Here comes a new weekly NFL column. Maybe. This is barely sneaking out before the Thursday night game. But every week, I want to choose a handful of quarterbacks whose success I will actively root for all weekend.
I don’t play fantasy football anymore because of
I don’t bet because I can barely keep the lights on here at Deadseriousness HQ. I can’t be betting the house on Terry Rozier “sick days”.
So I will content-ify my interest in the dogs days of the NFL season, starters questionable, backups against backups.
Here are 4 quarterbacks I’m rooting for in Week 8:
1. Jaxson Dart
Against New Orleans. 2 interceptions and a fumble. Rock bottom. Is this the end of the 2025 New York Giants?
Came back, short week, Thursday, Amazon Prime(time) Game against the division rival, reigning Super Bowl champs. Giants win 34-17. Dart scores 2 touchdowns
Two weeks ago, Jaxson Dart flew into a mountain to get jumped by a Top 5 defense in the NFL. He had his best game yet. 283 yards, 4 total touchdowns.
Then the Eagles placed the final stake in the hearts of the Giants, removing any traces of potential dark magic from their locker room.
But I still love everything I see from Jaxson Dart.
So far, in 5 career starts, Dart is a pendulum swing from the 6-year lull of Daniel Jones.
Instant urgency.
Every play matters.
Every yard matters.
The contagion spread. The offensive line, a non-factor since the Obama Administration, mutates into one of the league’s best.
2nd-year tight end Theo Johnson jogged onto the field every Sunday, ready to drop any pass in arm’s length. Now he leads the team in receiving touchdowns.
Coincidence has not struck the Giants locker room.
They’ve scored 30+ points in back-to-back games since 2019 (against a 3-win Miami team and a 3-win Washington team. Miami was tanking for Tua Tagovailoa. They got what they wanted.)
Jaxson Dart is the catalyst for the change.
But that lost to Denver was a body blow. Instead of a 3-4 record, tied with a 3-4 Washington team without a healthy QB, right behind a Dallas team with no defense.
Their second win, redirected into the landfill after the Eagles dumped them in the trash last week.
Now, the Giants are 2-5 with a lame duck GM, probably not even allowed to touch any of the future draft picks to send for aid, replacing the injured receivers and secondary, a head coach potential-maxxing his rookie on day one, every last egg in the basket of Dart’s hypothetical success.
New York can beat the San Francisco 49ers this week. They have the 26th-ranked offense.
Jaxson Dart has to outplay Mac Jones or I’ll start looking at him sideways.
2. Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson hasn’t played since September 28th.
Month later, Lamar re-ties his cape, ready to fly in and save the 2-5 Baltimore Ravens. This team was a Super Bowl favorite and they’re behind the Joe Burrow-less Bengals in the division.
But 2025 Lamar wasn’t really holding the NFL under his boot in his 4 games before the injury.
The Ravens were 1-3, losing to Buffalo, Detroit and Kansas City, 3 of the best teams in the NFL. Baltimore’s defense has been worthless but guys in MVP conversations should be capable of outdueling any and all opposing QBs, going score for score, regardless of what their defense is doing.
Lamar is being erased from our memories.
One of the most athletically gifted humans I’ve ever witnessed participate in this sport, Thursday night begins the Lamar Jackson renaissance.
I am here to see history.
If Lamar Jackson goes 10-0—carrying the Baltimore Ravens from the brink of despair, and some real, serious side-eyes at head coach Jon Harbaugh—we may finally see a fully confident Lamar in the playoffs, overcoming his previous shortcomings, to hold that Super Bowl trophy over his head—du-rag strings waving in the wind.
3. Caleb Williams
Sometimes Caleb Williams whips a ball down the field, while on the run, directly into a slot only his receiver can reach it—jaw-dropping accuracy, arm strength and confidence in his abilities.
Caleb Williams’ 65-yard touchdown pass to rookie Luther Burden III traveled 62.1 yards in the air, the longest completion in the NFL this season, and Caleb’s longest completion of his career.#DALvsCHI | #DaBearspic.twitter.com/D5GQjABob3
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 21, 2025
And sometimes, he throws into double coverage or refuses to get the ball out of his hand—allowing pass rushers to run through him like a paper banner covering the locker room tunnel before a high school homecoming game. Defensive ends lining up to Bonnie Blue him.
Nothing says Caleb Williams days are numbered in Chicago like Ben Johnson’s face after the interception. pic.twitter.com/XTDIHdvuhD
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) October 26, 2025
This week, Chicago plays Cincinnati.
The Bears sit at 4-3, struggling in the deep end of the pool, ranked 15th in scoring and 25th in points allowed—this team could either snap into form, new head coach Ben Johnson’s vision realized—Detroit and Green Bay suddenly feeling heat on their bumpers as the Bears race behind them.
Or Joe Flacco could dissect them to pieces, Caleb Williams’ weird ass turnovers, and the Bears once again, heads down, shoulders slouched, back to the drawing board again.
I want to see the Caleb Williams that made him the No. 1 overall draft pick.
The Bengals have the worst defense in the NFL.
Literally.
They stink.
Caleb Williams has to statpad against these losers.
This is the slumpbuster game.
Knock Cincinnati’s heads into the Ohio River.
Please, we might have to watch Max fucking Brosmer play this week.
I need you to lock in, Caleb.
4. Tyler Shough
What if Tyler Shough is just sick and beats the Rams in Los Angeles in his first career NFL start?
After 7 years in college, to the point where it’s like, alright, you’re hanging with a lot of teenagers for a guy old enough to have been Justin Herbert’s backup at Oregon, Tyler Shough finally makes his NFL debut for the 1-7 New Orleans Saints.
I don’t expect him to be carried off the field after the game on his teammates’ shoulders. This isn’t the end of his Tubi movie. Shough was an average quarterback in college and has displayed nothing deserving of this start on Sunday.
And now he faces Sean McVay, the best head coach in the NFL, and one of the best defenses in his debut.
But what if this is the end of his Tubi movie?
It’s not as if Los Angeles comes into this game with a ton of Shough film to comb through. Tyler may display bright flashes of specific skills and talents no one predicted. Like, what if he rushes for 100 yards or has a couple deep 50+ yard TD bombs down the field?
I’m here to root for the chaos. I want Tyler Shough to throw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns. Turn this whole league upside down.
(This isn’t going to go well for New Orleans. The levees are about to break.)
Thanks for reading.
Let me know what NFL stories you want to write about next. Shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s yap.
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