The year of the backup quarterback? How NFL reserves are excelling to start 2026

• More backup quarterbacks are seeing the field in 2026: This year, 40 passers have registered at least 10 dropbacks, the most through three weeks since 2010.

• Excellence in multiple departments: Reserves like Marcus Mariota and Drew Lock have flourished under pressure and when blitzed, emphasizing that they're not basic game managers.

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As the Bears took the field on Monday night against the Eagles, doubt naturally clouded the team’s offensive aptitude. After all, Chicago was forced to start third-string quarterback Case Keenum after Caleb Williams (hamstring) and Tyson Bagent (concussion) were both unable to practice, leaving the team as an underdog.

Few would’ve been surprised to see legitimate rust, if not highly questionable and/or inaccurate passes, from Keenum in his first NFL start in almost three seasons. Instead, the 38-year-old helped Chicago churn out five explosive passes, post a 52.6% passing success rate and score 27 points against a talented Philadelphia defense.

While Keenum wasn’t mistake-free, committing two turnover-worthy plays and missing several throws, he also showcased serious playmaking ability with two big-time throws and a 75.8% adjusted completion percentage. All told, he earned a 67.3 PFF passing grade on Monday, a number far higher than the opposing Jalen Hurts (38.0) and which placed Keenum 15^th out of 32 quarterbacks in Week 3.

What Keenum pulled off in primetime could be chalked up to elite play-calling by guru Ben Johnson, or simply a very sloppy evening by the Eagles. However, it underscores a growing trend over the first three weeks of the 2026 season — that backup quarterbacks are not only on the field more, but also performing better.

Through three games of the fresh slate, a whopping 40 quarterbacks have already taken 10 or more dropbacks. That’s the most such qualified passers through Week 3 since 2010. Teams like the Bears and Falcons have already utilized three different names under center, while four other squads (Commanders, Vikings, Seahawks, Giants) have enlisted their backups already due to starters suffering varying injuries.

Team and passing performance are rightfully expected to wane with a backup quarterback in the game; after all, that player is generally older, less athletic and/or more error-prone than the starter. But this year’s QB2s and QB3s have indicated that they shouldn’t be an oversight for opposing defenses, finding ways to make meaningful impacts with savvy play.

Perhaps the most distinguishable characteristic of the 2026 backups is a quicker trigger. Indeed, five of the top-11 passers with the lowest average time to throw include Keenum, Cooper Rush, Jack Strand, Carson Wentz and Jameis Winston. Part of that may trace back to offensive game planning, but it also speaks to these players throwing faster to avoid pressure as well as to take advantage of easier completions, giving defenses less time to get settled in coverage.

A rational explanation for why backups are getting the ball out faster is them lacking escapability or answers under duress. However, the data actually paints a very different picture.

Three of the top-seven quarterbacks in under-pressure PFF passing grade this season include Drew Lock, Marcus Mariota and Winston. Along parallel lines, Keenum was elite under heat against the Eagles, with his 89.4 passing mark when pressured the fourth-highest by any quarterback in a game this season. As it turns out, many of these veterans are able to stand in the pocket and make high-level, accurate passes while taking a hit.

Defensive coordinators may be inclined to blitz secondary gunslingers in an effort to create more chaos, but even that approach may not work. Mariota’s 91.7 PFF passing grade when blitzed trails only Patrick Mahomes this season, while Lock sits 11^th with a 77.5 mark. Admittedly, performance here tends to skew to both sides of the spectrum, with Wentz, Bagent, Rush, Strand and Winston ranking 20^th or worse in passing grade vs. the blitz.

If you believe that backup quarterbacks are simply operating as game managers incapable of making high-level passes, think again. Lock (9.8%) and Mariota (7.8%) are the league’s top-two passers in big-time throw rate this season, while Keenum (5.6%) and Wentz (4.7%) also rank inside the top 11. In Week 3 alone, Mariota and Keenum each tossed several passes with exceptional ball placement and anticipation against tight zone coverages.

Many of these quarterbacks have established a reputation as gunslingers, and they’ve certainly lived and died by the sword in 2026. Four reserves — Rush, Keenum, Mariota and Strand — own elevated turnover-worthy play rates of at least 5%. Of the eight de facto backups deployed so far, only two (Lock and Mariota) own more big-time throws than turnover-worthy plays, indicating that their overall performance hasn’t been without warts. However, that’s generally to be expected for reserves and not a major detractor from overall solid showings.

In reality, the 2026 season resembles an extension of last campaign in which backups proved paramount for several contenders. Malik Willis’ 92.3 overall PFF grade across four late games not only kept the Packers afloat without Jordan Love, but also fostered his big contract and starting opportunity with the Dolphins. Similarly, Mac Jones stepping in with a 76.7 overall grade after Brock Purdy went down early allowed the 49ers to remain a powerhouse.

In a season where play under center has been highly volatile and borderline turbulent, having a capable backup is that much more important. With passers like Drake Maye, Jordan Love, Justin Herbert and Bo Nix all compiling sub-50.0 overall PFF grades through three weeks, multiple organizations are in a quagmire to fix their talented quarterbacks. Meanwhile, a team like the Seahawks now has the league’s highest-graded passer in Lock back on its bench — a player who looked like a luxury but proved essential, even if just for two games.

Many around the football ecosystem suggest that the NFL has a quarterback injury problem, with umpteen stars missing games every week — if not entire seasons. Others chastise the development of touted prospects, with names like J.J. McCarthy, Cam Ward and Anthony Richardson enduring trying young careers despite their profiles and ages.

If anything, those two looming clouds only emphasize the value of a high-caliber backup quarterback, a position once considered an afterthought but which continues to skyrocket in value. With more QB2s seeing the field earlier than before and offering starting-caliber performances, it’s easy to understand why bench options are making more money than starting running backs — and why additional teams are choosing to keep even four quarterbacks on their rosters.