New York Jets: Ranking the 5 best quarterbacks in team history

Feb 4, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; NFL legend Joe Namath arrives on the red carpet prior to the 6th Annual NFL Honors at Wortham Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; NFL legend Joe Namath arrives on the red carpet prior to the 6th Annual NFL Honors at Wortham Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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2. Ken O’Brien (1984-92)

A two-time Pro Bowler, O’Brien passed for the second most yards in team history (24,386) and had an excellent touchdown pass to interception ratio of 124-95. His finest campaign came in his second season (1985) when he led the Jets to an 11-5 ledger and a wild card playoff berth.

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The former first-round pick in the 1983 NFL Draft (24th overall and three spots ahead of Dan Marino) owned the league’s top passer rating in 1985 (96.2) when he threw for 25 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. O’Brien also paced the NFL in percentage of times being intercepted when attempting to pass (1985, 1987, 1988) which meant that he did a solid job of protecting the football.

O’Brien possessed a very strong arm and quite often hooked up on long post routes with speedy wide receiver Wesley Walker. Their were two blemishes on O’Brien’s resume though: 1. He was always compared to Marino, and 2. He never won a playoff game (0-2 as a starter, 0-3 overall).

The UC Davis product will always be remembered as a very steady, mistake-free quarterback with a rocket for an arm. It’s too bad though that he was never able to taste victory in a NFL playoff game.