New QBs feel heat as playoff hopes hinge on backups

This NFL season again shows it can be a quick step from backup quarterback to starter. Some falter. Some flourish.

Drew Stanton, Mark Sanchez, Ryan Mallett and more, it's your turn.

Nineteen of 32 teams have started the same quarterback in every game this season. Joe Flacco hasn't missed a start in seven seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

But the other 13 teams, due to injuries and benchings, have used 29 different quarterbacks. That makes 48 NFL starters through Week 11. Teams used 51 all of last season.

When a team has to turn to its backup quarterback, it's up to him to give his team a chance to win. But with limited access to the field, that task may be one of the most difficult to achieve.

"I think it's probably the hardest role in football to play," said Ron Jaworski, ESPN analyst and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback.

Beyond the throws and timing, there's another difficult adjustment — leadership.

"From a backup position, you really can't lead," Jaworski said. "You have to let the starting quarterback be the man. So you have to suppress whatever leadership skill you have. ... It's hard to be the guy who comes in the locker room and says, 'Follow me,' as a backup."

STEPPING UP

Several teams are relying on their backups to keep them in contention down the stretch.

Stanton took over Sunday as the man down the stretch for the high-riding Arizona Cardinals. Sanchez, in a similar spot with the playoff contending Philadelphia Eagles, fell to earth — like his whole team — after a solid debut a week earlier. Mallett of the Houston Texans won in his first NFL start.

The hottest spotlight now is on Stanton with Arizona, a surprise 9-1 leader in the NFC West, and Sanchez with Philadelphia, 7-3 and tied with the Dallas Cowboys atop the NFC East.

Stanton went 2-1 early in the season while Carson Palmer was out with a shoulder injury. With Palmer now done for the season with a knee injury, Stanton threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns in a 14-6 win Sunday over the Detroit Lions. However, most of his production came in the first quarter and he was intercepted twice. It took another big game from the Cardinals' defense to secure the win.

Stanton isn't thinking Super Bowl, which is set this season for Glendale, Ariz.

"That whole thing, it'll take care of itself if we continue to take care of business each and every week like we should," he said.

In Sanchez's second start in place of Nick Foles (broken collarbone), he got no help from the defense in the Eagles' 53-20 loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. While throwing for 346 yards and two touchdowns, Sanchez was intercepted twice (one returned for a touchdown), and he mishandled a high snap the Packers returned for a touchdown.

ANALYSIS: WEEK 11 AROUND THE NFL

GETTING PREPARED

Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said the key for any backup is to prepare every game like you're starting.

"If you keep going through that process, then when you get your chance, it's not like, 'Okay, now I've got to change what I did.' "

Easier said than done.

"Say you're in Week 14 and you haven't played any valuable snaps whatsoever," Jaworski said. "... Deep down inside, all of a sudden the preparation starts to wane a little bit. The work ethic may not be there."

It's also tougher to get practice reps for a backup these days with NFL limits on practice time and contact.

"The way teams practice now, it is much more difficult for a quarterback to develop as a backup because he's getting literally no reps at practice," Jaworski said. "It is a killer for quarterback development."

TEAM EFFORT

If a team has to turn to a backup, the supporting cast takes on a larger responsibility.

Houston came through for Mallett in Sunday's 23-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. In his fourth season after three as a backup with the New England Patriots, Mallett threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt had a fumble-causing sack, a fumble recovery and a 2-yard touchdown catch from Mallett.

"I never would have thought my first career touchdown pass would be to a defensive lineman," said Mallett, also beneficiary of 156 rushing yards by rookie Alfred Blue.

Mallett also may benefit from being familiar with the team's offensive system. Mallett and O'Brien weren't strangers when the Texans acquired Mallet from the Patriots via trade in August. Mallett was a Patriots rookie in 2011 while O'Brien was the offensive coordinator.

Mallet said playing in the offense behind Tom Brady assisted him with such things as getting on the same page with his linemen: "I think being in that system for those three years ... those guys know that I know it."

Sanchez was familiar with the spread, up-tempo offense of Eagles coach Chip Kelly from his days at Southern California when he faced Kelly while he was a coach at Oregon. Sanchez likens it to a basketball fast break: "You're the point guard and you just dish it to the open guy."

MONEY MATTERS

Carrying an extra quarterback also isn't the most cost efficient for a roster limited by a salary cap.

In this era of the salary cap, it takes commitment to sign a veteran backup. Some teams roll the dice and go young (and cheaper).

Arizona and Philadelphia invested. Stanton is in the second year of a three-year, $8.2 million contract. Sanchez has a one-year, $2.25 million deal. But Jaworski doesn't see a lot of quarterback depth.

"I have my quarterback big board in my office now (at NFL Films in New Jersey), and I've got the starting quarterback and I've got their backups," Jaworski said. "And there are very few teams that can afford to lose their starting quarterback. There is a significant falloff.

"You have to pay the (starting) quarterback. Eventually you're going to have to spend $15-20 million on the quarterback. You'd better get it right."

We'll see if Arizona and Philadelphia get their money's worth.

Follow Gary Mihoces on Twitter @ByGaryMihoces.