Being a starting quarterback in the NFL is the most glamorous job in sports. It's also the most pressure-packed. The NFL is a "what have you done for me lately" kind of league, and so while the quarterback is the first one to bask in the glory when their team wins, it only takes one or two bad days at the office for most to lose the trust of an entire fanbase.
As it turns out, no quarterback is safe from criticism, whether they're a former No. 1 overall pick or a three-time Super Bowl MVP. Fans demand results, and it's a lot easier for those whispers to grow in volume than it is to quiet them down.
Today we're looking at five quarterbacks who didn't come out of the gates strong, each of whom needs a quality game in Week 2 to silence the doubters. Not only did all five of these players come out on the losing end of their first games, they also had rough individual performances.
Caleb Williams
Let's begin with the man who has inspired the most wildly disparate takes among NFL fans in this young season. To listen to some, 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams is the latest bum in a long lineage of Bears quarterback washouts, and he'll soon be replaced by Tyson Bagent. Then there are others, including Kurt Warner and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who have preached patience and defended Williams for what turned out to be an extremely disappointing Week 1 outing against the Vikings.
Williams was doomed to fail under Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron last year, but the arrival of Ben Johnson as the team's new head coach left him with no more excuses. Bears fans have been waiting their entire lives to see a prolific passing offense, and with one of the most highly-touted offensive minds in the game joining forces with a former Heisman Trophy winner, it seemed they had finally landed on the right formula.
Early on in Monday night's loss to the Vikings, it looked like the Williams-Johnson era was already destined for greatness. Williams drove the Bears down the field on their first drive of the game, going a perfect 6-6 through the air before ultimately taking off and scoring the first rushing touchdown of his career. Unfortunately, there wasn't much more to like the rest of the night. The Bears didn't score another offensive touchdown until there were just over two minutes left in the game, but they didn't hurt for opportunities — Williams was just inaccurate when it mattered most.
Bears fans quickly realized that it will take time to develop their new head coach-quarterback combo, but they're still an impatient bunch. A strong outing against the Lions on Sunday would go a long way toward assuaging their fears.
Jared Goff
Speaking of that Bears-Lions game, Williams' opponent also has a lot to prove. Jared Goff led the Lions to the NFL's top scoring offense and the No. 1 seed in the NFC last year, but with Ben Johnson now gone to Chicago, fans are wondering if he'll be able to find the same success.
Goff's stats in Week 1 weren't terrible, but anybody who watched the Lions get handled by the Packers came away underwhelmed by his performance. He completed 79.5 percent of his passes, an outstanding number, but so many of those were check-downs to Jahmyr Gibbs for little gains.
The Lions averaged over 33 points per game last year, but against Green Bay, they didn't score a touchdown until less than a minute left in the game. Goff can't even take much credit for that one, as rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa made a sick one-handed grab on a throw that was a bit high.
Goff was discarded by the Rams in favor of Matthew Stafford, but he found new life with the Lions when Ben Johnson was calling the plays. What better way to prove that he's going to be OK than to stick it to his old coach when they reunite on Sunday.
Russell Wilson
It feels like the die was already cast on Russell Wilson's time in New York even before he took a regular season snap for Big Blue. Rookie Jaxson Dart has gotten a lot of positive buzz in training camp and the preseason, and after Wilson bounced around from Denver to Pittsburgh with middling reviews of his play, there just wasn't a lot of faith in him in the football-watching community.
Week 1 did nothing to help Wilson's standing, as he finished an ugly 17-37 for 168 yards against the Commanders, who don't exactly have a fearsome defense. Jordan Love threw for almost 300 yards last night against Washington, casting Wilson in an even worse light.
Wilson's play was so lackluster that head coach Brian Daboll didn't commit to playing him in Week 2 right away, though he has since come around to name Wilson the starter for at least this next game against the Cowboys.
As the whole world knows by now, Dallas traded away Micah Parsons, and they'll also be without newly-extended cornerback DaRon Bland after the 2023 interception leader injured his foot in practice earlier this week. On paper, this should be an opportunity for Wilson to bounce back and keep the starting job for at least another week. If he doesn't, the team could quickly give the keys to Dart.
Patrick Mahomes
As the owner of two MVPs and three Super Bowl MVPs, Patrick Mahomes doesn't have to answer to anyone. He's only 29 years old, but he could retire tomorrow and still waltz into the Hall of Fame. For the first time in a long time, though, people are beginning to doubt whether he still has his fastball.
In many people's minds, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson have surpassed Mahomes as the preeminent quarterbacks in the league. They are the winners of the last two MVP awards, but Mahomes has still had the last laugh in the playoffs, as he again found a way to get the Chiefs through the AFC last year.
That was both a blessing and a curse, as the Chiefs, who had voodoo'ed their way to a 15-2 record, a mark which included an 11-0 record in one-score games, got thoroughly dominated by the Eagles in a 40-22 drubbing which wasn't even as close as the final score indicated.
Now Philly is coming to Arrowhead for a Super Bowl rematch, and faith in the Chiefs is so low that they're actually a home underdog for the first time in nearly three years. That's partly due to the way the Eagles manhandled them last year, but also due to Kansas City losing to the Chargers in Week 1 as Mahomes was outplayed by Justin Herbert.
Rashee Rice is still serving his suspension, and Xavier Worthy may also miss the game after injuring his shoulder against the Chargers. That limits the weapons at Mahomes' disposal, but if there's anyone in the past eight years who can make lemonade when life gives them lemons, it's Mahomes. Let's see how he responds to being overlooked.
Bryce Young
Bryce Young has been labeled a bust since early in his rookie season, but he began to show signs of being the Panthers' true franchise quarterback late in the year.
Moral victories aren't typically worth much in the NFL, but when you've been an NFL bottom-feeder for as long as Carolina has, it's a start. Young nearly beat the Eagles and Chiefs with really solid performances in a three-week span, and he finished the year by hanging 94 points in three games on the Cardinals, Bucs and Falcons. That stretch included seven touchdown passes and zero interceptions, plus three touchdowns on the ground.
Panthers fans were hopeful that Young had turned a corner, and that Year 2 in Dave Canales' system would yield even better results. For those expecting big things, Week 1 was like a cold splash of water to the face, as Young looked much more like the player who struggled early in his rookie year than the one who closed the season out so well.
Against the Jaguars, Young barely completed 50 percent of his passes while throwing for one touchdown and two picks. He did run for 40 yards on five carries, but all in all, it was not an encouraging performance.
This week, Young gets a crack at a Cardinals team that he beat in overtime last year while putting up 36 points. If he lays another egg in that game, Panthers fans will be inconsolable.