Watch: Atlanta Falcons backup quarterbacks throw interceptions on back-to-back pass attempts
Josh Rosen and Feleipe Franks are the Atlanta Falcons' backup quarterbacks that you've probably not heard much about if you're not a huge football fan. Rosen was a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft whose career never panned out, and Franks played for a big-time program in Florida; but the two never managed to make it in the NFL.
They had one small chance to shine, though. As the Falcons were stomped by the New England Patriots 25-0 on Thursday Night Football, Matt Ryan's day was over late in the fourth quarter.
It was time to rest him and let the backups play for a series or two and gain some experience.
This ended up in disaster for Atlanta.
Falcons backup quarterbacks throw two straight interceptions
Rosen got his chance to play in one series and maybe throw three or four passes, but the former first-round pick out of UCLA completed just one pass out of three attempts, one of which was intercepted and returned to the end zone after a high throw. Kyle Van Noy made the pick:
Kyle Van Noy seals it. #ForeverNE @KVN_03
📺: #NEvsATL on NFLN/FOX/PRIME VIDEO
📱: bit.ly/3nxatFm https://t.co/uuhDsp4KeN
Atlanta's situation got worse. After Rosen's pick, the Falcons decided to take a small look at Feleipe Franks, who signed as an undrafted free agent after the 2021 Draft.
Franks threw just a single pass during the game, the first of his NFL career, and here's how it ended:
Now Feleipe Franks comes in and throws a pick! This time Adrian Phillips gets the INT! https://t.co/vyCfSxOnf9
Being a Falcons backup quarterback is not the worst job in the world. Matt Ryan, as reliable as he is, clearly has been on a sharp decline this season, and his advanced age makes it increasingly likely that his contract won't be extended after the final year in 2022.
Matt Ryan has been a the major pillar of a Falcons organization since being drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft. Ryan was a symbol of the franchise's changing of the guard from former sensational quarterback Michael Vick to Ryan himself.
Any chance for a Falcons backup quarterback to impress should be taken as a tryout. Neither Rosen, a first-round pick from the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, nor Franks, undrafted in 2021, did anything to help their futures in the league.
If this game was a preliminary tryout for the Falcons backups, they better start looking outside of the organization.