Rob Johnson

Robert Garland Johnson (born March 18, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was a fourth-round pick in the 1995 NFL draft by the expansion team Jacksonville Jaguars.

With USC, Johnson won the 1995 Cotton Bowl Classic. In the Jaguars' opening game of 1997, Johnson started for an injured Mark Brunell and had a breakout performance that set a record for the best completion percentage by a debuting starting quarterback. Johnson signed a $25 million contract with the Buffalo Bills the following season and was named starting quarterback by coach Wade Phillips. Johnson had a tumultuous, injury-ridden run with the Bills and a reputation for frequently being sacked (140 in his career, including 49 in 2000), the inspiration for the nickname "Robo-sack". Johnson's injuries and poor performance led Phillips to replace Johnson with the more experienced Doug Flutie as starter. Controversially, Phillips started Johnson over Flutie for the 2000 Wild Card playoff game that the Bills lost to eventual AFC champion Tennessee Titans, after Flutie helped the Bills to an 11–5 record in the 1999 season. Phillips later said that Bills' owner Ralph Wilson had instructed the head coach to start Johnson over Flutie.

After two losing seasons with the Bills, Johnson joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 2002 and won a Super Bowl title with the team as a backup to Brad Johnson (no relation). Rob Johnson played his final games with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders in 2003. He also tried out in 2006 for the New York Giants and in 2008 for the Tennessee Titans. In 2004, Johnson became an assistant football coach at Mission Viejo High School with his brother, both under their father as head coach.

Early life Johnson was born in Newport Beach, California and graduated from El Toro High School in 1991. In his senior season of 1990, Johnson completed 207 of 303 attempted passes for 2,788 yards and 28 touchdowns. The Los Angeles Times selected Johnson as first-team All-Orange County.

College career Johnson played college football at the University of Southern California, where he was teammates with Keyshawn Johnson, Curtis Conway, Johnnie Morton, Willie McGinest, and All-American tackle and fellow Jacksonville Jaguars draftee Tony Boselli. Johnson left USC holding virtually every major passing record and spent much of his senior year as a Heisman Trophy candidate. In his final game for the school, Johnson led his team to victory in the 1995 Cotton Bowl Classic, dominating Texas Tech by a final score of 55–14.

1992 season: 163/285 for 2,118 yards with 12 TD vs 14 INT. 1993 season: 308/449 for 3,630 yards with 29 TD vs 6 INT. 1994 season: 186/276 for 2,499 yards with 15 TD vs 6 INT.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

1995 In the 1995 NFL draft, the expansion team Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Johnson as the first draft pick of the fourth round (99th overall). As a rookie, Johnson was the second- and third-string quarterback behind Steve Beuerlein. With 3:57 remaining in the third quarter, Johnson entered the game for Beuerlein. In three drives, Johnson threw one interception and failed at two fourth down conversions.

1996 Starting in 1996, Mark Brunell became starting quarterback for the Jaguars. The Jaguars finished the 1996 season 9–7 and lost the AFC championship game to the New England Patriots.

1997 For the final two games of the 1997 preseason, Johnson was the starter in place of an injured Mark Brunell and won both games. This performance set the record for the highest completion percentage of any first-time starting quarterback. In Week 7 (October 12), Johnson played his next game of the season, a backup role to Brunell in a 38–21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson completed one 10-yard pass and was sacked once for 6 yards. For three more games, Johnson would play in minor roles: a Week 9 (October 26) loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Week 11 (November 9) win over the Kansas City Chiefs, and a Week 17 (December 21) win over the Oakland Raiders for a cumulative five games played in 1997 (including one start).

Yet, Johnson's hold on the starting job was tenuous from his first game. Facing the San Diego Chargers in week 1 of the 1998 season, Johnson left with a concussion. With the Bills trailing 10–0, backup quarterback Doug Flutie led two scoring drives, but the Bills lost 16–14. Over the first four games of the year, Johnson completed 63.2% of his passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions. He was sacked 24 times, as the Bills stumbled to a 1–3 start.

With the Bills facing the Indianapolis Colts in week 5, Johnson suffered a separated rib cartilage during the first quarter and left the game. Appearing in relief, Flutie led the Bills to a 31–24 victory over the Colts with 24 unanswered points in the second half. While Johnson was still recovering from his injury, Flutie led the Bills to four consecutive wins before Phillips officially named him the new starting quarterback on November 5, 1998. Speaking to the media following the announcement, Johnson publicly expressed his displeasure, erroneously saying, "I'm not a backup." Flutie led the Bills to a 10–5 record before Phillips decided to rest him for the final week of the season. This performance led owner Ralph Wilson to "discuss" the QB position with Phillips, on the day after the game Phillips named Johnson the starter for the Bills' opening round playoff game against the Tennessee Titans.

Facing the Titans on the road, Johnson played poorly, completing only 10 of 22 passes for 131 yards, taking six sacks, and fumbling three times. However, the Bills still led 16–15 after a Steve Christie field goal with 16 seconds remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, however, Titans tight end Frank Wycheck completed a pass that was ultimately ruled to be a lateral to returner Kevin Dyson, who returned the ball for a touchdown and the Titans victory. This play would be known later as "Home Run Throwback" or the "Music City Miracle". The Bills did not make the playoffs after the 1999 season until the 2017 season.

2000 Rob Johnson started the first six games of 2000 and finished those games 3–3 after a 2–0 start as Doug Flutie recovered from a groin injury that forced him to miss much of training camp. The Bills' opening game of the season was against the Tennessee Titans, a rematch of last season's Wild Card playoff game. With nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, Johnson left the game with a leg injury, and Alex Van Pelt took over and set up the winning field goal for a 16–13 Bills victory. Johnson completed 9 of 18 pass attempts for 107 yards and one touchdown and rushed six times for 60 yards. However, Johnson was sacked five times. The Bills lost their next three games. In the week 6 game against the Miami Dolphins, a 13–22 loss, Johnson was sacked five times and finished 11-for-26 for 178 yards before leaving due to tendinitis. Johnson's injury provided the opportunity for Doug Flutie to play for the first time this season, and Johnson had been sacked 25 times by the time of his injury. After this win, which put the Bills at 7-4 and in playoff contention, Johnson began to struggle. The Bills lost to the Bucs, 31–17, in Tampa Bay in Week 13, despite two touchdown passes from Johnson before being injured again when Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks threw him to the ground while he miraculously completed a screen pass to running back Shawn Bryson. The following week against the Dolphins, Johnson was only 6-18 for 44 yards with 2 interceptions and was benched late in the game for Flutie as the Bills lost, 33–6. A Week 15 Monday Night loss to the Colts eliminated the Bills from the playoffs, as it gave the Bills their seventh loss of the season, while all teams that made the playoffs in 2000 lost six games or fewer. Early in the Bills's next game against the Patriots, Johnson received a season-ending injury, and Flutie replaced him for the remainder of the season.

The Bills finished the 2000 season 8–8, with a 4–1 record with games started by Flutie and 4–7 under Johnson. After the 2000 season, it was clear that the Bills could not keep both Johnson and Flutie on the same team. Tim Layden reported for the August 6, 2001 issue of Sports Illustrated that Johnson had the highest sack-to-dropback ratio among quarterbacks who threw at least 190 passes in the 2000 season.

2001 After an 0–4 start, Johnson's only win of 2001 came in a Thursday night 13–10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, against the team where his career began. Johnson led a late-game drive, setting up a tie-breaking field goal that gave Buffalo its first win of the season. The Bills would lose the next three games, which Johnson started. Johnson broke his collarbone and left the Week 9 (November 11) game against the New England Patriots late in the fourth quarter, and Alex Van Pelt assumed the starting job for the rest of the 2001 season. Johnson finished 2001 134 for 216 in completed passes for 1,465 yards with 5 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, and 31 sacks. Under new head coach Jon Gruden, the team was looking for a mobile signal caller in the mold of Rich Gannon. For opening week, Gruden named Rob Johnson the backup to starter Brad Johnson (no relation).

Rob Johnson played his first regular season game with Tampa in Week 7 (October 20) against the Philadelphia Eagles after Brad Johnson left due to a rib injury. However, the Buccaneers lost 20-10. However, Rob Johnson led the Buccaneers to a defense-filled 12–9 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Week 8 (October 27). 22-for-33 in passing, Johnson passed for 179 yards but had one interception and 6 sacks. Johnson completed 3 out of 5 passes for 60 yards, threw one interception, and had two sacks. In Week 16 (December 23), King played so poorly against the Pittsburgh Steelers, throwing three interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) versus only five completions, that Rob Johnson started the second half. Rob Johnson led the Buccaneers to a late touchdown drive in a 17–7 loss. Johnson had 12-for-18 passing for 159 yards, one touchdown, and 5 sacks.

On Week 17 (December 29), with a first-round playoff bye on the line, Johnson led the Buccaneers to five field goals against the Chicago Bears at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium for the franchise's first-ever victory when the kickoff temperature was below freezing. Johnson completed 16 of 25 passes for 134 yards and rushed three times for 29 yards. Like the previous game, Johnson was sacked five times. As a backup to starting quarterback Patrick Ramsey, Johnson played only two games with the Redskins, in Week 6 (October 12) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Week 7 (October 19) against the Buffalo Bills, both against teams for which Johnson used to play. In the Redskins' 13–35 loss to the Buccaneers, Johnson completed 4 of 4 passes for 35 yards and was sacked twice. On his second play of the game, Johnson was sacked by Aaron Schobel, a play that the crowd cheered. Johnson completed only one 4-yard pass out of three passes.

Oakland Raiders (2003) On November 6, 2003, Johnson signed with the Oakland Raiders, who were seeking replacements for injured quarterbacks Rich Gannon and Marques Tuiasosopo. Succeeding Rick Mirer, Johnson played in the second half of a Week 16 Monday Night Football game on December 22 hosting the Green Bay Packers. His last pass attempt was directed at the legendary Jerry Rice and was intercepted. Johnson finished the game passing 6-for-13 for 54 yards, one sack, one interception, and 15 rushing yards. The Johnsons also run a camp for high school quarterbacks. In 2012, Johnson joined a series of class-action lawsuits against the NFL contending that the league knew or should have known concussions and repeated head impacts put players at risk of brain disorders later in life.

In a 2015 oral history of the Music City Miracle, Johnson announced his intention to bring his family to a Bills game that season, but admitted to his unpopularity among Bills fans by adding, "The fans might boo me."

Legacy In 2008, the NFL Network ranked Johnson number eight in the network special Top Ten One-Shot Wonders, citing Johnson's one wonder as his game from Week 1 of 1997. NFL Network also ranked the Doug Flutie/Rob Johnson quarterback controversy with the Buffalo Bills #6 in the special Top Ten QB Controversies the following year. For holding the NFL record for most sacks per passing attempt, Johnson earned the nickname "Robo-sack".