Day of the Rising Stars

While Sunday may have seemed like any other week in the NFL, for a few young quarterbacks, it wasn't. Yes Sunday had an upset with the Bengals defeating the Super Bowl Champ Steelers and had a Cinderella fall when the 49ers lost to the Vikings on a last second play, but the big stories of the day was where history was made by young fellas at the quarterback position. 

It hadn't been since week sixteen of 2007 that the city of Detroit had seen the Lions win a football game, but Sunday that streak was ended. However the guy who dug them out of their hole was not the guy who got them in it, but rookie quarterback Matt Stafford. When the streak started and continued last season with an 0-16 record, Stafford was the quarterback of the Georgia Bulldogs. The Lions drafted him number one for the very reason of him to be the savior that brings them out of the worst losing streaks in NFL History. Stafford stepped up into the clutch and did something that hadn't been done for two years; he won as a quarterback for the Detroit Lions. 

When Donovan McNabb broke a rib during Philly's week 1 rout of the Carolina Panthers it made way for third year player Kevin Kolb. In his first start the Eagles suffered a tough 48-22 loss to the Saints, but Kolb however had a solid game with 2 touchdowns, three interceptions and 391 yards passing. On Sunday, Kolb in his second game threw for 327 yards and 2 more touchdowns and this time left no margin for error as he did not turn over the ball once, as the Eagles rolled over the Chiefs 34-14. When Kolb threw for 300 yards for the second week in a row, he became the first quarterback of all time to throw for 300 or more yards in their first two starts. Not Elway, Marino, Aikman, Brady, the list could go on forever, can say that they did that. 

The last of the young quarterback headlines was Mark Sanchez, the rookie out of the University of Southern California. Sanchez joined the Jets at the same time as first time Head Coach Rex Ryan and together they have created a New York Drama. At first Sanchez was fighting for the job with Kellen Clemens, but he proved in the pre-season that he was the man for the job. Now Sanchez comes into the league beats up on everyone's surprise team Houston Texans, beats divisional rival New England at home, and then on Sunday beats Tennessee at home throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for one. Welcome to the league Mark Sanchez, not only have you proved a lot of critics wrong but in the process you have become the first NFL quarterback of ALL-TIME to win your first three starts. Starting that Hall of Fame resume early?

While Sunday was just a normal week in the NFL, these three quarterbacks showed why they are already becoming household names. Chalk one up for them, and the future of pro football. 

JD