A week ago, The Practice Squad Power Rankings had a backup quarterback. This week, I’m going the next level and highlighting the Backup Quarterback Playoffs, otherwise known as Week 15 in the 2023. NFL regular-season schedule.
After whatever that Easton Stick vs. Aidan O’Connell fight was last night, we get this:
And we’ll see Joe Flacco, Tommy DeVito, Zach Wilson, Bailey Zappe and Davis Mills face normal starters in games that either feature a team with a winning record or at least one with reasonable playoff aspirations.
I don’t use the term “treated” sarcastically either. In those two Saturday games, it’s only right that we get backup for backup. And when it comes to backup versus backup, unprecedentedly, strange things can happen. We should all be down for that.
Plus, the rest of those backups are, yeah, playing good football, too. Flacco looks like he’s back on ESPN2 in the FCS playoffs at Delaware. DeVito cemented himself as a made man in Giants lore, Wilson topped 300 in a downpour against the surging Texans last week, Zappe won in Pittsburgh against TJ Watt and Co. in prime time, and Mills, yes, maybe the verdict is still out. out on him because Sunday will be his first start of the 2023 season.
Fun, too: The Backup Quarterback Playoffs take place the same week we get Dak Prescott visiting Josh Allen’s Bills, Trevor Lawrence hosting Lamar Jackson, and a juicy “Monday Night Football” clash between Geno Smith and Jalen Hurts in Seattle.
To celebrate the Backup Quarterback Playoffs, everyone in this week’s PSPR is on a team starting backup in Week 15.
As for The Call Up Tracker (the CUT), there were three highs for Week 14 — RB Tyler Goodson, TE Stephen Anderson and WR Marquez Callaway, ensuring what I call a “winning season,” meaning the PSPR is now guaranteed. on average at least one call per week. The number sits triumphantly at 20 entering Week 15’s weekend action.
Before we get to the update, let’s quickly pay tribute to Practice Squad Power Ranking alums like Saints TE Juwan Johnson, 49ers wideout Jauan Jennings, Cardinals center Hjalte Froholdt and Giants receiver Isaiah Hodgins (among many others), who all graduated to become important main bases. on their clubs’ respective 53-man rosters and contribute in their own ways every weekend.
What I ask of you as a loyal PSPR patron: Alert me via X/Twitter @ChrisTrapasso if you see a tweet about PSPR getting The Call so I can add to The CUT.
Johnson is small for the edge-red position in the NFL. He would probably even tell you that. That didn’t matter at all while he was in Kansas. He recorded 39 pressures on 268 pass-blocking snaps in his final season in Lawrence then rocked at the Senior Bowl with surprising pop, thanks to his ability to convert speed to power. The wonderful edges of Pittsburgh are a bit battered now. Johnson might have a chance.
Cajuste was a brick wall at left tackle at West Virginia, and at 6-foot-5 and about 310 pounds with sculpted 34-inch arms, he felt like an ideal project-y pass protector in the NFL. The Patriots selected him in the third round of the 2019 draft, and the injury bug hit. Bummer. He’s only appeared in 17 professional games so far, but the Giants may need him if Evan Neal isn’t fully healthy for the Week 15 suddenly important finals (!) matchup against the Saints.
With Jonathan Taylor still out, the Colts could use as much offensive skill-position talent as possible. And Goodson is talented. At a fairly compact 5-foot-9 and about 200 pounds, he ran a 4.42 at the 2022 combine. He would be the textbook lightning to Zack Moss’ thunder. Get him on the field Saturday, Indy.
Eze spent a week at No. 1 in this season’s PSPR, after a stellar career at TCU. The Steelers have never elevated the monster blocker, but given the state of health along the Steelers offensive line, this could be a necessity now for New York as it tries to adjust the atmosphere at the end of the tumultuous season. Eze is over 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds with arms that stretch over 36 inches. A huge man.
Jack was a relatively early free-agent signing of the Steelers in 2022 and accumulated 104 tackles, three tackles for loss and three pass breakups as one of the starting inside linebackers. Now, Jack has dealt with a myriad of injuries — and decided to retire after being signed by the Eagles in August. But he entered the league as one of the strangest athletic specimens we’ve seen at the position in recent memory. Based on Pittsburgh’s linebacker situation, Jack would be a welcomed addition to the second level of the Steelers defense.
Wallow was a standout linebacker at TCU and tested as an above-average athlete at his combine workout. He has accumulated exactly zero stats in the NFL thus far. In college he was everywhere. More than 210 tackles in his final two seasons in the Big 12 with 27 tackles for loss. If Blake Cashman — who has been a DUDE this season at linebacker for the Texans — isn’t 100% or can’t go, Wallow should get the nod.
Harris sits on New England’s practice squad, but was a sixth-round pick by the Patriots in 2022 after showing explosive traits at South Carolina. In his final two years with the Gamecocks, Harris forced 60 missed tackles on 338 rushing attempts and in 2020 alone, 15 of his 185 carries went for 15 or more yards. With Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined, it would make sense for the Patriots to bring Harris up for the Week 15 showdown with the Chiefs.
With Tank Dell out, Sims can be a serviceable replacement. No, he won’t run electric, delicately intricate vertical routes that generate as much separation as the rookie did, but he’s similarly big to Dell and plays with plenty of lateral juice with the ball in his hands and when trying to break free from corners. below He had a 23-yard reception in November.
McBride isn’t going to hit 90-yard touchdowns, but there are only a select few legitimate game-breakers at the running back position in today’s NFL. He is naturally elusive with light feet and strong contact balance. With Alexander Mattison out for Minnesota’s huge game on Saturday in Cincinnati, it’s time to call McBride and give him a ride! That’s right meow.
Phelps is patiently waiting for the practice squad, and now a once ridiculously deep defense is going through an avalanche of injuries. In Kansas in 2022, after a wonderful quarterback disrupting productivity at Miami of Ohio, Phelps was once again a threat around the corner. Super productive. I love his ability to use powerful hands while bending the rim. He should see some passing snaps against the Bruins in Week 15.
