Cincinnati Bengals: Best quarterbacks in team history, No. 2

We’re nearing the end of our countdown of the best quarterbacks in Cincinnati Bengals as we make way for the second-best the franchise has seen.

Summer wears on and training camp inches closer for the Cincinnati Bengals, among the other 31 NFL teams as well. For the Bengals though, they are waiting with anticipation to prove that last year’s time away from the postseason was an aberration.

Until training camp and the preseason arrive though, we have some time on our hands. And in that time, we’ve been looking back at the best quarterbacks in the history of the Bengals.

We’ve already looked at the fifth, fourth, and third-best quarterbacks in Cincinnati’s franchise history (as well as some of the interesting quarterbacks not included in the top five), so now we continue with No. 2.

2. Boomer Esiason

Though his era with Cincinnati was mainly during a time before anyone under 30 would remember, Esiason undoubtedly was a really good quarterback during his time with the Bengals. From 1985-89, he made his career by consistently ranking well in numerous key quarterbacking areas.

Check out where he ranked in all these areas during that time:

Look at all of those top-10 ratings!

Completion percentage aside, Esiason was firmly among the elite NFL passers for that five year period. Even that 1987 season had him just 67 yards away from leading the entire league in passing yardage, and the other years he unquestionably was one of the best quarterbacks the NFL had to offer — with his 1988 season earning him an MVP trophy. Account for his era when comparing him to his later counterparts in Palmer and Dalton, and he was clearly better than what either of them eventually have become.

Something else he definitely has over his post-2000 counterparts: he actually had some playoff success. Dalton has more appearances (5), and Palmer is tied with him at just two, but while neither of those guys could win a single game in the postseason, Esiason has a winning record (3-2). That 1988 season saw him come a late drive by San Francisco away from having a Super Bowl ring to add to his collection too.

Unfortunately it isn’t all sunshine and roses, though, and that is what helped prevent him from taking the top spot on this list. That 1987 season wasn’t a one-time dip; instead, it was an early indicator of what would be a major step-down in ability only a couple years later. After that 1989 season, Esiason really took a step down in quality:

That 1990 season was still enough to get Cincinnati to the playoffs, but the man who was elite for most of the mid-to-late 80s was essentially gone by the turn of the decade. More interceptions than touchdown passes in his final three seasons of his first Cincinnati stint (63 interceptions in 3 years is absymal in any era). In the bottom half of the league in passer rating every year. A former ANY/A (average net yards per attempt) darling during his peak (1985-1989: 4th or better four times) precipitously drops into the mid-20s.

Something else which doesn’t help: while playoff record may have been positive, his actual play wasn’t exactly up to snuff. That MVP season would make you think he put the team on his back for those three postseason games, but if anything he turned out to be an impediment to Cincinnati’s victory hopes.

He went 7-of-19 for 108 yards and no touchdowns in the 21-13 win over Seattle, then 11-of-20 for 94 with one touchdown and two interceptions in the 21-10 win over Buffalo. To finish that run, he was thoroughly outplayed by Joe Montana in the Super Bowl (Esiason: 11-of-25, 144 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception; Montana: 23-of-36, 357 yards, two touchdowns, no picks).

Next: NFL 2018: Each team's best offseason move

While the team overall kept things competitive, his performance deserved to lose every one of those matchups. He was mostly better in 1990 (14-of-20, 150 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions in 41-14 win over Houston; one touchdown, no picks in 20-10 loss to the Raiders), but that was the final swan song of his positive productivity as a Bengal, and not enough to overshadow his past failings in the postseason.

Still, Esiason’s accomplishments outweigh his failures. His prime wasn’t long, but his production was able to hit particularly high peaks. A winning record as a Cincinnati starter, multiple years of (for his time) elite-level production, an MVP trophy, and nearly even a Super Bowl trophy. I’d say that’s plenty enough to secure his status as the second-best quarterback in Cincinnati’s franchise history.