Ranking the Backup Quarterbacks Who Could Lead a 2024 NFL Playoff Run

The importance of having a good backup quarterback in the NFL has never been more evident than in 2023.

It's been a rough year for starting signal-callers around the league. Season-ending injuries have altered several team's records and the playoff hunt.

Aaron Rodgers started the trend less than five minutes into his debut, and Justin Herbert is the latest to go down this year. Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson are among the other top names ruled out for the season.

Going on a Super Bowl run with a backup quarterback isn't unknown, though. Nick Foles took the Eagles to a championship in 2017, and Tom Brady was technically a backup when he won his first Super Bowl in 2002 after taking over for Drew Bledsoe in Week 2.

Let's take a look at the quarterbacks who might have the opportunity to go on such a run and guide their teams to the playoffs and beyond. These backups are set to start for teams that are at least the 10th seed in their respective conferences.

They are ranked by their likelihood of leading their team to the playoffs and beyond based on play this season, surrounding talent and current form.

The Passtronaut Era lasted just a little longer than one lunar cycle in Minnesota.

Joshua Dobbs provided some initial excitement when he took over following Kirk Cousins' injury.

The Vikings traded for Dobbs just ahead of the trade deadline, and he led them to 58 points and two wins in his first two appearances.

Unfortunately, they lost his next two starts and the 28-year-old was benched during Sunday's 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, a game that was an affront to modern offensive football and the idea of scoring points.

The Vikings scored three points after they benched Dobbs and moved on to Nick Mullens, who went 9-of-13 for 83 yards and led the field-goal drive.

Kevin O'Connell has since announced that Mullens will start this weekend against the Bengals in a crucial game with playoff implications. The Minnesota head coach told reporters his experience within the Vikings' system is a big reason why.

Mullens, 28, has been with the Vikings since 2022 but was on injured reserve with a back injury when Cousins suffered a torn Achilles on Oct. 29.

The Southern Miss product might be able to keep things within structure, but he's not an exciting option. He hasn't started a game since 2021 when he was with the Cleveland Browns. He's 5-12 as a starter for his career with 27 touchdowns to 23 interceptions.

The good news is that Justin Jefferson is considered day-to-day with the chest injury that knocked him out of last week's game. Minnesota will need all of its skill guys to step up to win with Mullens at quarterback.

As of right now, it doesn't look like the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have to find out if Mitch Trubisky can lead them in the playoffs.

Kenny Pickett has already been ruled out for Week 15 as he recovers from ankle surgery, but there are still three more weeks to get ready for the playoffs.

Still, Trubisky will make his second start in the season of the season and it's hard to know how Pickett will look upon his return.

Trubisky wasn't atrocious in his first start of this season on a short week, but he didn't do well enough to beat the New England Patriots in a 21-18 loss on Thursday Night Football.

On paper, the 29-year-old is an ideal backup signal-caller in the NFL. His career as the 2017 No. 2 overall pick might have disappointed, but he has started 56 games and owns a 31-25 record.

Unfortunately, his numbers haven't been all that great as a backup. He's 2-4 as a starter for the Steelers in the last two years, and he's thrown seven touchdowns to eight interceptions. His QBR of 35.3 would be 28th in the league if he qualified for the leaderboard.

The Steelers are 27th in scoring offense this season. If Trubisky was good enough to fix that, he'd be the starter. There's not a lot of potential for any kind of run with him at quarterback.

The Indianapolis Colts have relied on some Minshew Magic from their backup quarterback all season. Anthony Richardson only led the team in passing in Week 1 and Week 4 this season due to injuries before a shoulder issue ended his rookie campaign.

Unlike the other signal-callers on this list, we have a big sample size of Gardner Minshew this year, but the results have been decidedly average. He's 19th in EPA per play, 12th in ESPN's QBR metric and 28th in completion percentage over expectation.

Shane Steichen has done a great job piecing together an offense around the backup quarterback and dealing with several injuries to Jonathan Taylor, but the team has struggled to overcome opponents with a winning record.

The Colts haven't had a victory over a winning team since Week 3 when they beat the Baltimore Ravens in overtime.

In order to orchestrate a playoff run, a backup QB needs to be able to rise up and lead the offense against the NFL's best teams. Minshew just hasn't been that guy. Going against fellow backup Jake Browning and the Bengals last week, the offense only scored once in a 34-14 blowout.

It's hard to rank Minshew much higher if that's what the offense looks like in a game that allowed Cincinnati to stay in playoff contention.

Most of the names on this list are fairly well-known quarterbacks. They already had their shot at being starters in the NFL, and their career journey has settled them into the role of backup.

Jake Browning has really come out of nowhere, though.

The 27-year-old went undrafted in 2019 and spent two seasons on the bottom of the Vikings roster for two seasons before catching on with the Bengals in 2021. However, his first action came in Week 1 for Cincinnati when he threw one pass.

His second game action came in Week 11 after Joe Burrow injured his wrist in the first half of a Thursday Night Football game against the Ravens. After putting up a modest stat line against the Steelers, it looked like the Bengals' playoff hopes were done.

Then, the last two weeks happened.

Browning has led the Bengals to two consecutive 34-point games in the last two weeks in wins over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts. Both opponents would be in the playoffs if they started today.

If you allow for the small sample size, the Washington product is third in the league in adjusted EPA per play among all QBs this season. Brock Purdy is No. 1, with Dak Prescott sitting at No. 2.

Browning isn't just being a serviceable backup. He's given his team elite play against two solid opponents.

Unfortunately, the Bengals only have about an 18.5 percent chance to make the playoffs, per Sumer Sports. Their work is cut out for them and Browning just has too small of a sample size to rely on, which keeps him out of the No. 1 spot.

Joe Flacco wasn't even on a roster for more than half the season. He wasn't even on a roster for training camp. But now he's in a position to guide the Cleveland Browns to the postseason, and they're going to be dangerous when they get there.

Cleveland has started four different quarterbacks this season. That's something Browns fans have become accustomed to over the years. What's different about this year's team is that all four have won at least one game.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker struggled to contribute in those wins after Deshaun Watson's season-ending injury, but Joe Flacco has had two successful outings in a row where he has been the maestro conducting a strong performance for the offense.

In the last two weeks, the 38-year-old has thrown for 565 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. The Browns are simplifying the offense, and Flacco is making the right reads. Twenty-eight of his passing attempts have been play-action and have resulted in 299 yards.

The Browns are going to be scary in the postseason because of their defense. The coverage has been a little less dominant with Denzel Ward out of the lineup, but the star cornerback practiced last week and should be back for the postseason.

The Cleveland defense is No. 1 in EPA per play this season, and teams have just a 36.1 percent success rate against them.

Combine that with Flacco's playoff experience—including a Super Bowl MVP—and success in running this offense despite being around for just a few weeks, and he's the best backup in the playoff race right now.