Fans were forced to witness a brutal performance from Ravens third-string Joe Fagnano against the Jaguars on Thursday night after Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley went down with injuries.
The undrafted rookie, who is expected to relinquish the starting job to newly acquired veteran Jacoby Brissett next week, completed 10 of 18 passes for just 60 yards and two interceptions in a 33-10 loss at Baltimore — and it may be worse than the dire numbers suggest.
The Ravens clearly have more confidence in the Wildcats’ formation, screen passes and skills led by Derrick Henry than in Fagnano’s throwing arm, which barely requires him to throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage.
Fagnano’s struggles are just the beginning of a weekend of NFL quarterback competition.
With injuries piling up and centers across the league underperforming, some teams are turning to backups and unproven signal-callers on their Week 9 rosters without star power at the sport’s most important position.
The defending champion Seahawks have struggled offensively this season and turned to Drew Lock after Sam Darnold was sidelined with a quadriceps injury.
Lock will face Cardinals veteran Gardner Minshew, who will make his first start since leading Arizona to a comeback victory over the Cowboys last Sunday.
Another heavyweight battle is coming to Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles, who have lost six straight, are turning to their third starting quarterback, Joe Milton III, who will take the ball for Philadelphia against the Giants after Tanner McGee comes off the bench.
JJ McCarthy has looked solid in limited action for the Big Blue and will make his second start in one of the more interesting quarterback storylines this week, but just a month ago he was third on Minnesota’s depth chart.
The quarterback carousel is also spinning in Cleveland.
After making seven starts for the Browns last season and losing his job in training camp, Shaddell Sanders will assume the role of Cleveland’s QB1 for the first time in 2026 against the Saints with Deshaun Watson questionable due to a concussion.
“Monday Night Football” is not immune.
Vikings backup Carson Wentz will lead the way for a Minnesota team that struggled when Kyler Murray was healthy. He was ruled out with a hamstring strain against the Bills, who will thankfully have Josh Allen available.
And it’s not just the second and third tiers.
Several veteran starters enter Week 9 looking to rebound from poor performances last weekend.
In perhaps the ugliest game of the season, the Buccaneers defeated the Falcons 16-0, with Michael Penix Jr. throwing four interceptions and Baker Mayfield not completing a single pass. Both quarterbacks battled in the pouring rain as the Buccaneers defeated the Falcons 16-0 without winning the game in the Super Bowl era.
Daniel Jones and Justin Herbert, both coming off serious down seasons, didn’t fare much better, each throwing two interceptions in the loss.
Hope you’re a defense fan.