Even though the NFL is doing everything to protect quarterback, football is a physical sport and players will get hurt.
Fortunately, injuries have forced team to go to backup quarterbacks only 12 times. But the injury pace is picking up. Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins is going to miss his second game with a right shoulder injury. Jeff Allen of the Buffalo Bills will miss at least two weeks with an elbow injury.
One of the surprising stat for backup quarterbacks so far is how well they are doing and how many points they are scoring. Backups are 6-6 and averaging 23.8 points a game. This is in a league in which teams are averaging 24.15 points a game, the fastest scoring start in NFL history.
While starting quarterbacks are expected to sustain the offensive onslaught, don’t expect backups to maintain the early level of scoring and efficiency.
This goes back to the old theory presented by long-time NFL coach Ted Marchibroda. He preached that a good backup quarterback can win three games for a team, but if you start that quarterback six games, he could lose you three.
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