Denver’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Jayden Daniels will try to do something on Sunday that hasn’t been done in the NFL in 12 years: Win a playoff game on the road as a rookie quarterback.
If Nix wins at Buffalo or Daniels wins at Tampa Bay, they’ll be the first rookie quarterbacks to win a road playoff game since Russell Wilson and his Seattle teammates went to Washington and won 12 years ago — against another rookie quarterback, Robert Griffin III.
Since that win by Wilson and the Seahawks, rookie quarterbacks have been hapless on the road.
Last year, Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud looked great in his first playoff start at home, but then went on the road in the divisional round and saw his team blown out in Baltimore, 34-10. The year before, two rookie quarterbacks started road playoff games, and both had ugly experiences: Brock Purdy suffered an injury as his 49ers lost 31-7 to the Eagles, and Skylar Thompson went 18-for-45 filling in for an injured Tua Tagovailoa as the Dolphins lost in Buffalo.
The year before that, Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones was the victim of a 47-17 beatdown in Buffalo. And in 2017, injuries forced the Raiders to turn to rookie Connor Cook, who went the same 18-for-45 as Thompson while his team got blown out by the Texans.
Overall, rookie quarterbacks have started playoff games on the road 22 times in NFL history. Their teams are 5-17. Those don’t look like great odds for the Broncos or Commanders.