2023 has become the NFL’s year of the backup quarterback

What Drew Lock accomplished Monday night in Seattle wasn’t just impressive — it was enough to trigger déjà vu.

The Seattle Seahawks quarterback entered the night a mere backup and left as a legend. He got the starting nod just minutes before kickoff and went on to upset the favored Philadelphia Eagles in a 20-17 stunner.

Lock’s performance — capped off with a 92-yard, game-winning touchdown drive with less than two minutes remaining — may have felt more dramatic had the premise not seemed so unoriginal. Monday marked the fifth time a backup QB had orchestrated a come-from-behind victory that week.

The NFL has seen 55 different quarterbacks start games already this season, with another three likely to start in the coming week. After a number of the league’s high-priced stars went down with injuries, their replacements stepped in and stole the show to remain in the playoff hunt.

Though the AFC has its top three seeds locked in, six of the eight teams still contending for the conference’s final four playoff spots all have some sort of QB question mark. The postseason picture will be determined by a number of unexpected passers, such as Lock.

Here’s a closer look at some of the most notable, remarkable and colorful backup quarterback storylines of 2023.

Drew Lock

Facing the defending NFC champions on national television is no small task for any quarterback, let alone one making just his second start since 2021.

The stakes didn’t faze Lock, who went 22-for-33 passing for 208 yards against the Eagles for his first win in more than three years.

Having trailed all night, Lock found rookie wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a spectacular 29-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown grab in the game’s final minute to give Seattle both its first lead and winning score all in one.

“Amazing won’t do it justice,” Lock said to ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game, praising as many of his teammates as possible. “It takes a special group to rally around a guy that has come into his second game of the year. … You wonder, ‘Can I do this still?’ I haven’t been out there on the field, that’s the human nature of it. You get back out there last week and I’m like, ‘You know what, I’m the man still, I can go do this.’”

Lock’s victorious effort kept the Seahawks in the thick of the NFC wild card chase, where they’re currently the first team out of the playoff bracket at 7-7.

Seattle has a decently favorable ending slate against Tennessee, Pittsburgh and Arizona, and starting QB Geno Smith is set to check back in for Lock once he’s cleared to return from a lingering groin injury.

What could have become a quarterback controversy has turned into a wholesome, genuine bond between the two players. Smith was caught on camera hyping up Lock following his game-winner Monday night and Lock sang Smith’s praises to reporters Tuesday afternoon.

“The encouragement that he’s given me ... I appreciate him more than words can describe,” Lock said of Smith.

Jake Browning

Joe Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury should have been a death sentence for the Cincinnati Bengals, who got off to a slow start in 2023 in the NFL’s toughest division.

Enter Jake Browning.

The Washington product went undrafted in 2019, spent parts of the past five years as a practice squad player and didn’t take his first NFL snap until this season, yet he is 3-1 for the Bengals following Burrow’s injury and has Cincinnati alive and kicking in the AFC.

“Every level I’ve played at, I’ve won,” Browning told reporters on Nov. 22. “There’s something to be said for that.”

Browning has completed 73.6% of his passes for 1,248 passes, seven touchdowns and a 107.1 rating thus far this season. He and the Bengals are riding a three-game win streak, which includes two overtime victories.

Cincinnati’s most recent matchup proved personal for Browning, as the visiting Minnesota Vikings had previously waived him three times. The 2016 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year stormed back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to stun the Vikings 27-24 in overtime, then found a television camera to express his excitement after Evan McPherson’s walk-off field goal.

While they currently possess the second AFC wild card spot, the Bengals have a brutal road stretch ahead at Pittsburgh and Kansas City before ending the season at home against Cleveland. A win Sunday against the Steelers would likely put Browning in position to continue his Cinderella run into the postseason.

Joe Flacco

A month ago, Joe Flacco was sitting on his couch at home contemplating retirement. NFL teams weren’t exactly pining for the grizzled 38-year-old’s services.

Then, one organization became really, really desperate.

Already having mowed through three starters, the famously quarterback-cursed Cleveland Browns came calling for Flacco, thrusting the former Super Bowl MVP back in action for another shot at playoff glory.

“I feel fortunate the way it all worked out,” Flacco told Sports Illustrated of his midseason arrival in Cleveland. “If you’re on a good team and you’ve been put in these situations, it’s hard not to believe that there’s a different power working at hand to give you these opportunities.”

The Browns have become much more explosive offensively with Flacco, who is 2-1 under center for Cleveland and averaging 313 passing yards per game. He’s tied for the team lead with seven touchdowns after just three weeks.

That’s right, the Browns gave quarterback Deshaun Watson $230 million guaranteed just for him to be outplayed by what’s left of Joe Flacco. You can’t make this stuff up.

Cleveland is a near-lock to clinch a wild card berth, and with an elite defense and solid receiving corps to lean on, Flacco could add to his impressive playoff resume by making more noise into January and beyond. Seeing Flacco face off against his former Baltimore Ravens squad in the divisional round would make for an instant classic. Buckle up.

Tommy DeVito

Move over, Rocky Balboa. There’s a new “Italian Stallion” on the scene, and his name is Tommy DeVito.

While his New York Giants are nowhere near the playoff conversation, no backup quarterback has been more fun to watch in 2023 than DeVito.

The undrafted rookie’s flamboyant persona has made him an icon to his fellow Italian-Americans, who affectionately call him the “Passing Paisan” along with “Tommy Cutlets” after his love for chicken parmesan.

DeVito has quickly become New Jersey’s most authentic hometown hero. His fedora-sporting agent is straight out of “The Godfather,” trading kisses on the cheek with other family members as they whip out trademark hand-pursing gestures, while DeVito himself takes part in social media bits to discuss Italian cuisine.

While being a character off the field, the spunky backup has had plenty of success on it. DeVito has already eclipsed the injured Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor with a 3-3 starting record for the Giants, tossing eight touchdowns to three picks and scrambling for more than five yards per carry.

A disastrous season in New York has been given more life thanks to DeVito, whose efforts in 2023 could see him sticking around the league as a reserve option for years to come.

Gardner Minshew

“Minshew mania” is back and better than ever in Indianapolis.

Mustachioed macho man Gardner Minshew has long proven effective as a backup in the NFL, but now he has the chance to pilot a team into the playoffs for the first time in his career.

With first-round rookie Anthony Richardson being shut down after Week 5 with a shoulder injury, Minshew took the reins for the Colts and began playing inspired football, leading Indy to an 8-6 record to challenge Jacksonville for the division crown.

“It’s not always gonna be sexy, but dang, it’s good,” Minshew said after an overtime road win against Tennessee on Dec. 4.

The 27-year-old former Mike Leach disciple has let it rip for 2,739 yards and 14 touchdowns thus far, adding another three scores on the ground and posting a top-15 QBR at 57.5.

Indianapolis closes out the regular season against Atlanta, Las Vegas and Houston, where a strong showing from Minshew could make the Colts a postseason factor and land him a lucrative contract to start elsewhere in 2024.

Jaren Hall/Josh Dobbs/Nick Mullens

Over a 90-game stretch beginning in 2018, the Minnesota Vikings had started just two different quarterbacks, with 88 of those coming from Kirk Cousins.

Since Cousins suffered a torn Achilles in Week 8 of this season, however, the Vikings have been forced into unfamiliar territory, starting three different QBs in the past six games.

The first was Jaren Hall, the rookie from BYU who lasted less than a quarter against Atlanta on Nov. 5 before being knocked out with a concussion. Josh Dobbs came in to relieve Hall just five days after being acquired from Arizona and mounted a 31-28 comeback alongside teammates to whom he hadn’t even been properly introduced.

Though he became a fan favorite, the Dobbs magic didn’t last. Minnesota has since benched “the Passtronaut” in favor of veteran Nick Mullens, whose own struggles — along with Hall’s recovery — have made each week a quarterback mystery for the Vikings.

The trio of Hall, Dobbs and Mullens have combined for 1,565 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 turnovers over the past six weeks, keeping Minnesota afloat at 7-7 with two matchups with Detroit and another against Green Bay remaining.

The only more pressing question than whether the Vikings will make the playoffs is which of their passing options will ultimately determine the team’s fate.

Zach Wilson

Poor Zach Wilson.

This year was supposed to be a breath of fresh air for the third-year BYU product, during which he’d sit behind his boyhood idol (and living legend) Aaron Rodgers, keep his body safe from constant defensive beatings, and get a rest from the unforgiving New York media while being part of a winning Jets team.

Alas, some things are too good to be true. When Rodgers’ Achilles snapped four plays into the Sept. 11 opener, Wilson was right back in the impossible position of quarterbacking the Jets.

While Wilson has enjoyed his most successful season thus far — throwing for 2,271 yards with seven touchdowns and marquee wins over the Bills, Eagles and Texans — New York’s offensive line has continued to let him down. He’s been sacked 46 times and is currently in concussion protocol.

The Jets can’t trade this kid soon enough. Though his backup effort has been respectable, its location has always been Wilson’s worst enemy.