NFL: Ranking Quarterbacks who were one-hit wonders
By Nick Villano
NFL: Ranking Quarterbacks who were one-hit wonders: 10. Matt Flynn
When many people think of one-hit wonders in the NFL, Matt Flynn comes to mind. Think about his career in a nutshell. He was a national championship winner with the LSU Tigers in that one great Nick Saban season in Baton Rouge. He went on to the NFL, where he was the backup for Aaron Rodgers. They took him in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Flynn actually beat out Brian Brohm for the backup job despite Brohm being a second-round pick for the Packers.
Flynn finally got a start against the New England Patriots when Rodgers went down with an injury the week before. He was no bad, throwing for three touchdowns, but he had two back-breaking turnovers in the second half. One was an interception returned for touchdown and another was a fumble at the New England 15-yard line with the clock clicking down and the Packers down by one score.
It was a game two years later that built the legend of Matt Flynn. He was facing the Detroit Lions in Week 17 as the Packers had clinched their spot in the playoffs. He threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in a 45-41 victory for Green Bay. It was a performance that piqued the interest of the rest of the league, as Flynn was heading into free agency.
The Seahawks gave Flynn a three-year deal because of that one specific game worth $20.5 million. The Seahawks guaranteed $9 million of Flynn’s deal. He was brought in to compete with Tavaris Jackson, who was the starter the season before. Who actually took over the starting job was Wisconsin product Russell Wilson, who ended up having a pretty good career with the Seahawks.