Brian Hoyer, Matt Cassell Lead Their Teams to Victory

Recent injuries to Brandon Weeden and Christian Ponder have given two of Tom Brady's former backups, Brian Hoyer and Matt Cassel, the chance to start. Both took full advantage of the opportunity this week.

Hoyer earned his second win in as many starts, as the Browns upset the Bengals 17-6. The fifth year pro calmly completed 25 of his 38 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. The Browns anemic running game was completely shut down once again, forcing Hoyer to carry the offense. Throwing mostly to Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron (who is looking like a Gronk clone so far), Hoyer did just that, with his 0 turnovers being the difference against a pretty strong Cincinnati defense.

Elsewhere, Matt Cassel got his first start of 2013 and promptly lead the
Minnesota Vikings to their first win of the season Sunday against the Steelers. The ninth-year pro completed 16 of his 25 passes for 248 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Cassel has a golden opportunity to take over the Vikings starting job, as merely competent quarterback play will represent a major upgrade over what Christian Ponder has given them so far.

Lets hope Ryan Mallet can continue the Patriots streak of producing solid backup quarterbacks. Lets also hope he never has to prove his mettle while with the Patriots.