Giving big-money to quarterbacks guarantees nothing

By The Associated Press January 3, 2019 at 9:03am

Giving quarterbacks big money doesn’t guarantee success or even playoff appearances.

The NFL’s six highest-paid quarterbacks in 2018 will be spectators this postseason. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million), Atlanta’s Matt Ryan ($30 million), Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins ($28 million), San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo ($27.5 million), Detroit’s Matthew Stafford ($27 million) and Oakland’s Derek Carr ($25 million) couldn’t lead their teams to the playoffs.

Only Cousins had a winning record (8-7-1), and he failed in a do-or-die game in the regular-season finale. Cousins, who received a three-year, fully guaranteed, $84 million contract, struggled in a 24-10 loss to the Chicago Bears that eliminated the Vikings.

Of the top six on the salary list, only Rodgers has won a Super Bowl. Ryan is 4-6 in the playoffs, Stafford is 0-3 and Cousins is 0-1. Carr and Garoppolo haven’t made a postseason start.

Among the 12 starting quarterbacks still playing, six are still under their rookie contract and another — Nick Foles — is a backup.

Here’s a look at a few more numbers entering wild-card weekend:

SETTING RECORDS: New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees broke his own record with a 74.4 completion percentage, the highest in a season in NFL history. … Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz set a record for most receptions by a tight end (116). … San Francisco’s George Kittle set a record for most yards receiving by a tight end (1,377). … Teams combined to score 1,371 total touchdowns, the highest total in a season. … Eight quarterbacks had a passer rating of 100 or higher, most in a season.

LAST MAN STANDING: Philadelphia’s Doug Pederson is the only one of seven coaches hired in 2016 still with his team. Adam Gase (23-26, Miami), Chip Kelly (2-14, San Francisco), Hue Jackson (3-36-1, Cleveland), Mike Mularkey (19-17, Tennessee), Dirk Koetter (19-29, Tampa Bay) and Ben McAdoo (13-16, Giants) all were fired, some sooner than others.

WORST TO FIRST: The Bears (12-4) and Texans (11-5) won their divisions after finishing in last place in 2017. The Eagles won the Super Bowl last year after going worst-to-first in the NFC East.

THE NEWCOMERS: Seven teams who weren’t in the playoffs last season qualified this year. All seven — Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle — will play this weekend. Since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 1990, at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the previous year.

WILD-CARD CHAMPS: Nine teams who played wild-card games have won the Super Bowl, including the 1980 Raiders, 1997 Broncos, 2000 and 2012 Ravens, 2005 Steelers, 2006 Colts, 2007 and 2011 Giants and 2010 Packers.

TOUGHEST ROAD: The Eagles and Colts are each trying to become only the third No. 6 seed to win a Super Bowl, joining the 2005 Steelers and 2010 Packers.

EASIEST ROAD: Since 1975, 49 of the 86 teams (57 percent) to reach the Super Bowl were No. 1 seeds. In that span, 20 No. 2 seeds, four No. 3, nine No. 4, two No. 5 and two No. 6 made it. Over the past five years, nine of 10 No. 1 seeds played in the Super Bowl. Only the 2016 Cowboys didn’t get in.

WELCOME TO THE DANCE: Four quarterbacks will make their postseason debut as starters. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Chicago’s Mitchell Trubisky and Houston’s Deshaun Watson play this weekend. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes has a bye.

STINGY DEFENSE: In three of the past four seasons, the teams with the stringiest regular-season scoring defense have advanced to the Super Bowl. The Bears led the league with the fewest points allowed per game (17.7) this season.

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/tag/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

___

Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobMaaddi

The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

Submit a Correction →

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:

WJ Wire

The Associated Press

SummaryMore Biographical InformationRecent PostsContact

The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Their teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. They provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands. Photo credit: @AP on Twitter

@AP

Facebook

The Associated Press was the first private sector organization in the U.S. to operate on a national scale. Over the past 170 years, they have been first to inform the world of many of history's most important moments, from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the fall of the Shah of Iran and the death of Pope John Paul.

Today, they operate in 263 locations in more than 100 countries relaying breaking news, covering war and conflict and producing enterprise reports that tell the world's stories.

Location

New York City