I’m All In: Gardner Minshew II

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

The solid, starting QB of an NFL team goes down during a game, and there’s no choice but to turn to the 6th round pick backup to take his place. He would come off the bench, take the city by surprise and play well, capturing the hearts of fans everywhere. This is the story of Tom Bra- wait.

It’s who?

This past Sunday, we saw a nearly identical version of the Tom Brady origin story when the Jacksonville Jaguars faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs. Did they win the game? Well, no, but arguably they got something so much more.

Enter Gardner Minshew II.

In a week of bad PR for NFL players, the league received a pleasant surprise out of Jacksonville. When Philadelphia favorite Nick Foles tragically left the game with a broken collarbone, and is predicted to be sidelined until at least Week 11 if not longer, the Jaguars turned to their rookie backup. The former Washington State player, Gardner Minshew II, would get his first NFL action in the first game of the year.

Minshew couldn’t have been prepared for what happened next.

To start, he delivered, in a huge way. He went 22/25, 275 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. He boasted an 88% completion rate – an NFL rookie first game record, and a Jaguars franchise record for any player in their history.

While he didn’t pick up the win, he set his expectations pretty high for Week 2.

Since the turn of the century, the Philadelphia Eagles franchise has seen its fair share of backup quarterback usage. Too much probably. We’ve seen Ty Detmer and AJ Feely win games in place of Donovan McNabb (Feely almost beat the 16-0 Patriots, people forget that). Jeff Garcia was our baby. Mike Vick actually got his comeback started backing up Kevin Kolb. And of course, there was Nick Foles. The only backup quarterback with a statue outside of a stadium.

Now, with Foles hurt as a starter, in steps this mesmerizing Minshew character.

Aside from the statistics, Minshew presented an incredible persona, which has consumed the media spotlight this week. If you have been living under a rock since he emerged on Sunday, allow me to suggest you start with this tweet:

Uncle Rico and Country Mac comparisons aside, the stories about him are as equally fun. There was this story about him exercising in nothing but his headband, sunglasses, and jock strap. His nickname is the Mississippi Mustache. He’s arrived in style. His dad’s name may not be Gardner, meaning the II is purely for flair. The more I hear, the more I want to know.

Honestly, it’s easy to get invested in someone like this. He’s being himself – a good character and a pretty good quarterback to boot. Nick Foles being sidelined is a loss without a doubt, but this is an unexpected solution. Minshew may not replicate his performance from Week 1, but I almost don’t care.

A friend told me earlier today “If Gardner Minshew ends up not being a star, I’ll be inconsolable.” Same here. I’m all in. Someone get me a Minshew Mustache.

Foles was our darling backup quarterback, he probably always will be. Now, with Foles hurt in Jacksonville, Gardner Minshew can be Jags’ fans darling. Oh, what a darling to have.