All 32 NFL franchises statistically ranked by greatness at the quarterback position in the Super Bowl Era
By Daniel
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
20. Seattle Seahawks: 139 Points
Top Three QBs: Matt Hasselbeck, Dave Krieg, Russell Wilson
The Seahawks weren’t around for the first seven years of the Super Bowl Era, but still cracked the top 20 of this list. That is because they’ve had three separate signal callers find relative success in the NFL. Krieg was the Seahawks’ first great passer and the only one of these three to pass for 30 touchdowns in a single season. Hasselbeck nearly led Seattle to its first Super Bowl and threw for 3,000 yards seven times. Wilson did bring Seattle its first Super Bowl championship and made this list despite only playing two full seasons — that’s how good he’s been. These three have combined for nine Pro Bowls and with Wilson under center they’ll only continue to climb this list. Check back once Wilson is done and see how far they’ve climbed.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
19. Buffalo Bills: 142.5 Points
Top Three QBs: Jim Kelly, Joe Ferguson, Drew Bledsoe
The Bills would be higher on this list if Kelly’s Bills would have won a couple of the four consecutive Super Bowls they went to in the early 1990s. Alas, they came in higher than some would have expected. This is due almost entirely to Kelly’s brilliant play. Eight times he passed for at least 3,000 yards and five times was named to the Pro Bowl — once All-Pro. Bledsoe was only with the team for a little bit but he was the only one of this trio to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. Ferguson amassed 77 wins for the Bills and cannot be forgotten either. The Bill’s also had Jack Kemp star at the position in the 1960s before the Super Bowl Era. E.J. Manuel is the Bills’ hope for the future at quarterback, but there is a lot of uncertainty there.
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
18. New York Jets: 150.5 Points
Top Three QBs: Joe Namath, Ken O’Brien, Richard Todd
The New York Jets had the first true superstar quarterback of the Super Bowl Era in “Broadway Joe” Namath. He won a Super Bowl, was named MVP of the game, went to four Pro Bowls, and passed for 4,000 yards once (quite a feat in 1967). He also was named MVP of the AFL twice. But the Jets had more than just Namath; O’Brien was invited to multiple Pro Bowls and threw for 3,000 yards four times. The best runner of these three was definitely Todd. Impressively, all three won at least 42 games for the Jets. New York is counting on Geno Smith to carry them for the foreseeable future and right now that future is on a little bit of shaky ground. I haven’t given up on Smith yet, though.
Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
17. Washington “Redskins”: 157 Points
Top Three QBs: Joe Theismann, Sonny Jurgensen, Mark Rypien
Washington is one of two teams in NFL history to win three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks (Green Bay the other). Thus, they’ve seen a varied, but large amount of success at the position. They’re one of two teams to boast a quarterback that won a Super Bowl, but was not able crack their top three, in terms of total points collected with Washington (Oakland the other). That quarterback is Doug Williams, who did interestingly enough make it into Tampa Bay’s top three. Theismann won a Super Bowl, an AP MVP, was named All-Pro and went to two Pro Bowls. Jurgensen was the only one to throw for 30 touchdowns in a season and Rypien won Washington’s other Super Bowl. All three of these players passed for 3,000 yard exactly three times. Washington’s best all-time quarterback was Sammy Baugh who played in the 1930s and 40s. The future at quarterback is interesting for the ‘Skins. It’ll be either Robert Griffin III or Kirk Cousins, which is shaping up to be a very interesting storyline.
Don McPeak-US Presswire
16. Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans: 167.5 Points
Top Three QBs: Warren Moon, Steve McNair, Dan Pastorini
The Titans’ franchise has had good success at quarterback overall. Namely because of Moon who was a star for the Houston Oilers for many years. He went to six Pro Bowls and threw for 4,000 yards twice and was one of the best passers the game had ever seen. McNair put together a nice career as well. He was named AP MVP once and was invited to three Pro Bowls. He almost led the Titans to a Super Bowl championship and won the most games for the franchise (76). He was by far the best running quarterback of the three. Pastorini was invited to one Pro Bowl in his career. George Blanda just missed out on being included in the top three quarterbacks. The Titans are hoping Jake Locker is the answer at the position moving forward and he just might be.