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NFL: Ranking every MVP winner in league history based on pro career

By Hans Themistode

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 11: Running back Adrian Peterson #28 of the Minnesota Vikings carries the ball during a NFL game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on September 11, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 11: Running back Adrian Peterson #28 of the Minnesota Vikings carries the ball during a NFL game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on September 11, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images) /
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John Brodie
John Brodie (Photo by James Flores/Getty Images) /

Ranking every MVP winner in NFL history: 35. John Brodie

Stats:

  • 31,548 passing yards
  • 214 touchdowns
  • 224 interceptions

There’s a good chance that John Brodie’s picture pops up next to the word mediocre in the dictionary.

For the vast majority of his career, Brodie and the San Francisco 49ers were incredibly average. A record of 74 wins, 76 losses, and eight draws attest to that.

But while Brodie often exacerbated his team’s flaws as opposed to fixing them, he broke out in a huge way in 1970. On the year, Brodie led the 49ers to his one and only double-digit win season by notching 10 victories. He was also the leader in roughly every statistical category. Brodie led the league in passing yards with 2,941, touchdowns with 24, completions with 223, and yards per game with 210.1. He also had the best quarterback rating with 93.8.

Those numbers subsequently led to an MVP trophy and his only All-Pro selection. In the end, Brodie wasn’t able to lead the 49ers to the promised land that season. In fact, he only led the 49ers a total of three times to the postseason in his entire career. And while he wasn’t a Hall of Famer, or a Super Bowl winner, and his career is often forgotten but for one season, Brodie can say he was the best quarterback in the world.

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