Ranking Super Bowl QB's 1-82

Espn Webpage ^ | January 22, 2008 | Allison Wachs

[fkabuckeyesrule]

1. Joe Montana, 49ers, Super Bowl XXIV (1990)

Stats: 22-29, 297 yards, 5 TD, 0 interceptions in a 55-10 win over Broncos.

Montana was spectacular in winning his third Super Bowl MVP, throwing for a then-record five TDs and completing 76 percent of his passes against a Broncos team that boasted the top scoring defense in the NFL that season.

2. Steve Young, 49ers, Super Bowl XXIX (1995)

Stats: 24-36, 325 yards, 6 TD, 0 interceptions in 49-26 win over Chargers.

Young set a Super Bowl record with six TD passes against a helpless Chargers defense. Young also led the 49ers with 49 yards rushing.

3. Doug Williams, Redskins, Super Bowl XXII (1988)...Stats: 18-29, 340 yards, 4 TD, 1 interception in 42-10 win over Broncos.

Williams started only two games in the 1987 regular season, but he was in top form, rallying the Redskins from an early 10-0 deficit. The Redskins scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives in the second quarter.

4. Terry Bradshaw, Steelers, Super Bowl XIII (1979)...Stats: 17-30, 318 yards, 4 TD, 1 interception in 35-31 win over Cowboys.

Bradshaw set a then-Super Bowl record with his four TD passes in winning the third of his four SB titles. This was the first time in his Hall of Fame career that he threw for more than 300 yards in a game.

5. Joe Montana, 49ers, Super Bowl XIX (1985)...Stats: 24-35, 331 yards, 4 TD (1 rush), 0 interceptions in 38-16 win over Dolphins.

Montana beat Dan Marino and the Dolphins through the air with three touchdowns and another score on the ground. His 59 yards rushing were more than San Francisco star running back Roger Craig had.

6. Phil Simms, Giants, Super Bowl XXI (1987)...Stats: 22-25, 268 yards, 3 TD, 0 interceptions in 39-20 win over Broncos.

Simms was masterful in setting a Super Bowl record by completing 88 percent of his passes, including 10 in a row. "This might be the best game a quarterback has ever played," Giants coach Bill Parcells said afterward.

7. Troy Aikman, Cowboys, Super Bowl XXVII (1993)...Stats: 22-30, 273 yards, 4 TD, 0 interceptions in 52-17 win over Bills.

Aikman, who was named MVP, was part of a dominating offensive performance; he completed 73 percent of his passes and orchestrated quick scoring drives. "This game meant everything to me," Aikman said. "No matter what happens from here on out, I can say I took my team to a Super Bowl victory."

8. Kurt Warner, Rams, Super Bowl XXXIV (2000)...Stats: 24-45, 414 yards, 2 TD, 0 interceptions in 23-16 win over Titans.

Warner led "The Greatest Show on Turf," becoming the first and only player to pass for more than 400 yards in a Super Bowl.

9. Joe Montana, 49ers, Super Bowl XXIII (1989)...Stats: 23-36, 357 yards, 2 TD, 0 interceptions in 20-16 win over Bengals.

Montana's second TD pass was the game winner, a 10-yard strike to John Taylor with 34 seconds left. San Francisco dominated offensively, outgaining the Bengals 453 yards to 229.

10. Tom Brady, Patriots, Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004)...Stats: 32-48, 354 yards, 3 TD, 1 interception in 32-29 win over Panthers.

Brady outdueled Jake Delhomme with a Super Bowl-record 32 completions. He led the drive that set up Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining.

11. Roger Staubach, Cowboys, Super Bowl XIII (1979)...Stats: 17-30, 228 yards, 3 TD, 1 interception in 35-31 loss to Steelers.

Staubach nearly brought the Cowboys back from a big hole, throwing two fourth-quarter TD passes. His effort was good enough to earn him honors as the top non-winning QB performance.

12. Bart Starr, Packers, Super Bowl I (1967)...Stats: 16-23, 250 yards, 2 TD, 1 interception in 35-10 win over Chiefs.

Starr's passing yards were impressive coming in an era when big totals weren't the norm. Starr made wide receiver Max McGee look like a Hall of Famer (7 receptions, 138 yards). McGee, who replaced an injured Boyd Dowler early in the game, broke the team curfew the night before and did not expect to play.

13. Jim Plunkett, Raiders, Super Bowl XV (1981)...Stats: 13-21, 261 yards, 3 TD, 0 interceptions in 27-10 win over Eagles.

Plunkett got the Raiders started on the right foot with two first-quarter touchdown passes, including an 80-yarder to Kenny King. Plunkett started the season backing up Dan Pastorini.

14. Brett Favre, Packers, Super Bowl XXXI (1997)...Stats: 14-27, 246 yards, 3 TD (1 rush), 0 interceptions in 35-21 win over Patriots.

Favre threw a 64-yard TD pass to Andre Rison on the second play from scrimmage and a then-record 81-yard scoring pass to Antonio Freeman. Add a rushing touchdown, and it's surprising that he was not named MVP (Desmond Howard won).

15. Tom Brady, Patriots, Super Bowl XXXIX (2005)

Stats: 23-33, 236 yards, 2 TD, 0 interceptions in 24-21 win over Eagles.

Brady had another near-flawless performance in the Patriots' most recent Super Bowl crown, but it was wide receiver Deion Branch (11 catches, 133 yards) who was named MVP.

16. Jake Delhomme, Panthers, Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004)

Stats: 16-33, 323 yards, 3 TD, 0 interceptions in 32-29 loss to Patriots.

Delhomme's numbers were excellent, but unfortunately for him, Tom Brady was on the other side of the field. Delhomme connected on a Super Bowl-record 85-yard TD pass with Muhsin Muhammad, but an early fumble by the QB led to a Patriots touchdown.

17. John Elway, Broncos, Super Bowl XXXIII (1999)

Stats: 18-29, 336 yards, 2 TD (1 rush), 1 interception in 34-19 win over Falcons.

Elway's last NFL game proved to be one of his best. In addition to his 80-yard TD pass to Rod Smith, Elway rushed for a score as Denver cruised.

18. Kurt Warner, Rams, Super Bowl XXXVI (2002)

Stats: 28-44, 365 yards, 2 TD (1 rush), 2 interceptions in 20-17 loss to Patriots.

Warner nearly led his heavily favored Rams to a win over the upstart Patriots with a TD pass and rushing TD in the fourth quarter. But Ty Law's 47-yard interception return in the second quarter hurt the Rams and Warner.

19. Terry Bradshaw, Steelers, Super Bowl XIV (1980)

Stats: 14-21, 309 yards, 2 TD, 3 interceptions in 31-19 win over Rams.

In his fourth and final Super Bowl championship, Bradshaw had touchdown passes of 47 yards to Lynn Swann and 73 yards to John Stallworth. Bradshaw was named game MVP for the second straight year.

20. Mark Rypien, Redskins, Super Bowl XXVI (1992)

Stats: 18-33, 292 yards, 2 TD, 1 interception in 37-24 win over Bills.

Rypien's solid performance resulted in both Gary Clark and Art Monk collecting more than 100 receiving yards for the Redskins. Rypien was named MVP.

[Alberta's Child]

As a Giants fan I never hated the 49ers the way I hated many of their other rivals (Philadelphia in particular) — mainly because: (1) I had to admit that the 49ers were a great team (and their amazing offensive talent really obscured the fact that they were an awesome defensive team, too); (2) they had a lot of players who weren’t just talented, but had a lot of class; and (3) for some reason the Giants were pretty successful against them in the playoffs during the height of the 49ers’ dominance (from 1984-1990 the Giants were 3-1 against them in the playoffs, outscoring them by a combined 91-40 margin).

[Leisler]

I’m sorry, I thought it was four.

[yarddog]

It is difficult to rate the QBs because there are so many factors such as how good their offensive line is, how good their receivers are etc.

Quarterbacks such as Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas were more important as they were basically coaches on the field. They called the plays on the field and then carried them out. I do know Bart Starr was named MVP in both of the first two Super bowls.

Roger Staubach was the most incredible competitor I have ever seen except for maybe Brett Favre.

I would personally rank Bart Starr as the best.

[Alberta's Child]

I think Namath was left off the top of the list because he didn’t throw any touchdown passes in Super Bowl III. The media hype surrounding his guarantee of a Jets victory may have stolen the spotlight from his actual performance, too. He had a good game, but not a great one.

[Alberta's Child]

ROFLOL.

Sorta like ranking Refrigerator Perry among the top running backs in Super Bowl history, eh?

[Lakeshark]

Prophetic utterances?

:-)

[dfwgator]

Or Fran Tarkenton for best receiver ever, for catching his own pass that was batted back to him.

[Leisler]

Fran must have the most backfield yardage.

[Mariner]

Can't argue with the Joe Montana ratings...except a couple might be under rated:)

NOBODY pitched a more exciting football game...

[Mariner]

I believe both BRadshaw and Montana have 4.

Brady doesn't have 5 yet.

[steelyourfaith]

Neil “The Rag” O’Donnell deserves #82 rather than #71 based on the fact that he singlehandedly beat his own Steeler team with two interceptions to wide open Cowboy defensive backs. When last seen Neil had cut & ran to the Jets.

[Leisler]

I’d have to go with Kenny Stabler. Last two minutes were nail biters.

[Ditto]

I don't even begin to understand the passer rating stat.

It seems to me you could easily have a perfect passer rating (157. something) and still lose the game.

You have to look at the performance in relation to the game, the score and the conditions to make a judgment.

Also keep in mind that until the 80s with the rule changes, winning teams were far more run orientated than today and the short pass to backs was the exception rather than the rule. When guys like Starr, Bradshaw or Stauback thew the ball, it was most often 20 yards down field to wide outs, not dumps or shovel passes to a running back or slot receiver as is common today.

The game has changed and it isn't fair to judge players from one era against others.

The rules of the game simply allow more yards in both passing and rushing than were possible 20 or 30 years ago. It makes for better TV watching than a mud bowl grind it out game of the past.

Best QB ever? John Unitas. Never got a Super Bowl ring, but if the guy were 25 years old today with today's rules Tom Teriffic, both Manningsand all the other "super star" QBs would be sucking wind trying to keep up with the guy in the high tops.

Yes, he was that good.

[lonestar]

Any questions?

(last pic, #8) Who did Dubya play for?

[rjp2005]

Phil Simms is either #2 or #3. Missed only 3 passes. Not even Montana or Young did that.

[JRios1968]

[Ditto]

Quarterbacks such as Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas were more important as they were basically coaches on the field. They called the plays on the field and then carried them out. I do know Bart Starr was named MVP in both of the first two Super bowls.

Terry Bradshaw was the last QB to call his own plays. Sometimes, he really pissed Chuck Knoll off with his calls, but he also got 4 SB rings by doing so. ;~))

And yes, with today's communication technology, it makes sense to call the plays from the sidelines (or the sky box) but back then, the QB actually had the best view of the game and the time to deal with it as he saw it. That is what made guys like Unitas, Starr, and Bradshaw very much different than the QBs today who have earphones in their helmets. The old guys were out there on their own and listening to what their recievers, linemen and running backs told them, not getting instruction from some guy sitting in a warm dry sky box. That wasn't possible back then, so give the old guys extra credit. They did it the hard way.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Any questions?

Yeah, just one. Got a time machine? My beloved 49ers are now stuck with John York for an owner. Thank you Bill Walsh and Eddie D, for 18 winning seasons and 5 glorious Sundays.

[GOP_Raider]

BSPN ranked Horseface Elway and Len Dawson (!) ahead of Stabler?? Who wrote this thing, Tom Jackson and Mark Schlereth?

[Lancey Howard]

BUMP!