Ian Book never stood a chance Monday night.
The New Orleans Saints were missing players all over the roster, which allowed the Miami Dolphins to send heavy pressure all game and harass the rookie.
Book took eight sacks and the Dolphins defense had 14 quarterback hits in total.
The rookie out of Notre Dame took home his first NFL loss and in doing so continued a rough trend for former Fighting Irish signal-callers.
Notre Dame QBs have now lost 24 straight starts in the NFL…
– 4 by Brady Quinn
– 4 by Jimmy Clausen
– 15 by DeShone Kizer
– 1 by Ian BookThat is the longest losing streak by starting QBs from a particular college since 1950 (h/t @EliasSports). pic.twitter.com/NrLb4tKuqr
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 28, 2021
Book’s loss made it 24 in a row by former Notre Dame quarterbacks in the NFL.
That is a stat Notre Dame will want to bury when it comes to recruiting.
Notre Dame QBs Keep Struggling In The NFL
The last Notre Dame quarterback to get serious playing time was DeShone Kizer back in 2017.
He went 0-15 with the Cleveland Browns as a rookie in what was a disastrous 0-16 affair.
The losses weren’t all his fault, but it remains shocking he could not get one win.
So his season with the Browns is why this stat stands out as so jarring.
But Jimmy Clausen and Brady Quinn before him fell on tough times and got this streak going in the first place.
Book may have a tough time ending the streak because he will not be in line for another start for quite some time, barring another COVID outbreak with the Saints.
Kizer is a practice squad player at best and that means Notre Dame is going to have to produce a talented first or second-round quarterback to end this miserable streak.
As for Book, this loss should not define him.
Tua’s message to Ian Book postgame?
"Just keep being you, man. Work hard.” pic.twitter.com/OxuPcT7wD3
— NFL (@NFL) December 28, 2021
He is only a rookie and was thrown into an impossible situation.
The Dolphins were loading the box and the Saints offensive line was doing nothing to stop them.
Perhaps he will get another chance in the future to not only improve his own reputation, but that of Notre Dame quarterbacks in the NFL.
NEXT: Who Is New Orleans Saints QB Ian Book?
DolFan316 says
At least Notre Dame has that Joe Montana guy. And Steve Beuerlein was a solid backup type who once threw 36 TDs in a season. Seriously, this was a thing that happened. Then there’s Joe Theismann and Daryle Lamonica. So even today the Notre Dame QB NFL legacy is still better than Ohio State’s. You should do a column about that sometime.