Keenum/Foles Is the First Conference Championship Game With Two Backup QBs

by Chase Stuart on January 20, 2018

Carson Wentz was the Eagles quarterback for the first 13 games of the season, but after tearing his ACL in his left knee, Nick Foles has taken over as the Philadelphia starting quarterback.

In Minnesota, Sam Bradford started the opening game of the season, but missed the next month of the season with a knee injury. Bradford then surprisingly started a week 5 game against the Bears but was not himself; he aggravated his knee during that game, and has not played since. In his absence, Case Keenum has had a remarkably productive season, and now the Vikings and Eagles are facing off in the NFC Championship Game.

That means this will be the first conference championship game in NFL history featuring two starting quarterbacks who were not their team’s starting quarterbacks in week 1 of the regular season.

In fact, in the last 10 years, just three teams have made the conference championship game with backup quarterbacks, and two of those instances have asterisks. The Steelers and Patriots made the AFCCG in years where their starting quarterbacks began the year on the sidelines due to suspension, making Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady backup quarterbacks in name only.

The table below shows all instances in the Super Bowl era where a team made it to the conference championship game and started a different quarterback in that game than it did in week 1.

Team	Year	Week 1 QB	CCG QB	Won?
NWE	2016	Jimmy Garoppolo	Tom Brady	Won
SFO	2012	Alex Smith	Colin Kaepernick	Won
PIT	2010	Dennis Dixon	Ben Roethlisberger	Won
PIT	2004	Tommy Maddox	Ben Roethlisberger	Lost
CAR	2003	Rodney Peete	Jake Delhomme	Won
NWE	2001	Drew Bledsoe	Tom Brady	Won
BAL	2000	Tony Banks	Trent Dilfer	Won
TAM	1999	Trent Dilfer	Shaun King	Lost
NYJ	1998	Glenn Foley	Vinny Testaverde	Lost
MIN	1998	Brad Johnson	Randall Cunningham	Lost
IND	1995	Craig Erickson	Jim Harbaugh	Lost
DET	1991	Rodney Peete	Erik Kramer	Lost
NYG	1990	Phil Simms	Jeff Hostetler	Won
WAS	1987	Jay Schroeder	Doug Williams	Won
PIT	1984	David Woodley	Mark Malone	Lost
CHI	1984	Jim McMahon	Steve Fuller	Lost
SEA	1983	Jim Zorn	Dave Krieg	Lost
OAK	1980	Dan Pastorini	Jim Plunkett	Won
RAM	1979	Pat Haden	Vince Ferragamo	Won
MIN	1977	Fran Tarkenton	Bob Lee	Lost
RAM	1976	Ron Jaworski	Pat Haden	Lost
RAM	1974	John Hadl	James Harris	Lost
PIT	1974	Joe Gilliam	Terry Bradshaw	Won
OAK	1973	Daryle Lamonica	Ken Stabler	Lost
MIA	1972	Bob Griese	Earl Morrall	Won
DAL	1972	Craig Morton	Roger Staubach	Lost
DAL	1971	Craig Morton	Roger Staubach	Won
BAL	1971	Earl Morrall	Johnny Unitas	Lost
DAL	1970	Roger Staubach	Craig Morton	Won
MIN	1969	Gary Cuozzo	Joe Kapp	Won
CLE	1968	Frank Ryan	Bill Nelsen	Lost
HOU	1967	Jacky Lee	Pete Beathard	Lost

This is also the fourth time Minnesota has reached the conference championship game (or title game in the case of the ’69 Vikings) with its backup quarterback.

Foles started just three games during the regular season; the only quarterbacks to start a CCG after starting fewer than four games during the regular season are Roger Staubach in 1972 (who missed most of the season with a separated shoulder after being the Super Bowl MVP months earlier), Doug Williams in 1987 (two starts), and Jeff Hostetler in 1990 (two starts).

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