hoping for Houston to make the AFC playoffs as a fallback, so I'm definitely betting on the Texans to win this game and potentially upset the Chiefs or the AFC East champions in the wild card round.

There are also some cool stories Stroud can write that you should know about.

• Stroud, along with Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, may be the only rookie QBs drafted with a top-2 pick early in a playoff game. It's extremely difficult for a QB to immediately turn around a franchise in complete rebuild mode, but Stroud did it.
• He got help from DeMeco Ryans. They could join Andrew Luck/Chuck Pagano, Mark Sanchez/Rex Ryan, Joe Flacco/John Harbaugh and Matt Ryan/Mike Smith as the fifth rookie QB/coach duo to start a playoff game.
• Ultimately, no one has seen Houston play in a game of this magnitude after it entered that year with Super Bowl odds of 200-1, tied with the Cardinals for the worst odds in the NFL. Houston could become the fifth team in the last 45 seasons to make the playoffs by such a long margin, joining the 1979 Buccaneers, the 1981 Giants, the 2008 Falcons and the 2020 Washington.

9. Bryce Young and Troy Aikman

Things aren't looking so promising for this year's No. 1 pick. All the Buccaneers have to do is beat the Panthers and Bryce Young 2-14 to win the NFC South in Week 18.

Easier said than done; All the Colts had to do was beat the Jaguars (and Trevor Lawrence in his disastrous rookie year) 2-14 to make the playoffs in 2021, and they lost.

Young can finish the year on a high note after a difficult season in which he ranked last among qualified QBs in yards per attempt (5.5) and passer rating (73.7).

The only No. 1 overall pick to finish last in both categories since 1970 was Troy Aikman as a rookie in 1989. He did well.

10. Kyler Murray gets help, can he get a WR now?

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said earlier this week, “There's no doubt” that Kyler Murray is their franchise's quarterback. Perhaps he was still on cloud nine after Murray and Co. defeated Gannon's former team.

With 13 of 14 completions and three touchdown passes in the second half, Murray secured Philadelphia's struggling secondary. He beat them without a wide receiver who can win and without throwing him deep. I think that says as much about Murray as it does about this minor matter.

That touchdown pass to James Conner reminded me how good Murray can be at improvisation.

Will they actually keep Murray? I'll believe it when I see it. He was an average QB in four of his five seasons. He's coming off a winning year, no playoff wins, and a massive contract.

If they stick with him, a WR like Marvin Harrison Jr. would help, which is what Trapasso did in his last mock draft.

Murray has the lowest completion rate for wide receivers (50%) since his season debut in Week 10. He also ranks last in completion rate on passes thrown at least 15 yards downfield in that span (30%).

As for Week 18, Kyler can play spoilsport again on Sunday by knocking the Seahawks out of the playoffs.