Coming into 2020, 61 different quarterbacks had started 53 different Super Bowls. At Super Bowl 54, we’ll get two big game debutantes trying to push their storied franchises back to glory.
Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs will take on Jimmy Garoppolo’s 49ers in Miami, a game that will either give San Francisco its first NFL title since 1995 or Kansas City its first in 50 god-blessed years. The winner will etch his name among the hall of immortals, joining legends like Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath, and, uh, Trent Dilfer. The loser will dig a bottomless well of motivation to fuel his competitive fire from Feb. 2, 2020 until retirement.
Mahomes and Garoppolo will join a group of quarterbacks who range from elite to Rex Grossman. Their performances vary from historically terrible to enormously successful — and now we’re going to rank them.
Putting all 63 quarterbacks in order was a strenuous undertaking. Super Bowl success came first and foremost, with wins adding extra gravity to a successful stat line. This isn’t a straight-up ranking of every quarterback who has ever played in a Super Bowl — it’s a ranking of the performance and trustworthiness of all those players.
Let’s start at the bottom, with the architect of one of the least exciting championship games ever played.
Dead effin’ last
63. Tony Eason, Patriots, Super Bowl XX
Eason completed zero of six passes, was sacked three times, and fumbled once. He was responsible for -3 Patriot points. Steve Grogan came on in relief and threw for New England’s only touchdown in a 46-10 blowout.
The forgettable and uninspiring
62. Craig Morton, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl V AND Denver Broncos, Super Bowl XII
61. Billy Kilmer, Washington, Super Bowl VII
60. Kerry Collins, New York Giants, Super Bowl XXXV
59. Earl Morrall, Baltimore Colts, Super Bowl III
Morton completed 16 passes in 41 attempts over two different Super Bowls, throwing seven (SEVEN!) interceptions in the process). Kilmer was so bad that the only passing play Washington found the end zone with was the product of Garo Yepremian meme-ing himself back in 1973.
Collins added an extra volume of books to the legend of the Baltimore defense with a four-interception performance in a blowout loss. Morrall’s passer rating against the underdog Jets was 9.3, and he was so bad a 35-year-old Johnny Unitas had to try and salvage things (he did not).
58. David Woodley, Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl XVII
57. Joe Kapp, Minnesota Vikings, Super Bowl IV
56. Ron Jaworski, Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl XV
55. Chris Chandler, Atlanta Falcons, Super Bowl XXXIII
54. Boomer Esiason, Cincinnati Bengals, Super Bowl XXIII
53. Neil O’Donnell, Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XXX
Woodley is the first guy on the list to have thrown for a touchdown — one of four passes he completed that day. Kapp spent more time in the CFL than in the NFL.
Jaworski may be a Philadelphia legend, but he completed less than half his passes and threw three interceptions in his lone Super Bowl appearance. Chandler was so eminently forgettable he didn’t even merit a blurb in the first draft of these rankings. Esiason was woefully ineffective against the 49ers in his one and only Super Bowl. What can be said about Neil O’Donnell that hasn’t also been said about a bowl of corn flakes?
52. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams, Super Bowl 53
51. Rex Grossman, Chicago Bears, Super Bowl XLI
50. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers, Super Bowl 50
49. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl XL
Goff got absolutely flustered in his first big game by the Patriots blitz-heavy defense. The Indianapolis Colts are forever in Rex Grossman’s debt for gifting the franchise their first Super Bowl title in the state of Indiana.
Newton completed less than 44 percent of his passes and forced the world to witness another Peyton Manning Super Bowl win. Humphries did the unthinkable by actually getting the cursed Chargers to a Super Bowl, then needed 49 passes to throw for 275 yards. Hasselbeck dropped back 55 times and managed to score exactly 10 points against the Steelers.
48. Stan Humphries, San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl XXIX
47. Vince Ferragamo, Los Angeles Rams, Super Bowl XIV
46. Drew Bledsoe, New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXI
45. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl 54
44. Rich Gannon, Oakland Raiders, Super Bowl XXXVII
Ferragamo had a 4:7 TD:INT ratio in five starts leading up to Super Bowl XIV, so it’s an accomplishment he only threw one against the Steelers. Bledsoe threw twice as many interceptions (12) as touchdowns (six) in his career in the postseason. Garoppolo played like a Super Bowl MVP for 50 minutes, then crumbled into dust in the final 10 as the Chiefs ran past his Niners for the Lombardi Trophy. Gannon’s five turnovers against Tampa Bay is the reason Jon Gruden was able to command a 10-year, $100 million salary from the Raiders.
The inessential but useful
43. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl XXXIX
42. Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl XXXV
41. Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Super Bowl XXXVII
40. Steve McNair, Tennessee Titans, Super Bowl XXXIV
McNabb threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns ... but also threw three interceptions and executed Andy Reid’s complete lack of clock management perfectly to help give the Patriots their third Super Bowl win in four years.
Johnson did enough to calmly stand back and watch Gannon’s Oakland team repeatedly shoot itself in the foot in 2003. Dilfer put together a tremendous 1962-ish stat line (12 of 25, 153 yards, 1 touchdown), but won anyway thanks to the Baltimore defense. McNair finished one yard shy of a bump up to the next tier thanks to Mike Jones (who?):
39. Daryle Lamonica, Oakland Raiders, Super Bowl II
38. Jeff Hostetler, New York Giants, Super Bowl XXV
Hostetler never threw for many yards but still won a ton of games in his career, a trend that continued when he took over for Phil Simms at Super Bowl XXV. Lamonica was an outstanding 1960s quarterback who couldn’t overcome the early Packers juggernaut.
The guys who were better than the quarterbacks of the early Super Bowl era, but I’m not gonna rank them ahead of Hall of Famers because I like a clean, hate-free inbox
Based on pure performance, these guys were mostly statistically better than the quarterbacks in the tier above them. But the combination of past performance and comparing the NFL offenses of the 1960s/70s to the play of the last 30 years makes a straight comparison difficult. These are the guys you’d like to have leading your team — but if you had the option to replace them with a Hall of Famer like Joe Namath or Fran Tarkenton, you wouldn’t say no.
37. Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals, Super Bowl XVI
36. Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XLVII
35. Jim McMahon, Chicago Bears, Super Bowl XX
Anderson accounted for all three of Cincinnati’s touchdowns against the 49ers in his only Super Bowl; it’s not his fault he had to stare down a budding dynasty. Kaepernick had 364 total yards and two touchdowns and nearly kept the world from a million fluff pieces about Ray Lewis’ redemption, and for this he should be commended. McMahon was great — 256 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns — but really didn’t have to do much against the festering boil that was the Tony Eason-led Patriots.
The old guard Hall of Famers who are nearly impossible to compare to modern passers
34. Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings, Super Bowls VIII, IX, and XI
33. Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts, Super Bowl V
32. Joe Theismann, Washington, Super Bowls XVII and XVIII
31. Len Dawson, Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowls I and IV
30. Joe Namath, New York Jets, Super Bowl III
29. Ken Stabler, Oakland Raiders, Super Bowl XI
28. Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowls VI, X, XI, and XIII
27. Bob Griese, Miami Dolphins, Super Bowls VI, VII, and VIII
Football has changed so drastically it’s tough to compare the low volume passers of yesteryear to the ever-evolving spread offenses of the past two-plus decades. Case in point: Griese threw 41 passes over the course of three Super Bowls. Tom Brady has thrown that many or more in six different Super Bowls.
Tarkenton made it to three Super Bowls and threw six interceptions and only one touchdown. Unitas had a 42.4 percent completion rate and 34.7 passer rating in the big game. Theismann’s two Super Bowl appearances saw Washington run the ball 94 times and throw it only 58 times — and one of those games was a blowout loss.
Dawson threw 17 passes to win Super Bowl IV. Namath found the end zone zero times to upset the Colts. Stabler was John Madden’s perfect quarterback. Staubach was keenly efficient and solid as a runner — he averaged 4.9 yards per carry — while going 2-2 as a starter in the NFL title game.
All these guys were great, but it’s still fair to wonder how they would have fared in a league where passing held greater importance (and was much easier for quarterbacks to do).
The more modern Hall of Famers who underwhelmed
26. Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills, Super Bowls 25-28
25. Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl XIX
24. John Elway, Denver Broncos, Super Bowls XXI, XXII, XXIV, XXXII, and XXXIII
Kelly climbed to the mountaintop four times and planted his flag on none of those trips; his Super Bowl passer rating is a robust 56.9. Marino threw for a then-record 318 yards ... but that was aided, in part, by the fact his Dolphins trailed by double digits throughout the second half.
No one in the NFL may have been better at rewriting his own narrative than John Elway. When you think of him in the Super Bowl, you think of an old man spinning like a helicopter blade en route to the Broncos’ first NFL title.
In reality, he was fairly underwhelming in the big game; three touchdown passes, eight interceptions, and two games (out of five) where he threw for fewer than 125 yards.
But hey, he’s still got two rings, which is more than most quarterbacks.
The non-Hall of Famers who blew up
23. Mark Rypien, Washington, Super Bowl XXVI
22. Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers, Super Bowl XXXVIII
21. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons, Super Bowl 51
Rypien’s 292 passing yards in Super Bowl XXVI were 115 more than his career per-game average. Delhomme shredded the Patriots’ defense with big plays and came within one Adam Vinatieri kick of a ring (just like another quarterback who’s ahead of him on this list). Matt Ryan was nearly perfect, even when he was being asked to throw the ball entirely too often while sitting on a 28-3 lead.
20: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl 54
19. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl XLVII
18. Doug Williams, Washington, Super Bowl XXII
Mahomes couldn’t find any breathing room against the 49ers until he trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter. Then he led the Chiefs to an 11-point win. He won MVP honors despite a 78.1 passer rating — Brock Osweiler’s career rating is a 78.0. Flacco diced up the 49ers so thoroughly he became a meme. Williams torched the Broncos with four passing touchdowns and a pristine 11.7 yards per attempt, making history in the process.
17. Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl 52
Foles became a Philadelphia legend by being a more prolific version of Hostetler (and catching a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass in the dang Super Bowl).
16. Jim Plunkett, Oakland Raiders, Super Bowls XV and XVIII
15. Phil Simms, New York Giants, Super Bowl XXI
Plunkett turned his career around after escaping New England, recording the second-highest Super Bowl passer rating of all time (122.8) for players with more than one start. Simms was nearly perfect in his lone appearance in the big game, completing 22 of his 25 passes, throwing for 268 yards and three touchdowns, and even adding a 22-yard scramble to completely demoralize the Broncos.
The modern (or future) Hall of Famers who were great
14. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowls XL, XLIII, XLV
Roethlisberger has two championship rings, but he’s been kinda awful under the brightest lights; he’s never played a Super Bowl where he’s had more touchdowns than interceptions. Going by title game statistics alone, he belongs in the “inessential” group, but his 78-yard game-winning drive in the final three minutes of Super Bowl XLIII proves otherwise.
13. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowls XLVIII and XLIX
Wilson would be a two-time Super Bowl champion if not for the only interception he’s ever thrown in the big game. His goal-line interception to Malcolm Butler sealed New England’s fourth NFL championship and derailed the Seattle quarterback’s budding legacy. He’s been essentially mistake-free outside of one jumped slant; he’s averaged 9.8 yards per pass in two Super Bowls while running for nearly 11 yards per carry.
He also benefitted from a crushing defense and the pile-driving running of Marshawn Lynch, which puts his performance on a curve. (And yeah, I understand considering Wilson and, later, Eli Manning future Hall of Famers is another debate altogether. I say Wilson is criminally underappreciated.)
12. Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams, Super Bowls XXXIV and XXXVI and Arizona Cardinals, Super Bowl XLIII
Warner has led three different Super Bowl scoring drives that either tied the game or gave his team the lead in the final three minutes. He’s only 1-2 on the grand stage thanks to the heroics of Roethlisberger and Tom Brady.
11. Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII
Favre remained the personification of an action quarterback, even if he was beaten out for MVP honors in his lone Super Bowl win by a kick returner. His magic ran out against Elway in 1998, however — his turnover on downs inside Broncos territory with 32 seconds left propelled the veteran gunslinger who preceded him to his first NFL title.
10. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl XLV
Rodgers was downright mean to Roethlisberger’s Steelers, throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns as, for one fleeting moment, Mike McCarthy allowed him to reach the peak of his potential.
9. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts, Super Bowls XLI and XLIV, and Denver Broncos, Super Bowls XLVIII and 50
Manning played exceptionally well to get his teams to the Super Bowl. Then, he put together a 77.4 passer rating and a 3:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. His two title wins were over the No. 49 and No. 50 quarterbacks on this list. As great as Manning was, there’s not a ton of Super Bowl film on his highlight reel.
8. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV
Brees was the best version of himself in his only Super Bowl appearance, completing 82 percent of his passes and dashing advertiser’s hopes by delaying Peyton Manning’s second NFL championship.
7. Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XXIX
Young won three Super Bowls but only started one of them — and what a start it was. He dusted the Chargers for a record six touchdowns, racking up 374 total yards in the process. If not for five years as Joe Montana’s understudy, he might have a strong argument to jump to the first tier.
6. Eli Manning, New York Giants, Super Bowls XLII and XLVI
Manning was .500 as an NFL starting quarterback in the regular season, but something crazy happened when you paired him up with a dominant pass rush in the playoffs. He was 8-4 in the postseason, with two of those wins coming over Tom Brady and the Patriots with the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the line. His career passer rating was 84.1 — in the Super Bowl, it was 96.2.
The G.O.A.T. arguments
5. Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX
Aikman’s first Super Bowl was his best, a four-touchdown performance that ruined Buffalo’s hopes of snapping a two-game title game losing streak. He was worse in 1994 and still beat the Bills by 17. In fact, Aikman’s been the source of some of the least dramatic Super Bowls in NFL history; none of his three starts were decided by single digits.
4. Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers, Super Bowls I, II
3. Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, XIV
Starr’s 452 yards over two Super Bowls make him the most prolific passer of the early Super Bowl era. Bradshaw went 4-0 in Super Bowls and his 112.8 rating ranks only behind Joe Montana on the list of quarterbacks who played in more than two Super Bowls. These guys were legitimately great regardless of era.
2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots, Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII, XLVI, XLIX, 51, 52, 53
Tom Brady in the Super Bowl:
- 6-3
- 315 yards per game
- 18:6 TD:INT ratio
- 65.3% completion rate
- 7.2 yards per pass
- 0 rushing touchdowns
- 95.6 passer rating
These are very good numbers! But, Brady was pretty subpar in Super Bowl 53, even if he walked away with a win. He threw a terrible interception on his first pass of the night, failed to find the end zone, and completed passes to only five players in his ninth Super Bowl appearance.
But still. Nine Super Bowls. Six wins. And he threw for 67 yards on what turned out to be his team’s game-winning fourth quarter drive. Brady stays at No. 2.
1. Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV
Joe Montana in the Super Bowl:
- 4-0
- 286 yards per game
- 11:0 TD:INT ratio
- 68% completion rate
- 9.4 yards per pass
- 2 rushing touchdowns
- 127.8 passer rating
A sixth championship ring might make Brady the better quarterback in the big game, but it’s tough to imagine a quarterback — any quarterback — with a better Super Bowl record than Montana, who was perfect under the brightest lights. Brady has the stronger history of comebacks — he’s led five different fourth-quarter, game-winning drives — but Montana is, well, flawless.
Brady is great, and he will probably hold the record for most NFL championships of any quarterback for a very, very long time. But if you need one man to step up in the Super Bowl, history suggests Montana was the safer bet.
