Given second chances, NFL quarterbacks are thriving this season

Judging by the standings alone, the stakes of Sunday’s Week 13 matchup between Tampa Bay and Carolina were remarkably low.

Judging by the standings alone, the stakes of Sunday’s Week 13 matchup between Tampa Bay and Carolina were remarkably low. Both teams had losing records.

Yet the game was far more compelling than it appeared at first glance — because few games this season have offered a better perspective on one of the most significant questions in the NFL: How patient should a team be with its young quarterback?

Less than two seasons into a career in which Bryce Young has already gone from the first overall draft pick to a benching only 18 games later, Young used his legs and his arm to lead the Panthers on what appeared to be a game-winning drive, as the Panthers took a 23-20 lead with only seconds left in Sunday’s fourth quarter.

Then Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield started his own heroics, first leading the Buccaneers to a tie and then a win in overtime. It wasn’t the first time he and Young have mirrored each other. Like Young, Mayfield was a Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall draft pick who quickly went from an apparent franchise cornerstone, in Cleveland, to a castoff. 

And both are now doing what few expected at various points in their respective careers — succeeding after having received second chances.

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/nfl/second-chances-nfl-quarterbacks-rcna182664

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