They say that in today’s game, you need a franchise quarterback in order to be able to win the Super Bowl. The rules too heavily favor the passing game that the odds greatly favor teams with elite quarterbacks reaching the apex of the profession. The number of Super Bowl trophies claimed by the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Eli Manning over the past decade and a half seem to favor that theory.
And then there’s Nick Foles throwing the wrench into the works, putting on one of the most prolific offensive displays in Super Bowl history and largely outgunning Brady himself. Either he’s a franchise quarterback in waiting or there’s a problem with the theory.
Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Landry Jones also believes that he is capable of causing problems with that particular theory about the need for a franchise quarterback to be able to win the Super Bowl, though of course he is never hoping for the opportunity to be in that position as a backup, because it would mean something happening to Ben Roethlisberger, whose sister is good friends with his wife and former college basketball teammates.
Asked about his thoughts on what Foles was able to achieve back in February and what that means for a player in a similar position during OTAs, he said, “that would be the goal. Shoot, man, go on a run like that, be Super Bowl MVP!”.
Foles did indeed go on to be named the MVP of the Philadelphia Eagles’ first and only Super Bowl title, replacing Carson Wentz late in the regular season after the second-year quarterback tore his ACL. The veteran backup went on to have an impressive postseason run.
“It’s always in the back of your mind, that something like that could happen”, he said. “You’re not out there hoping that someone gets injured or anything like that because ultimately you develop relationships with people. You care about people. I care about Ben, I want nothing but the best for him”.
Yet he believes, if given the same circumstances that Foles had, he could deliver similar results. “If something like that happens, sure, no question”, he told reporters.
Jones has worked himself into the role of a valuable backup in recent years, though he knows that the clock is ticking on that front after the Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph in the third round. He knows he’ll have to compete just to keep his backup job. But like everybody else in the league, what he really wants is the opportunity to play.
“I don’t want to just sit. Everyone wants to play. No one wants to go somewhere and sit the bench”, he admitted. “But if that’s what my job is right now, shoot, I’ll do this job, I’ll do this job until they kick me out of the building”.
Jones signed a two-year contract last offseason and will be a free agent in 2019, provided that he makes the roster this year.
