The Arizona Republic

4 ON THE FLOOR

Quartet of rookie quarterbac­ks starting same week is NFL rarity

- Rob Maaddi

AP PRO FOOTBALL WRITER

Four rookie quarterbac­ks started in the same week for only the second time in NFL history in Week 4. None of them earned a win.

Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield and Arizona’s Josh Rosen came close. Both of their teams lost by a field goal. Buffalo’s Josh Allen had the worst game of the group in a shutout loss. Sam Darnold and the Jets didn’t have a chance against Jacksonvil­le.

Mayfield was 21 of 41 for 295 yards, two touchdowns and two intercepti­ons in a 45-42 overtime loss at Oakland. He came off the bench to lead the Browns to a rare win the previous game against the Jets.

Rosen also made his first start, going 15 of 27 for 180 yards and one TD in a 20-17 loss to Seattle.

Allen was 16 of 33 for 151 yards and two picks in a 22-0 loss to Green Bay. He led the Bills to a stunning upset at Minnesota a week earlier.

Darnold was 17 of 34 for 167 yards and one TD in a 31-12 loss to the Jaguars.

Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson got four carries in a win against the Steelers so all five quarterbac­ks picked in the first round played the same week. When Mayfield and Rosen made their debuts in Week 3, it was the first time five first-round quarterbac­ks played within the first three games of a season.

Here’s a look inside more numbers going into Week 5:

BREEZING PAST PEYTON: Drew Brees needs 201 yards passing yards when New Orleans hosts the Redskins on Monday to surpass Peyton Manning (71,940) and Brett Favre (71,838) for most passing yards in NFL history.

GETTING OFFENSIVE: The totals for points (3,030), touchdowns (344) and touchdown passes (228) are all the highest through the first four weeks of a season.

PASSING LEAGUE: The 12 individual performanc­es of at least 400 yards is the most through the first four weeks. The five individual 400-yard passing performanc­es in Week 4 were the most ever in a single week.

FLYING HIGH: The Rams can become the fifth team to score at least 30 points in each of their first five games to start a season. Three of the previous four teams to accomplish the feat reached the Super Bowl.

From top, clockwise: Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield.

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