The Cleveland Browns hit the jackpot in 2023 when they signed veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in late November.
Flacco, who had remained unsigned until the Browns came calling, caught fire and with “Flacco Fever” taking over the town helped lead Cleveland to the playoffs.
Those stories are the extreme exception in the NFL, however, and generally, if a team loses its starting quarterback for 11 games it rarely makes a playoff run.
But teams can get by for a very short period if they are forced to play their backup quarterback, especially if that player knows their limitations, has a grasp of the offensive system, and does not go out of their way to lose the game through silly mistakes.