Josh Johnson Might Be a Modern Day Doug Flutie

Josh Johnson completed 27 of 41 passes and threw for 317 yards and three touchdown passes in a Jets loss on Thursday night. It cannot be overstated how insane and unlikely those numbers are.

Johnson, 35, was drafted in 2008. Thirteen years and 17 chances later, he came in after the starting quarterback, who was very recently a backup quarerback himself, got injured. And Johnson played the game of his life. It was the first time in his career that he threw for over 300 yards. It was the first time in his career t hat he threw for three touchdowns.

It's not like he'd been close either. It was the first time he had thrown for over 200 yards in exactly nine years and 11 months. It was the first time in more than 12 years that he threw multiple touchdown passes in a game. And just the second time he had ever done so. It was just the 11th time he attempted double-digit throws in an NFL game.

Including last week, Johnson has only thrown passes in an NFL game five times since December 2011. But the man did not forget how to compete. Look how intense he was when an interception, his first since December 2018, ruined the Jets' chances of a comeback.

Sure, they were down 15 with less than a minute remaining, but if anyone knows how to dream, it's Josh Johnson. I am in awe of how many chances he has had and shocked at how few and far between his actual opportunities have been. The fact that he came out tonight threw the ball so effectively is impressive. And makes you wonder which team will scoop him up next.

Johnson has only topped 317 yards in a season twice. This performance will account for about 30% of his total career passing yards. He's only thrown three or more touchdowns in a season twice. He'd only thrown eight touchdown passes as an NFL quarterback.

There is no way to explain this game that make sense. This is basically like if Doug Flutie had spent his career on practice squads before he made the Pro Bowl in Buffalo. Obviously, Johnson has some work to do before he gets to that level of success, but he's clearly not going anywhere.