With Ben Roethlisberger still recovering from a left knee injury and ineffective backup Michael Vick seeing his day end early after pulling his hamstring and getting dirt in his eye (no, really), Steelers third-string quarterback Landry Jones was thrown right to the wolves against the Cardinals on Sunday. But when Jones was through with them, the wolves were all on leashes, harmonizing together to “Georgia On My Mind.”
The former Oklahoma Sooner took over for Vick in the third quarter and proceeded go full 2014 Cardale Jones, leading Pittsburgh to a 25-13 victory by completing eight of 12 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. The 26-year-old Jones was poised and methodical in the pocket, showed great chemistry with Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, and essentially was everything Vick wasn’t since Big Ben went down in Week 3.
After the game, teammates raved about Jones’ performance including locker room patriarch James Harrison. The 37-year-old linebacker left no gray area as to who he thinks should be under center for the team moving forward, per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
James Harrison on Landry Jones: "He's our quarterback now."
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) October 18, 2015
Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell resoundingly agreed with Harrison, giving Jones his vote of confidence within the Pittsburgh offense and even going so far as to draw a flattering in-house comparison for the former Sammy Baugh Trophy winner, per Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com.
Steelers uniformly say Landry Jones able to comfortably run team's offense. "It was like he was Ben's little brother," LeVeon Bell says.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) October 18, 2015
While Roethlisberger is eager to return as soon as possible, Jones looked phenomenal with the keys to the Steelers O on Sunday and at the very least, he has established himself as the clear-cut backup quarterback to a healthy Big Ben. Hopefully, we can all buy our Landry Jones jerseys on eBay tonight and enjoy the ride for at least one more week.
H/T CBS Sports
