PROFILES » Giving quarterbacks big money doesn’t guarantee success

The NFL’s six highest-paid quarterbacks in 2018 will be spectators this postseason. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million) Julian Love Jersey , Atlanta’s Matt Ryan ($30 million), Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins ($28 million), San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo ($27.5 million), Detroit’s Matthew Stafford ($27 million) and Oakland’s Derek Carr ($25 million) couldn’t lead their teams to the playoffs.Only Cousins had a winning record (8-7-1), and he failed in a do-or-die game in the regular-season finale. Cousins, who received a three-year, fully guaranteed, $84 million contract, struggled in a 24-10 loss to the Chicago Bears that eliminated the Vikings.Of the top six on the salary list, only Rodgers has won a Super Bowl. Ryan is 4-6 in the playoffs, Stafford is 0-3 and Cousins is 0-1. Carr and Garoppolo haven’t made a postseason start.Among the 12 starting quarterbacks still playing, six are still under their rookie contract and another — Nick Foles — is a backup.Here’s a look at a few more numbers entering wild-card weekend:SETTING RECORDS: New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees broke his own record with a 74.4 completion percentage, the highest in a season in NFL history. … Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz set a record for most receptions by a tight end (116). … San Francisco’s George Kittle set a record for most yards receiving by a tight end (1,377). … Teams combined to score 1,371 total touchdowns, the highest total in a season. … Eight quarterbacks had a passer rating of 100 or higher Darius Slayton Jersey , most in a season.LAST MAN STANDING: Philadelphia’s Doug Pederson is the only one of seven coaches hired in 2016 still with his team. Adam Gase (23-26, Miami), Chip Kelly (2-14, San Francisco), Hue Jackson (3-36-1, Cleveland), Mike Mularkey (19-17, Tennessee), Dirk Koetter (19-29, Tampa Bay) and Ben McAdoo (13-16, Giants) all were fired, some sooner than others.WORST TO FIRST: The Bears (12-4) and Texans (11-5) won their divisions after finishing in last place in 2017. The Eagles won the Super Bowl last year after going worst-to-first in the NFC East.THE NEWCOMERS: Seven teams who weren’t in the playoffs last season qualified this year. All seven — Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis T.J. Hockenson Jersey , the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle — will play this weekend. Since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 1990, at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the previous year.WILD-CARD CHAMPS: Nine teams who played wild-card games have won the Super Bowl, including the 1980 Raiders, 1997 Broncos, 2000 and 2012 Ravens, 2005 Steelers, 2006 Colts, 2007 and 2011 Giants and 2010 Packers.TOUGHEST ROAD: The Eagles and Colts are each trying to become only the third No. 6 seed to win a Super Bowl, joining the 2005 Steelers and 2010 Packers.EASIEST ROAD: Since 1975, 49 of the 86 teams (57 percent) to reach the Super Bowl were No. 1 seeds. In that span, 20 No. 2 seeds, four No. 3, nine No. 4, two No. 5 and two No. 6 made it. Over the past five years, nine of 10 No. 1 seeds played in the Super Bowl. Only the 2016 Cowboys didn’t get in.WELCOME TO THE DANCE: Four quarterbacks will make their postseason debut as starters. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Chicago’s Mitchell Trubisky and Houston’s Deshaun Watson play this weekend. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes has a bye.STINGY DEFENSE: In three of the past four seasons http://www.lionscheapstore.com/jahlani-tavai-jersey-cheap , the teams with the stringiest regular-season scoring defense have advanced to the Super Bowl. The Bears led the league with the fewest points allowed per game (17.7) this season. DETROIT (AP) — Sam Darnold is about to make NFL history.The New York Jets plan to have the 21-year-old rookie start Monday in Detroit, making him the youngest quarterback to do so in an opener since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. And just to put Darnold in the spotlight a little more, he is set to become the first rookie quarterback to start a season opener on “Monday Night Football.”Darnold acknowledged celebrating his accomplishment before shifting his focus and sounding like a veteran.“I know that just because I get named the starter doesn’t mean that we won the game,” he said.Darnold beat out Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater to earn the job perhaps as expected after New York drafted him No. 3 overall out of USC. New York coach Todd Bowles insisted Darnold will be asked to run the team’s regular offense that won’t be altered to keep it simple for him.Bowles, meanwhile, hopes the Jets’ can slow down Detroit when it has the ball.“Defensively, you’ve got to keep the score down whether you got Joe Montana, Sam Darnold or Roger Staubach,” Bowles said.Detroit drafted Matthew Stafford No. 1 overall in 2009 and he beat out Daunte Culpepper to start in Week 1 of his rookie year against New Orleans.Stafford said he didn’t remember much about the game other than facing the Drew Brees-led Saints, who went on to win the Super Bowl after opening with a 45-27 win at home over Detroit.It is probably a day Stafford wishes to forget.Stafford was 16 of 37 passes and his 43.2 completion percentage ranks as his sixth-lowest in 125 career games. He threw for 205 yards with three interceptions and his only score was a 1-yard run against the Saints. Brees, meanwhile, threw six touchdown passes.Here are some other things know about the Jets-Lions matchup:THE OTHER DEBUT: Days away from leading an NFL team for the first time, Lions coach Matt Patricia refused to publicly relish it.“My 12-year-old self is probably freaking out somewhere,” he said.Patricia is very familiar with the Jets because he was the New England’s defensive coordinator for the last six years and was on Bill Belichick’s staff for 14 seasons.“He’ll have some things up his sleeve,” Bowles said. “He’s handled us quite a few times, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”CATCHING ONThe Jets have a new-look and mostly unheralded receiving corps. Quincy Enunwa is on track to play in his first regular-season game since 2016 after missing all of last year with a neck injury. Terrelle Pryor Will Harris Jersey , signed in the offseason after one disappointing season in Washington, appears ready to play after breaking his right ankle during offseason workouts.Jermaine Kearse led New York with 65 catches last season, but is dealing with an abdomen injury. Robby Anderson is looking to build off a breakout performance in his second NFL season in which he had 63 catches.NO WORRIESThe Lions were lackluster in the preseason, struggling with starters on both sides of the ball, and are not worried about that fact.“On Monday night, we don’t have to be the best team in the NFL,” Detroit receiver Golden Tate said. “We just need to be better than the team we’re playing.”TRU STORYThe Jets had a lot of salary cap space in the offseason and used a chunk of it to sign Pro Bowl cornerback Trumaine Johnson to a five-year, $72.5 million deal after he had 18 interceptions over six years with the Rams.“He’s kind of a game-changer,” Tate said. “He takes the right chances at the right moment. We’re going to have to be real crisp in our routes and find a way to get open.“It’s going to be a great challenge and I’m not just speaking for him, but for the rest of the guys out there.”New York is hoping Johnson can combine with Morris Claiborne to form one of the better cornerback tandems in the league. The Jets also have promising second-year safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye in the secondary, although Maye might not be 100 percent while still recovering from offseason ankle surgery. The confident group has matching T-shirts that read: “New Jack City.”SAFETY NETDetroit safety Glover Quin has started 132 straight games, a streak that trails just San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers (192) and Baltimore cornerback Brandon Carr (160) among active players.