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The 30 best quarterbacks in NFL history

By Randy Gurzi

Joe Montana #16, Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers prepares to throw a pass during the National Football Conference Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams on 14 January 1990 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, United States. The 49ers won the game 30 - 3. (Photo by Otto Gruele Jr/Allsport/Getty Images)
Joe Montana #16, Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers prepares to throw a pass during the National Football Conference Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams on 14 January 1990 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, United States. The 49ers won the game 30 - 3. (Photo by Otto Gruele Jr/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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Cincinnati Bengals, Boomer Esiason
Cincinnati Bengals, Boomer Esiason (Photo by Rick Stewart/Allsport/Getty Images) /

The NFL is the ultimate team sport. It takes 11 starters on each side of the ball working in unison for each and every play to have a chance to succeed. One offensive lineman misses a block, or a wideout runs a poor route and an offense is doomed. Similarly, a safety failing to pick up a man running into his zone or a linebacker missing an open field tackle can doom a defense.

While all that’s true, the majority of a team’s success — or lack thereof — still hinges on one position, the quarterback. If an NFL team has a good one, they have a shot at success that season. Should they find themselves without a good signal-caller, then their season is over before it even began.

That’s why it’s so often that we see struggling teams select a quarterback first overall in the draft. We also see clubs sacrifice many draft picks in trades to move up for a new, hot signal-caller.

With all that being said, we look at the best to ever play the most important position in the league as we detail the top-30 quarterbacks in NFL history. However, It’s hard to nail this list down not leave some talented players out, which is why a few honorable mentions kick off the list:

Honorable mentions: Roman Gabriel, Archie Manning, Boomer Esiason, Phil Simms

30. Best NFL quarterbacks of all time: Bobby Layne

The career of Bobby Layne went full circle. Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1948, he expressed his desire to play elsewhere and was sent to the Chicago Bears. One season later, he was traded to the New York Bulldogs.

In New York, he was a starter, but the team wasn’t successful at all. Still, Layne appreciated the experience and said it helped him as he joined the Detroit Lions the following year.

During his time in Detroit, he made four Pro Bowls and was 53-29-2 as a starter. Layne threw for 15,710 yards with 118 touchdowns, which was impressive considering the era he played in.

After nine seasons, the Lions ended up sending him to the same Steelers organization he didn’t want to play for when his career began. He was so upset about the trade that he was said to have cursed the team on his way out. The supposed curse of the Lions is explained by Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press:

"“The mythology about the curse goes like this: The season after Layne helped the Lions win their third and final championship of the 1950s, Lions coach George Wilson traded the Hall of Fame quarterback to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 6, 1958. In exchange, the Lions received quarterback Earl Morrall and two high draft picks. Layne was angry and supposedly said the Lions wouldn’t win a championship for another 50 years.”"

So far, the curse of the Hall of Fame gunslinger has held true as the Lions have had one playoff win since 1957. The 50 years are over, but trading their best ever signal-caller may still be haunting the franchise.

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