If a National Football League team is going to advance to their conference championship game, it is a good bet they have a topflight quarterback. Take the quartet of signal callers who will be in action this Sunday when the NFL determines who will vie for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LIX: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and rookie Jayden Daniels.
Before the season began, three of those field generals could have been predicted, but the fourth was a longshot before the season began. Daniels becomes only the fourth rookie since the 1970 merger between the American and National Football Leagues to lead his team to a conference championship game.
All the rookies who guided their teams to their conference title games were underdogs on the road. The first rookie to start for his team in a Championship Game was Joe Flacco in 2008, and his Baltimore Ravens team was beaten in Pittsburgh By the Steelers, 23-14. A wide enough margin to cover the six-point spread.
The following season, Mark Sanchez got the New York Jets to the title game against the Indianapolis Colts, and he was outdueled in the AFC Championship Game by Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts. The Jets were 8½ point underdogs and lost the game by 13 points, 30-17.
Two years ago, Brock Purdy, who had taken over for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo early in December, had his unbeaten string snapped in the NFC Championship Game by the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-7. The 49ers were a 2½ point underdog in Philadelphia, and there is an asterisk with that result. Purdy was injured early in the game and still forced back when backup Josh Johnson was injured and Purdy, who could not throw, was forced into a disappointing contest of handoffs and getting crushed.
But there you have it. Twenty-nine rookies have started the playoffs for NFL teams, 17 lost in the Wild Card Round, another eight were eliminated in the Divisional Round and none advanced to the Super Bowl.