The label has competition from The Year of the Weekly Officiating Calamity and The Year of “What Did Antonio Brown Do Now?”, but the 2019 NFL season will most likely be known as The Year of the Backup Quarterback. More than a quarter of the league’s teams, from tankers to Super Bowl contenders, have resorted to playing a passer other than the one they planned on.
The Kansas City Cheifs joined them Thursday night in the most distressing example of the trend. Patrick Mahomes appeared to dislocate his knee cap on a quarterback sneak, and while early signs are promising, full test results will reveal whether the NFL’s most electrifying quarterback misses about three weeks or much longer.