Week 6's Backup Quarterback Disaster Exposes How Badly Three Teams Built Their Rosters

Let me be crystal clear about what's happening in Week 6. This is not a story about injuries. This is a story about poor roster construction, bad contract management, and franchises that built their teams around hope instead of preparation. When Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts go down in the same week, you're supposed to have answers. You're supposed to have invested in the position. The Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles did not do that. They gambled. Now they're paying the price.

Tyler Huntley starting for Baltimore against Pittsburgh. Think about that for a second. This is a desperate measure from a team that should have known better. Huntley is a nice backup quarterback. He's competent. He understands the system. But he's not a solution for a Ravens team trying to compete in a brutal AFC North. The Ravens have won championships. They've drafted well. They've made smart moves. Then they watch their MVP caliber quarterback go down and have to trot out Huntley as their starter. This is not acceptable from an organization that prides itself on being prepared.

The Ravens had every opportunity to address this during the offseason. They could have spent resources on a veteran backup with starting experience. They could have drafted a project quarterback earlier who had more upside than Huntley. Instead, they rolled with what they had. That's arrogance. That's assuming Jackson stays healthy forever. No one stays healthy forever in this league. That's basic truth that the Ravens organization seems to have forgotten. Now they're facing the Steelers without their quarterback, and their season is hanging in the balance.

Tanner McKee starting for Philadelphia is somehow even worse. McKee was a third round pick in 2023. He's had a season to learn. He's had the offense surrounding him. He's had weapons that most backup quarterbacks in the NFL could only dream about. But McKee has done nothing to prove he can manage a game at the professional level. The Eagles have the best wide receiver in football in A.J. Brown. They have an elite running back. They have an offensive line that opens doors. None of that matters if McKee can't execute the basic fundamentals of the position.

Here's what really frustrates me about Philadelphia. This is a team that went to the Super Bowl two years ago. They have the infrastructure. They have the coaching. They have the ownership willing to spend. Yet they let their backup quarterback situation deteriorate to the point where they're relying on a young draft pick with minimal experience. The Eagles could have grabbed a Marcus Mariota or a Jacoby Brissett or a Geno Smith in free agency to sit behind Hurts. Instead, they believed in the process so much that they forgot about contingency planning. That's coaching and front office malpractice.

Michael Penix Jr. stepping in for Chicago against Philadelphia adds another layer to this disaster. Here's where it gets interesting. Penix is actually a capable quarterback. The Falcons drafted him in the first round. He has starting experience in the NFL. He has arm talent. But the Falcons are dealing with injuries too, and now you're going to have a backup quarterback taking on a backup quarterback in a game that matters. This is the worst version of NFL football. This is desperation football. This is what happens when three organizations failed to think long-term about depth.

The Ravens made a championship team and forgot that championships are built on depth. That's the lesson of every great organization in football history. The Patriots under Belichick won because he would sacrifice current talent to create depth. The Cowboys in the 1990s had backup quarterbacks who could win games. The Steelers understand this principle better than anyone else in the NFL. You prepare for injuries. You don't hope they don't happen. The Ravens hoped. Now they're paying for it against a Steelers team that is salivating at the prospect of facing Huntley instead of Jackson. This is gift wrapped.

Philadelphia's situation is even more egregious because they had actual resources to spend. The Eagles are not some small market franchise trying to survive on scraps. They have television money. They have ownership cash. They have a path to spending in free agency. Instead of addressing the backup quarterback position after last season, they doubled down on their rookies and young players. That's a philosophy I can respect in theory. In practice, it's gotten them to this exact moment where they're starting a third round pick against a division rival.

Let's talk about what these three teams are really telling us about the state of their franchises. Baltimore is telling us that they believe in Jackson so much that they didn't prepare for a world without him. That's a confidence bordering on recklessness. Philadelphia is telling us that they think their supporting cast is so good that any quarterback can step in and perform. That's not true in Week 6 of an NFL season. You don't have time to develop rookie quarterbacks when you're in the middle of a playoff push. Chicago is telling us that they're comfortable rolling with whatever quarterback situation they have because they're still building. At least that's honest.

The backup quarterback position is the most undervalued position in football. Every team thinks they don't need to invest because they'll never use the backup. Then the backup gets thrown into a game and everything falls apart. Huntley won't throw three touchdowns against Pittsburgh. McKee won't march down the field against a competent defense. Penix Jr. might be the only one of these three who has any shot at winning his game, but he's doing it against two backup quarterbacks essentially playing musical chairs.

This Week 6 injury report is a referendum on how three organizations think about roster construction. The Ravens and Eagles specifically made choices that they're now regretting. They had the resources and the information to prepare better. They didn't. That's on them. That's on their front offices and their coaching staffs and their organizational philosophy. You cannot build a serious NFL team without addressing backup quarterback. It's not glamorous. It doesn't sell tickets. It doesn't make the 10 o'clock news. But it wins games.

I've watched enough football to know that injuries happen to everyone. That's not news. What's news is how you've prepared for that inevitability. The Ravens and Eagles have shown their hand this week. They prepared poorly. They gambled. They lost the bet. Now they have to live with it for however long Jackson and Hurts are sidelined.

The Steelers are probably the only team that looks like they understand this lesson. They're facing Huntley and they're rubbing their hands together. They know what they're getting. They know what Huntley can and cannot do. They have a week to prepare. Meanwhile, Baltimore has to beg Huntley to turn into something he's never been.

VERDICT: The Ravens and Eagles made fundamental mistakes in their roster building, and Week 6 is going to cost them dearly. You cannot build a championship team without legitimate backup quarterback depth. Both franchises knew this. Both franchises had the resources to address it. Both franchises failed. That's not an opinion. That's an indictment.