There are many players in the history of the NFL that are very underrated and have been overlooked. Yet when they hit the field, they did some damage against opponents. One of those players was quarterback Doug Flutie.
Drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, Flutie never played a down for LA. In four seasons from 1986-1989, Flutie was a member of both the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots. Then from 1990-1997, Flutie played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) before returning to the NFL in 1998 to join the Buffalo Bills.
In just ten games started, Flutie put up 2,711 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. He also added on 248 yards on the ground along with a score. His season performance earned him his first and only Pro Bowl appearance and he also voted as the Comeback Player of the Year. His 1998 season was fantastic and a certain superstart seems to think so as well.
Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson praised Doug Flutie
Ravens’ superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson posted on X “Doug Flutie Highlights” with two emojis and put “#Gocrazy”.
The NFL Films X page then posted highlights from Flutie’s 1998 season with the Bills to show just exactly how great Flutie was for Buffalo. It all started in Week 1 against the then-San Diego Chargers when Bills’ quarterback Rob Johnson went down with an injury and Flutie stepped into the spotlight.
Flutie went 7-3 as a starter in 1998 and only had two games of about 300 passing yards. Not to mention, he only completed 57% of his passes. However, he still managed to lead the Bills to the playoffs.
After three short seasons in Buffalo, Flutie eventually moved on to play with the Chargers before going back the Patriots for his final season in 2005. While Flutie wasn’t a member of the same team throughout his career and he bounced around a little bit, his 1998 season in Buffalo was very special.
The fact that Lamar Jackson, who is a dynamic quarterback himself, gave Flutie major credit just shows how spoiled Bills fans were for atleast one season post Jim Kelly-era. After Flutie, the Bills went through a revolving door of quarterbacks up until they drafted Josh Allen in 2018.