This year could well be known as the “Year of Injured Quarterbacks”. QBs dropped like flies, beginning with Aaron Rodgers in the New York Jets’ inaugural game. While some teams struggled to perform well in the absence of their veteran, starting QBs, some teams performed better with their replacements.

Who were the biggest casualties of this season and how did their absence affect their team’s record? With just a couple of weeks left for the regular season to end and the post-season to begin, can these teams manage to salvage the situation?

1. Aaron Rodgers

The Jets are going to end another season without making it to the playoffs. The team has been experiencing a playoff drought since 2010. This makes them the team with the most number of consecutive seasons where they did not make it to the playoffs. When they signed the 4x NFL MVP, they hoped that he would turn things around. But just four plays into the 2023 season, and he was out for the entire season due to an Achilles tear.

Woody Johnson, the team’s owner, and head coach Robert Saleh had no backup plan because they did not think such a tragedy would occur. With Rodgers, the Jets’ season went down as well. They had formed their entire team around Rodgers. WRs Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard, RB Dalvin Cook, and OC Nathaniel Hackett were either recruited by Rodgers or for his benefit. But now it seems they will have to wait for the next season to see these weapons utilized to their fullest.

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2. Joe Burrow

Midway through the season, Joe Burrow helped the Cincinnati Bengals bounce back from their difficult start to the season. Then, following a controversy that sparked an NFL investigation, Burrow’s wrist injury forced him to miss the entire season. With their current record of 8-7, the Bengals are out of the playoff picture and at the bottom of the AFC North. In Burrow’s absence, Jake Browning has been leading the team, but he hasn’t played well. He threw three interceptions, was sacked thrice, and scored just one touchdown in the Steelers game. The team still has wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but they can’t play at their best without Burrow’s accurate passes and defense-reading skills.

3. Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins had his doubters, but he was on track to prove them wrong and set career records before he suffered the same fate as Rodgers in Week 8. The Minnesota Vikings seemed to lose heart after his injury, but backup QB Josh “Passtronaut” Dobbs proved to be more than capable of leading the Vikings. Under him, the Vikings are still in the Wild Card race. With two games left in the season, Dobbs is also making a case for him to be the Vikings’ starting QB next season as Cousins’ contract will expire after the current season, which his team has not extended yet.

4. Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson’s season-ending shoulder injury threw cold water on the Cleveland Browns’ plans. And when rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson took over, things did not seem to improve. In just his first game in Week 4, he threw for 121 passing yards and 3 interceptions. Then in December, the team recruited veteran QB, the 38-year-old Joe Flacco, and he turned things around for the team.

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The Browns were not even part of playoff conversations but he won four of the five games he played for the team. Moreover, after their latest win over the Jets, the team has secured a Wild Card playoff berth.

5. Trevor Lawrence

Jacksonville Jaguars’ QB, Trevor Lawrence, was injured by his own teammate and was helped off the field in the game against the Bengals, and ended up missing a few games. 30-year-old CJ Beathard replaced him and lost four of the five games that he played in. Despite that, Lawrence managed to secure a good enough record during the games that he played, and the Jaguars are still at the top of their division. However, only the upcoming two games will decide if the team will make it to the playoffs or not.

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