A stunning early QB injury wave leaves up to 6 teams already turning to backups

The NFL hasn't seen an early-season injury epidemic at quarterback quite like this in a long time.

With Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Jaxson Dart all getting hurt in Week 2, there's a good chance six teams will have been forced to go with a backup quarterback as the starter because of injuries by the time the games this week are finished.

This will be the first time since at least 2000 that has happened within the first three games of a season. There have been four other seasons in that time when at least six teams used multiple starting quarterbacks within the first three games, according to Sportradar, including a record-tying seven in both 2019 and 2010. There were also six in both 2001 and 2015, but the changes in all four of those seasons also included benchings and rookies getting elevated.

The spate of quarterback injuries started when Super Bowl winner Sam Darnold injured his hip on the first drive of the season for the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9. Drew Lock replaced him and has helped Seattle get off to a 2-0 start.

One day later, Tua Tagovailoa left practice for Atlanta with an oblique injury, forcing the Falcons to turn to Cooper Rush as their starter for the first two games. Michael Penix, coming back from a knee injury last season, is set to start Thursday night against Green Bay.

Minnesota's Kyler Murray then got a concussion in the first quarter of the opener for the Vikings, opening the door for Carson Wentz to come in and finish that game and start Week 2. Murray will be back as th starter this week.

The issue only got worse this past week with Williams injuring his hamstring late in Chicago's loss to the Vikings, Daniels going down with a serious left elbow injury for Washington against Dallas, and Dart injuring his knee Monday night when the Giants lost to the Los Angeles Rams.

Daniels has already been ruled out this week, with Marcus Mariota set to start for the Commanders. Jameis Winston is expected to start for New York on Sunday, while Williams won't practice this week but hasn't been ruled out for Monday night against Philadelphia. Backup QB Tyson Bagent went into concussion protocol, possibly setting the stage for third-stringer Case Keenum to get his first regular-season action since 2023.

All the injuries have been in the NFC, making this the first time since the merger in 1970 that six teams in the same conference used multiple starting quarterbacks for any reason within the first three games of a season.

Despite the early quarterback carousel, one thing has been missing. No drafted rookie has taken a snap at QB all year, with Atlanta's undrafted Jack Strand the only rookie to see the field so far.

This is just the fourth time in the common draft era starting in 1967 that no drafted rookie quarterback saw the field during the first two games. It also happened in 2007, 2000 and 1991.

It's been a rough start for one team that hasn't had its No. 1 quarterback.

The Atlanta Falcons are still searching for their first red-zone trip of the season after failing to get inside the 20-yard line in losses to Pittsburgh and Carolina the first two weeks.

The Falcons' only touchdown came on a 23-yard pass from Cooper Rush to Bijan Robinson in Week 1 against the Steelers. No other drive has crossed the 20, marking the first time since the St. Louis Rams in 2008 that a team had no red-zone trips over the first two games of a season.

The Rams finally made it to the red zone in the second quarter of Week 3. According to ESPN, two other teams since 1978 also failed to reach the red zone in the first two games: Detroit in 1997 and New England in 1992. The Lions weren't inept, as they scored six touchdowns in the first two games that season, with two coming on defense and four on big plays of at least 20 yards.

The Falcons have struggled to move the ball at all, especially through the air. Atlanta's quarterbacks have combined for a 38.2 passer rating, third-worst through two games in the past 20 seasons and worse than the 39.6 if the QBs simply spiked the ball every play.

Two teams that haven't had trouble scoring — or success stopping others from doing it — are the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.

Buffalo opened its new stadium last Thursday night with a 41-31 win over Detroit, scoring the third-most points since the merger for a team in its first game in a new stadium. Only the 1987 Miami Dolphins with 42 points in a replacement-player game at Joe Robbie Stadium and the 1971 Dallas Cowboys with 44 at Texas Stadium scored more.

The Bills and Lions had both won high-scoring games in Week 1, with Buffalo beating Houston 36-31 and Detroit beating New Orleans 31-30 in overtime. Only four other teams had opened the season with back-to-back games both scoring and allowing at least 30 points, with the Bills also doing it in 1991 and 2002, the Rams in 2000 and New England in 1994.

The 62 points allowed by the Bills are the fourth-most permitted by a team that won its first two games, with the 2000 Rams having the most with 70.

Josh Allen has led the way on offense for Buffalo with back-to-back games with at least two touchdown passes and two TD runs. He has now done that 10 times in his career — including twice back-to-back after doing that for the first time in Weeks 14-15 of the 2024 season. Hall of Famer Steve Young is second all-time with four of those games.

Allen is the third player in the Super Bowl era with at least nine total touchdowns rushing and passing and no turnovers in the first two games of a season. Patrick Mahomes did it on the way to winning MVP honors in 2018 and Peyton Manning did it in his 2013 MVP season.

The Las Vegas Raiders were the NFL's worst team a year ago with a 3-14 record that gave them the No. 1 overall draft pick. The Los Angeles Chargers were a playoff team for a second straight season under coach Jim Harbaugh.

It's been a role reversal so far this season after the Raiders beat the Chargers 26-14 in Week 2 to improve to 2-0 and hand Los Angeles a second straight loss.

Las Vegas is just the fourth team in the common draft era starting in 1967 to open a season with back-to-back wins after using its own pick at No. 1 overall earlier that year. Houston did it in 2014 after drafting Jadeveon Clowney first overall, Kansas City did it in 2013 with Eric Fisher and Detroit in 1980 with Billy Sims.

All three of those teams ended the season with winning records but the Chiefs were the only one to make the postseason.

The Raiders have done it with No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza a spectator and Kirk Cousins starting at quarterback. The only other team with a No. 1 pick rookie quarterback to start 2-0 was Denver in 1983 after trading for the rights to John Elway. He started the first two games but didn't do much, going 10 of 29 for 120 yards with one interception and a 33.7 passer rating.

The Chargers are on the opposite end after also losing their opener 26-14 to an Arizona team that was tied last season with the Raiders with just three wins, giving them back-to-back home losses by double digits. The last team to do that against opponents that won less than 20% of their games the previous season, according to OptaSTATS, was the 1928 Racine Tornadoes, who disbanded after playing only one more game.

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Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers players look on after Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray was tackled during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, (14) is sacked by New England Patriots linebacker Dre'mont Jones, behind, during the first half an NFL football game, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) is helped up after getting injured during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Inglewood, Calif., Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) reacts after an apparent injury in the first half against the Dallas Cowboys during an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) waves as he is carted off the field after an injury during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Chicago, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Polo has grown into one of the most powerful Pacific cyclones in decades and was expected to skirt Mexico’s southwestern coast as a Category 5 storm, while Pacific system, Odalys, has strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane without threatening land.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami on Tuesday night called Polo an “extremely dangerous” storm and forecast the system would turn sharply to the northwest before moving west-northwest over the next several days.

Early Wednesday, Polo was about 185 miles (300 kilometers) south of Zihuatanejo and 335 miles (540 kilometers) southeast of Manzanillo moving north at 2 mph (4 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (255 kph), the center reported.

Odalys strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane early Wednesday and was about 1,295 miles (2,085 kilometers) off the southern tip of Baja California moving east-northeast at 9 mph (15 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), the hurricane center said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said experts indicated Polo was not likely to touch land. Still, hurricane-force winds extend up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the storm's center and tropical storm-force winds up to 105 miles (169 kilometers) from the eye, the U.S. center said.

Tropical storm conditions were expected along the Pacific coast in Guerrero, Michoacan and Colima states Wednesday into Thursday.

Polo is the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season, following Genevieve and Lowell earlier this year. Category 5 is the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, reflecting that a storm has maximum sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (253 kph).

The hurricane set residents along Mexico’s Pacific coast on edge once again after being walloped by a number of powerful cyclones in recent years. Beaches emptied and dark clouds swirled above choppy seas, while Mexican authorities temporarily suspended classes Tuesday in a number of areas. Mexico’s navy shut down ports in the states of Guerrero and Michoacán and warned civilians and fishermen to take care.

Concepción López Villegas was busily preparing her seaside restaurant for what may come. Strong waves were already lapping at the coastline of her city Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán. As men and children watched the stirring waters behind her, López Villegas said she feared powerful waves would destroy the small business she has worked decades to build.

“We're worried and trying to protect our businesses,” López Villegas said. “And of course, we're sad because it's our heritage, our legacy that from one moment to another could be destroyed.”

U.S. National Hurricane Center data shows Polo's winds reached speeds comparable to only a few hurricanes in the region in recent decades, primarily Hurricane Patricia, which had winds that reached 215 mph (346 kph) in 2015.

“This is one of the strongest storms ever in the (Pacific) Basin,” said Kristen L. Corbosiero, professor at the University at Albany’s Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences.

Heavy rain could produce flash flooding and mudslides. About 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) of rain was forecast for Guerrero and Michoacán states, with smaller amounts possible for coastal portions of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco states.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a weather alert, instructing citizens to avoid water and beaches and to heed warnings from Mexican authorities.

“Even if the storm does not make direct landfall, heavy rain may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides. Hazardous ocean conditions — intensified by storms — may result in deadly rip currents and rogue waves,” the embassy wrote in a statement.

The rapid intensification of the storm has stunned scientists and authorities alike, with the NHC writing in a report that it was “truly remarkable” how quickly Polo gained strength in 24 hours.

Philip Klotzbach, research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, attributed the intensification to the weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which has fueled crippling droughts in Mexico and Central America and floods in other parts of the region.

In the Pacific, it has resulted in warmer waters and wind patterns that act as fodder for hurricanes, he said.

“There are all the ingredients that hurricanes need to get really strong really fast,” Klotzbach said.

No Atlantic hurricanes have formed yet this year, and this year has set a record for the longest start to a season without a hurricane. The effects of this year’s El Niño crush storms before they get going.

Brooks reported from Atlanta.

This photo provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo strengthening in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

This photo provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Polo intensifying in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (NOAA via AP)