The NFL season's Week 11 -- the week that kicking died. Philadelphia's Jake Elliott missed (twice), Cincinnati's Evan McPherson missed (twice) and Baltimore's Justin Tucker missed (twice). Even Dallas' Brandon Aubrey missed (just once, he's still the GOAT). That's how this week will always be remembered -- not for the Steelers beating the Ravens again, nor for the Lions handing the Jaguars their worst loss in franchise history, nor for the undefeated Chiefs finally falling. But for the day that kicking died.
Every Tuesday, I'll spin the previous week of NFL football forward, looking at what the biggest storylines mean and what comes next. We'll take a first look at the consequences of "Monday Night Football," break down a major trend or two, and highlight some key individual players and plays. There will be film. There will be stats (a whole section of them). And there will be fun.
This week, we hand out report cards for four rookie quarterbacks -- Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and Bo Nix -- and size up what might be next for Daniel Jones after his benching. Let's jump in.
Jump to a section:
The Big Thing: Rookie QB report cards
Second Take: Jones isn't finished as a starter
Mailbag: Answering questions from ... you
Next Ben Stats: Wild Week 11 stats
"Monday Night Football" spin
The Big Thing: Rookie QB report cards
Every week, this column will kick off with one wide look at a key game, player or trend from the previous slate of NFL action. What does it mean for the rest of the season?
I'm handing out report cards today for the four rookie quarterbacks who are starters for their teams. This feels like the right time for a couple of reasons. First, Williams, Daniels, Maye and Nix are all on pretty significant trajectories in their young careers. This is the worst we've seen Daniels play and the best we've seen Nix play. Williams just had an offensive coordinator change, and Maye ... well, Maye has just been flat-out good the whole time.
This is also the best time to talk about these four because I'm thinking about what this class might become. If all four become fine starting quarterbacks for their franchises -- something that is a reasonable expectation for each, given what we've seen this season -- then this is already an excellent QB class. If one or two end up as great-to-elite starters, as seems to be the case, then this 2024 quarterback class might be one for the history books. And that's before we've seen a start for the eighth (Atlanta's Michael Penix Jr.) and 11th (Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy) picks! What a treat!
On each report card, I have reasons for faith, reasons for doubt and a letter grade. But don't yell at me about the letter grades until you have actually read the report cards!
