Rating the potential backup QB disasters in NFL Week 15

There will be a handful of backup quarterbacks getting starts in Week 15, ranging from the potentially unbelievable (Philip Rivers) to a player making their first NFL start (Brady Cook). Teams are never in a good spot when they have to turn to a backup quarterback. Some situations, however, are worse than others. So let's take a look at the potential for disaster with each backup quarterback situation this week.

Situations are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "no big deal" and 5 being "potential nightmare." 

Indianapolis Colts

Potential starter: Either Philip Rivers or Riley Leonard

Disaster rating: 5

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and there is no other way to describe bringing in a 44-year-old Rivers, five years after he last played in the NFL, and potentially counting on him to play. There is no way this is going to have a positive result, is there?

A 44-year-old quarterback starting would be a red flag on its own.

A quarterback coming back from a five-year hiatus would be another.

Put those two things together, and against an outstanding Seattle Seahawks defense (in Seattle), and this just has nightmare fuel written all over it.

The Colts' season is already starting to slip away from them, and this seems like something that will only accelerate that.

If it is not Rivers, it would be the rookie Leonard, who also does not seem like an ideal situation. What really makes this a potential disaster for the Colts is that they still have playoff hopes, and this could be their final knockout punch. 

Las Vegas Raiders

Starter: Kenny Pickett

Disaster rating: 2 

Had it not been for the injury to Geno Smith, this is probably something that could — and perhaps should — have happened anyway. Smith has not panned out the way the Raiders and new head coach Pete Carroll had hoped, and now the Raiders are in a position where their season is going nowhere except perhaps to the top of the NFL Draft. 

Pickett was a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers and has seen time with both them and the Philadelphia Eagles (who he will be starting against on Sunday). 

Is he a potential long-term option? Most likely no. But it would not hurt for the Raiders to see what they have in him, especially in a lost season.

It may not go well, but nothing about this Raiders season has gone well. Pickett has at least shown he can be a competent NFL player and has won games while mostly playing a low-risk, turnover-free game. That might even be an upgrade over what they were getting. 

New York Jets

Starter: Brady Cook

Disaster rating: 3

With Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor injured, the Jets turn to their third different starting quarterback of the season in Cook.

This is a very similar situation to the Raiders, in that it is a team that has nothing to play for in what has become a lost season. The only difference is that while Pickett might be a competent NFL quarterback and capable of getting a win, it seems far more unlikely for Cook to engineer an upset win against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that has everything to play for. Cook got his first taste of NFL action a week against the Miami Dolphins, completing just 14-of-30 passes for 163 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. 

This has the potential to get ugly. But it also might be the preferred outcome for Jets fans as they look ahead to the offseason and the NFL Draft position.