The last time we checked in on the NFL's incredible class of rookie quarterbacks, they were all doing heroic things. RGIII beat the Giants. Andrew Luck engineered another comeback. Ditto Russell Wilson. Rookie by default Brandon Weeden even helped his team win a game, and Ryan Tannehill survived another week with the Dolphins. Those crazy kids were up to more hi-jinx this week, with entirely new wrinkles added to the plot.
Rookies RGIII, Kirk Cousins and Andrew Luck engineer comeback wins in Week 14
The Redskins got big games from two rookie quarterbacks. Andrew Luck did what he always does, and even Nick Foles joined the first-year fun with a win this week.
Patrick McDermott
We grapple with those matters in this week’s rookie quarterback rankings.
1. RGIII & Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins
Punditry had to break out its tisk tisk finger after RGIII took not one, but two big hits from Haloti Ngata. By now, you’ve the seen the second of those two hits, the one his right knee impossibly survived. His style of play is going to get him killed, they said. Be a pocket passer, they pleaded, forgetting the entire essence of RGIII. Washington didn’t trade a quiver full of first-round picks to get a pocket passer. Mike Shanahan probably could have gotten by with Kirk Cousins, who had an important cameo this week. Chris Mottram politely deconstructed the argument for putting RGIII in a protective casing. Also important to note, standing in the pocket behind the current Washington offensive line is far more dangerous than taking your chances in the open field.
Prior to his injury, RGIII went 15-for-26 with 246 yards and a touchdown. He put the Redskins on top with the game's first touchdown and kept his team in the game to give Cousins the chance to be a hero. Not to be overlooked in Washington's win is the role Alfred Morris played. His 23 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown made the Redskins offense a more efficient machine than even RGIII could do on his own.
Enter Cousins. The world laughed when Washington spent a fourth-round pick on Cousins. He was 2-for-2 with a touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon and ran in the two-point conversion himself to send the game to overtime. Cousins came in with RGIII, learned the offense and gave Washington a valuable No. 2 to help ensure the season isn't lost when the starter goes down ... kind of like he did this week. Fill circle shit, right there.
Do you think the Redskins would have pulled off the win with Rex Grossman in relief? RGIII, Garcon, Morris, Cousins ... those players represent a smart chain of roster moves from the same team that gave Albert Haynesworth a key to Dan Snyder's money bath not so long ago. Maybe Andrew Sharp was really onto something last week.
2. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
It wasn't exactly a career day for Andrew Luck. He threw an ugly pair of interceptions. A pick six by Will Witherspoon should have been called back on third-and-3 in the second quarter. Luck's knee was down. Someone missed that detail, though it's pretty clear in the GIF below.
True to form, Luck kept pushing his team, not at all bothered by the scoreboard or the costly mistakes. Down by 13 points to start the second half, Luck went 7-for-17 with 73 yards in the second half to help his team add 20 points. He also managed his sixth-game winning drive, the most among all NFL quarterbacks this season.
All of this happened against a Titans team that is better off being forgotten this year. Lost in the heroics of a comeback win is the fact that a comeback should have never been needed in the first place.
Congrats, Nick Foles. You helped the Eagles beat the Buccaneers this weekend, the team's first win since September. I hope you look forward to being shipped off to Arizona or Jacksonville in the near future.
Foles posted a 32-for-52 line with 381 yards and two touchdowns. Andy Reid even had an excuse not to run the ball this week with LeSean McCoy being placed in protective custody until the next coach can use him and Bryce Brown being shut down by the Buccaneers defense.
We know that Andy Reid is out in Philly after the season, unless he makes some arrangement with Satan using the same contract language developed a while back by Norv Turner. Michael Vick is out too. That should open the door for Foles, right? Maybe not. A new coach is probably going to want to bring in his own quarterback. Foles has the rest of the season to get an extended look, and he probably will get a trial again next year under a new coach.
If Foles can string together similar performances down the stretch against the Bengals, Redskins and Giants, it will put him in a better place heading into the spring.
4. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson played his best game of the season last week. This week, he let Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin and the defense do the bulk of the work against Larry Fitzgerald and whatever moving carcasses the Cardinals had on the field this week.
Wilson finished the game early, going 7-for-13 with 148 yards a touchdown and an interception.
5. Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins
Was Jim Harbaugh feeling generous? I'm not sure how else to explain the fact that the 49ers beat the Dolphins by something less than 20 points. Miami's defense gets part of the credit for that, and so does Ryan Tannehill who avoided turning the ball over. He did fumble, but guard Richie Incognito recovered.
Tannehill posted a 17-for-33 line with 150 yards and one touchdown. The most concerning thing about Tannehill is that he has just one game in his last seven where he has completed more than 60 percent of his passes.
6. Brandon Weeden, Cleveland Browns
This week's award for outstanding achievement in the field of game management goes to the Browns rookie signal caller. Trent Richardson and Phil Dawson accounted for most of the work in a lopsided win over the visiting Chiefs, an opponent custom made for Pat Shurmur to coach against. Weeden threw for 217 of Cleveland's 352 total yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
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