Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: # 21 - Bart Starr

Bart Starr

Bart Starr has won more championships than any other quarterback in history, winning two Super Bowls and 3 NFL Championships before that, and is the only QB to win the championship in 3 consecutive seasons since the playoff system was instituted, yet somehow he finds himself outside the top 20 quarterbacks of all time.

The biggest reason that Starr finds himself this low in the rankings is that despite his long (16 year) career, he was only among the top quarterbacks for five seasons, and those happen to be the seasons that the Packers won.

He started out as a 17th round pick in 1956, and spent his first 5 seasons splitting time at quarterback with lower-caliber players. He then spent 10 seasons as a full-time starter, but the most touchdowns he ever threw in a season was 16. During that same timespan, at total of 10 other quarterbacks passed for at least 30 touchdowns in a season, so it wasn't the run-happy era many assume it was, it was just that Starr was an average quarterback.

What makes him one of the greats was his ability to win when it mattered. He won his first title in 1961, when he threw 164 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Packers trounced the Giants 37-0. It was easily his best performance in a title game, and he threw only 4 total touchdowns in his other 4 championships, with 684 yards total. He was named the MVP of the first two Super Bowls, but it was due more to the lack of other decent choices than his level of performance.

He was also a league MVP in 1966, a season in which he passed for 2257 yards and 14 touchdowns, but threw only 3 picks. The team's 12-2 record was the bigger reason for his MVP, since there were players with twice as many touchdowns and 1000 more passing yards who were overlooked, including Len Dawson and Sonny Jurgensen.

Bart Starr was a very good quarterback who played for the greatest coach in history, and that enabled him to become a 5-time champion. That has allowed him to be remembered as one of the all-time greats, but we shouldn't exaggerate his greatness based solely on his playoff success.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #22 - Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger was the third quarterback taken in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, but so far he has been the most successful of the trio, which also included Eli Manning and Philip Rivers.

He was expected to begin his career as a backup, but within the first two weeks of his rookie season, both quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart went down with injuries, thrusting him into the starting role. Although he didn't have impressive numbers, he did lead the Steelers to a 13-0 record in his starts, and they finished 15-1, the best in the league. He led them to an overtime victory in his first playoff game, but ended up losing to the Patriots in the AFC title game.

The following season, he remained an average starter, but the Steelers were once again good enough to make the playoffs, and he was very good in three consecutive road playoff wins, throwing for 680 yards, 7 touchdowns, and only one interception as they made it to the Super Bowl as a 6th seed. He was not as good in the Super Bowl, throwing for only 123 yards and 2 picks, but the title was handed to them by poor refereeing.

They were unable to match the feat in 2006 after Roethlisberger suffered serious injuries in an off-season motorcycle accident, and they didn't even make the playoffs, while Big Ben had the worst season of his career, leading the league in interceptions and setting his career low in completion percentage.

He improved over the next two years, setting a career high in touchdowns in 2007 with 32, and leading the Steelers back to the Super Bowl in 2008, this time winning two home games en route. He played better this time, throwing 256 yards and the game-winning touchdown against Arizona, making him a two-time champ, even though he still has not won an MVP.

He had a bit of a down year in 2010 overall, but managed to make another run to the Super Bowl, where he lost in the title game for the first time, although his play was equal to that of his previous Super Bowl. He has been very consistent for his entire career, missing only a few games to injury and suspension, but his best overall season came in 2014, the season that just ended.

In 2014 he led the league in passing yardage with 4952, his career high by over 600, and tied his career high with 32 touchdowns while tossing only 9 picks all season. Unfortunately, the amazing regular season didn't translate over into the postseason, where they were upset by the Ravens in the first round.

He is a two-time Super Bowl champ with three overall appearances, but wasn't the best quarterback in any of those three games. During his first 10 seasons, he was a good solid starter, but didn't reach elite status until last season. If he continues his high level of play, he could end up making it into the top 15 or possibly the top 10.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #23 - Warren Moon

Warren Moon

Warren Moon is quite possibly the one quarterback on this list who overcame the most on his way to greatness. He was not recruited by any major college to play quarterback, so he went the junior college route, where he impressed enough to get an offer from Washington. Despite a strong senior year, he went undrafted in 1978, so he ended up going to play in the CFL.

During his first 5 seasons in Canada, Moon and the Edmonton Eskimos won 5 consecutive championships, a feat that is still unmatched, and he set league records in passing yardage in both 1982 and 1983. After setting numerous records in Canada, he finally received a lot of interest from the NFL, and he finally signed on with the Houston Oilers.

His first 3 years in the NFL did not go quite as planned. He was starting every game for Houston, but he threw more picks than touchdowns in each of those seasons. He finally pulled it together in 1987, when he led Houston to their first playoff berth since 1980 and even won a playoff game, something he did not do much over the rest of his career.

He continued to improve steadily over the next few years, peaking in 1990, when he led the league with 4689 yards and 33 touchdowns, while throwing only 13 interceptions. He wasn't able to win in the playoffs, but he came back strong again in 1991, again topping the league in passing yards. That season he won a playoff game for the third and last time in his career, meaning that he never even saw a conference championship game.

He remained a starter in the league for another 7 years, but could never translate the regular season success to the playoffs. He had an incredibly long career, playing 17 seasons in the NFL after 6 seasons in Canada, and he started the majority of his team's games in each of his first 15 seasons. When he retired, he was in the top 5 all-time in completions, attempts, yardage, and touchdowns. He was also the first black quarterback elected to the Hall of Fame, and at the same time became the first undrafted quarterback to be enshrined. He may not have the playoff success of many of the QB's on this list, but very few can match the sheer volume he put up over the course of his career, which is why he is in this spot.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: # 24 - Sammy Baugh

Sammy Baugh

Sammy Baugh is by far the oldest quarterback to make it into this countdown, and while his statistics don't look eye-popping by today's standards, he was easily the top QB of his era, and is often credited as the person who first popularized the forward pass as a standard football play.

Baugh was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the first round in 1937, at a time when quarterback wasn't even considered a position. He started out as a tailback, but back then the ball was snapped to anyone in the backfield, and as a rookie he set a league record for completions in a season, with 81, and led the league with 1127 yards, 300 yards more than his nearest competition.

Not only did he introduce the league to true passing that year, he also led the Redskins to the Eastern Division title, which earned them a berth in the championship game. They played that game against the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field, and Baugh threw for 335 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Washington to an upset victory, 28-21. His 335 yards remained the playoff rookie record until 2012, when Russell Wilson broke it, a run of 75 years.

The Redskins finished in second place the next two years, which kept them out of the title game, but they made it back in 1940, as Baugh led the league again with 1367 yards and 12 touchdowns, getting them into the title game against Chicago again. It didn't go as well as it had before, with the Bears scoring the biggest win in league history, 73-0. Washington threw 8 interceptions altogether in that game, 2 coming from Baugh.

They again met the Bears in the 1942 and 1943 title games, winning the first and losing the second, giving him 2 titles in 4 tries during his first 7 seasons. Then in 1945, he set a new league record for completion percentage, at 70.3%, which would remain the record for 37 years, and is still the fourth-highest in league history. They lost to the Cleveland Browns 15-14 in that season's title game, his fifth appearance in the big game.

By the time he retired in 1952, he had led the league in passing yards 4 times, touchdowns twice, and completion percentage 9 times. He threw for nearly 3000 yards in 1947, went to 5 title games, and won two championships. He was also one of the original 17 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His numbers don't look incredible compared to some of today's QB's, but he was a winner, an innovator, and far ahead of his time.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #25 - Randall Cunningham

Randall Cunningham

Randall Cunningham had a 16-year NFL career, but an assortment of injuries derailed his career, and he only ended up spending 7 seasons as a full-time starter. He started out as a 2nd-round pick in 1985, and spent his first two seasons backing up Ron Jaworski.

In just his second season as a starting QB, he made history as the first black quarterback ever to be named a starting quarterback in the Pro Bowl. That season he threw for 3808 yards, his career high, and also tossed 24 touchdowns while running for another 6. The Eagles made the playoffs that season, but would fail to win a playoff game, which was a pattern throughout his career.

He was just as stellar over the next two seasons, making two more Pro Bowls while keeping up the same level of production, reaching 30 touchdown passes for the first time in 1990. That year he also ran for 942 yards, but lost in his first playoff game for the third straight year as well.

1991 was the first time that a major injury would hit Cunningham, when he tore his ACL while being tackled in the first game of the season. Without him, the Eagles missed the playoffs, but he would return healthy the next year. Although he wasn't able to match his previous production in his first year back, he did get Philly back to the playoffs, where they won a game for the first time in 12 years.

He spent much of the following season sitting out due to injury, with the Eagles going 4-0 when he played and 4-8 when he didn't. The next season he played through a series of minor injuries, and it was the first time in years that the Eagles missed the playoffs with Cunningham at the helm. That failure led to his benching in 1995, and he decided to retire at the end of the season, feeling unappreciated.

After one season away from the game, the Minnesota Vikings talked him out of retirement, and he spent most of 1997 as a backup, but took over as the starter late in the season and took them to an upset of the Giants in the wild card round. The next season he was named the full-time starter for Minnesota, and it led to the best season of his career.

That season he threw for 3704 yards, just short of a career high, and 34 touchdowns, the best he had ever done. Even more importantly, he led Minnesota to a 15-1 overall record, and the team scored what was then a record 556 points during the regular season. They won their first playoff game, but were upset by Atlanta in the NFC title game when the Falcons scored a touchdown late in regulation, then hit a field goal in overtime to finish them off.

He was unable to repeat the performance the following season, getting benched after throwing 9 picks in the first 6 games, and he would spend the final 3 seasons of his career as a backup. Like Rivers before him, he only made one trip to the conference title game, but he was a consistent Pro Bowler, one of the best running quarterbacks of his era, and locked up this spot in the rankings after his amazing comeback with the Vikings.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #26 - Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers is the next quarterback in my countdown, and his placement here is pretty interesting, because the man ranked two spots below him, Eli Manning, was traded for him on draft day in 2004. Even though Manning has had more postseason success, Rivers has been far superior in regular season success.

Rivers did not start a game in his first two seasons with San Diego, throwing a total of 30 passes while backing up Drew Brees. When Brees left as a free agent in 2006, Rivers was promoted and immediately became a strong player, leading the Chargers to a 14-2 record in his first season at the helm. They lost to New England in their first playoff game, however, wasting their best chance at a title.

He was pretty solid again the next season, leading the Chargers to another division title, and this time they won a couple playoff games, ultimately falling to the Patriots once again in the AFC title game, coming up just a game short of making the Super Bowl.

The following season was his best as a pro, as he threw for a league-leading 34 touchdowns and led the Chargers to their third straight division title, as well as an upset of Peyton Manning and the Colts in the wild card game. It was also the first time he eclipsed 4000 yards, something he has done 5 more times since.

He has also led the league in passing yards once, with 4710 in 2010, and completion percentage, at 69.5% in 2013. He has reached 4000 yards 6 times, and 30 touchdowns 4 times, while winning 4 division titles and starting every game for 9 straight seasons, which is good for the 4th-longest streak of all time, behind Favre and the Manning brothers. While he has only made it to the conference title game once in his career, he has still been so good for so long that he has earned the right to sit ahead of the man he was traded for, at least for now.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #27 - Ken Anderson

Ken Anderson

Ken Anderson is one of the best quarterbacks in history that has yet to be elected to the Hall of Fame, but his long career as one of the top quarterbacks in the league should be enough for him to be a member.

Anderson was a 3rd round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1971, and by the end of his rookie year he had taken over as the starting quarterback for Cincy. He improved steadily for his first 5 seasons, hitting his first peak in 1975, when 3000 yards and 20 touchdowns for the first time in his career and led the Bengals to an 11-3 record, the best record they achieved during Anderson's career. They earned the wild card that season, but could not beat the Raiders, even with Anderson's 201 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Things went downhill from there for the rest of the decade, with Anderson throwing more interceptions that touchdowns and missing the playoffs for 5 straight seasons. It appeared that his run as Cincinnati's starter was drawing to a close, especially after he was benched at halftime of the opening game in 1981. Coach Forrest Gregg decided to give him one more chance, starting him in week 2, and it turned out to be the jump start he needed to have the best season of his career.

By the end of the season, he had thrown for 3754 yards, eclipsing his previous career high by nearly 600 yards, and 29 touchdowns, 8 higher than his old record. He was named the league MVP and Comeback Player of the Year for his performance. The Bengals finished at 12-4, the top record in the AFC, and defeated Buffalo and San Diego on their way to the Super Bowl. It was the first time the franchise had even won a playoff game. Anderson was very good in the Super Bowl, throwing for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns while running for another, but Joe Montana and San Francisco beat them 26-21.

He was even better the next season, which was shortened to 9 games by a strike, throwing for 2495 yards and an NFL record 70.6% completion percentage, topped off by a 7-2 record and a return trip to the playoffs, but they were blown out in their first playoff game. He remained the starter for a couple more years, but was always hurt or ineffective, and was replaced by Boomer Esiason as the starter. He remained on as his backup for two seasons before retiring.

Other than the Super Bowl season, he did not have any playoff success at all, but he was one of the top quarterbacks in the league for 4 seasons, and was a solid player for several more. He won the MVP in 1981 and should have won it in 1975, all while leading a franchise that had always been a laughing stock to the brink of a championship. All of that is why he is one of the all-time greats.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #28 - Eli Manning

Eli Manning

Eli Manning was also the #1 overall pick in the draft, picked in 2004 by San Diego and immediately traded to the Giants. He became the starter midway through his rookie season, and has started every game since. He is the active leader in consecutive starts, with 167, which is #3 all-time, behind only Brett Favre and his brother Peyton.

The biggest reason Eli is this high on the all-time list is that he is a 2-time Super Bowl Champion. The first came in 2008, when they faced the undefeated New England Patriots, the only team to finish 16-0 in a regular season, and he outplayed Tom Brady, leading the Giants on the championship-winning drive over the last two minutes to earn his first Super Bowl MVP trophy.

His second Super win came 4 years later, when the Giants eked into the playoffs with a 9-7 record, but Manning went on a tear in the playoffs, throwing for 923 yards, 8 touchdowns, and only 1 pick in the first three playoff games, two of which came on the road. They again faced New England in the Super Bowl, and though he only threw one touchdown, it was enough to pull off another upset and take home another Super Bowl MVP trophy.

That season Manning also became the only player in history to throw for over 4900 yards in a season and win the Super Bowl, a pretty impressive accomplishment. Other than that year, he has never been a great regular season quarterback, but he has rarely been bad. He has struggled in the playoffs aside from those two great seasons, losing all 3 other games he has played in.

Although he has always lived in the shadow of his older brother, Eli has carved out his own place in history. He is a 2-time champion, 2-time Super Bowl MVP, a long-term iron man, and has put up some big numbers. And while he has won one fewer Super Bowl than Troy Aikman, who sits behind him on this list, Manning was much better in the playoffs than Aikman, and put up much better regular season numbers than the Cowboy, eclipsing 20 TD's 9 times to Aikman's one.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #29 - Troy Aikman

Troy Aikman

Troy Aikman is the first quarterback to appear on this list who won at least 3 Super Bowls, so it seems a little strange to see him ranked this low. The truth is, apart from those 3 championship seasons, he didn't do that much, and he had a rather short career, so he doesn't even get the benefit of longevity.

Aikman was the #1 overall pick in the 1989 draft, but his rookie season was a disaster. His record as a starter was 0-11, and he threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. In all, over his first three years, he threw for 31 touchdowns and 46 interceptions, and the Cowboys were 14-24 when he started.

Everything turned around very quickly. Aikman was finally fully healthy in 1992, and Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith had blossomed into star players. That year, Dallas finished with a 13-3 record and upset MVP Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game to get to the Super Bowl. He was even named the MVP of the Super Bowl after throwing 273 yards and 4 touchdowns without an interception in the 52-17 blowout.

The next season he led the league with a 69.1% completion percentage, but he threw only 15 touchdowns over a full season. Dallas did earn the best record in the league at 12-4, but it was Emmitt Smith who was named the league MVP. They returned to the Super Bowl by running through San Francisco again, then beat Buffalo again in the Super Bowl, but this time Aikman did not throw a touchdown pass, as Emmitt Smith ran the Bills into the ground en route to his first Super Bowl MVP.

He was even less effective the next season, throwing only 13 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, and he was unable to get past San Francisco in the NFC Championship, so they failed to three-peat. In 1995 he managed to get his interceptions back down, and the Cowboys returned to the Super Bowl, where they beat the Steelers, though Aikman only threw 1 TD.

He played 5 more seasons, but was not too effective, winning only one more playoff game for the remainder of his career. In all, he only reached 20 touchdowns once in his career and never reached 3500 yards in a season. He was only a top quarterback for 4 seasons, and though he won three titles during that span, he did nothing else of note in his entire career, and wasn't even that great when they won the final 2 titles. #29 is right where he belongs.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #30 - Len Dawson

Len Dawson

Len Dawson was the #5 overall draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1957, but he was unable to take over the starting job in 3 seasons in Pittsburgh, so they traded him to Cleveland, where he faced the same problem. In his first 5 seasons in the league, he threw a total of 45 passes, only two for touchdowns, definitely not the kind of start you'd expect from a first-round pick.

He caught his lucky break in 1962 when he signed on with the Dallas Texans of the AFL. In his first season, he led the league in touchdown passes (29) and completion percentage (61.0), and he led them to the best record in the Western Division, at 11-3. Although he only threw for 88 yards in the title game, the Texans were able to defeat Houston due to George Blanda's 5 interceptions.

The team moved to Kansas City the following season, and while the Chiefs failed to make the playoffs in their first three seasons, Dawson still led the league twice each in touchdowns and completion percentage. In 1966, he led them back to the playoffs when he led the league in both categories again, and they defeated Buffalo behind 227 yards and 2 touchdowns from Dawson. That earned them the right to play in the first-ever Super Bowl, which they lost 35-10 to Green Bay.

Three years later was one of the most memorable of his career. He missed 5 games with a severe knee injury, but came back in time to lead the Chiefs back to the playoffs, where they pulled off 3 straight upsets to become Super Bowl champions. He was named the MVP of the Super Bowl after he threw the game's only passing touchdown late in the 4th quarter to put the game away. It was also the second straight time an AFL team won the Super Bowl, and validated the AFL as equal with the NFL in the final game before the merger between the two leagues.

Dawson played another 6 seasons in Kansas City, and although he only saw the playoffs once more, he did enough in his first 8 years as a Chief to earn this spot on the list. He led the AFL in touchdowns 4 times, completion percentage 6 times, won 3 AFL titles and a Super Bowl as the MVP. He wasn't a big yardage guy, but he was accurate and a winner, and he belongs in the top 30.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #31 - Jim Kelly

Jim Kelly

Jim Kelly is best known for being the only quarterback to start in 4 consecutive Super Bowls, but his making this list actually has very little to do with that. He quarterbacked some great teams and was always solid in the regular season, but was usually not at his best during the playoffs, which may be a big part of the reason he never won a Super Bowl.

Kelly was drafted by Buffalo in 1983, but he had no desire to play for the Bills, so he signed on with the USFL's Houston Gamblers, where he set league records for passing that nobody else was close to, but when the league folded in 1986, he had no choice but to join Buffalo.

The Bills were struggling through the rebuilding process for his first couple of seasons in Buffalo, but starting in 1988, they would make the playoffs 8 times in 9 seasons. He peaked in 1990, when he led the Bills to a 13-3 record, best in the AFC, and led the league with a 63.3% completion percentage while throwing a career-low 9 interceptions.

That season was the only time he played well in the playoffs, throwing for 639 yards and 5 touchdowns in the first two games, which earned Buffalo its first-ever Super Bowl berth. Kelly was solid in the Super Bowl, throwing for 212 yards, but did not throw a touchdown, and the Bills lost at the last moment when Scott Norwood missed the winning field goal with 8 seconds left in the game.

The following season he led them back to 13-3, and they again made the Super Bowl, but it was in spite of Kelly, who threw for only 390 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in the two games leading up to the big game. He added 4 more picks in the Super Bowl as the Bills lost to Washington 37-24.

In 1992 he missed the first two playoff games due to injury, including the biggest comeback in playoff history and a blowout upset of the Steelers. He returned in time to help Buffalo upset Miami, but struggled in the Super Bowl, throwing 2 picks before going down again and being replaced as Dallas ran away 52-17.

It was more of the same in 1993, as Buffalo advanced to the Super Bowl threw for only 447 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first two playoff games, then again failed to throw a touchdown in the Super Bowl as they fell to Dallas again, this time 30-13.

He played another 3 years, making two more playoff appearances, but he lost his best chance at a title when that kick missed in his first trip to the big game. He never played up to his potential again in the playoffs, and that is a big part of the reason that he isn't ranked higher on this list, but he was good enough in all those years of leading Buffalo to the playoffs that he has to be part of this countdown.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #32 - Joe Theismann

Joe Theismann

Today Joe Theismann is probably best known for the gruesome leg injury that ended his career in 1985, but in the few seasons leading up to that he had become one of the top quarterbacks in the game, and who knows how much more he would have accomplished had he been able to keep playing.

He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1971, but after being unable to reach a contract agreement, he elected to play in the CFL, where he was an all-star twice in three seasons. In 1974, Miami gave up and traded his rights to Washington, and he decided to move back to the States and join his new team. He was a punt returner for his first couple of seasons, before moving up to backup quarterback for two years, then finally starting quarterback in 1978, at the age of 29.

He improved slowly year by year, increasing his passing yardage each year through 1981, when he threw for 3568, but Washington could not make the playoffs. That changed in 1982, when the season was shortened to 9 games by a strike. Theismann led the Redskins to an 8-1 record, tops in the league, then plowed through the first three rounds of the playoffs, winning all three games by at least 14 points.

The Redskins relied heavily on running back John Riggins in Super Bowl XVII, but it was Riggins who made one of the biggest plays of the game. Late in the third quarter, with his team trailing 17-13, Theismann's pass was tipped at the line and was about to be intercepted when Theismann stepped in and batted the ball away, preventing a sure touchdown and a double-digit deficit. Washington went on to win 27-17.

The following season was the best of his career, as he threw for career highs of 3714 yards and 29 touchdowns, and again led Washington to the league's best record, this time at 14-2. He was named the league MVP for his performance, and it kept going in the playoffs, as the Redskins outscored their first two opponents 75-28 on their way to a repeat appearance in the Super Bowl. He lost the chance at a repeat title, though, when he was outplayed by Jim Plunkett and the Raiders, losing the game 38-9.

1984 brought another playoff berth and division title, but they were surprised by the Chicago Bears in the playoffs, ending their season prematurely. He was off to a rough start in 1985 when his career ended on a sack by Lawrence Taylor. As he was taken down, his lower leg was snapped in half, and when it healed, his right leg was significantly shorter than the left, forcing him to retire.

He got a late start on his career, and it ended earlier than expected, but at his peak in 1982 and 1983, he led his team to a 28-4 overall record and won an MVP and a Super Bowl. The strength of those two seasons is what earned him this position on the all-time list.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #33 - Daunte Culpepper

Daunte Culpepper

Daunte Culpepper does not seem to belong on this list, especially given the short duration of his career as a starting quarterback, but what he did during that short time helped him move ahead of several quarterbacks who played for much longer.

Culpepper was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1999 NFL Draft and spent the first year of his career riding the bench, but became a starter the next season and had an amazing few years before injuries derailed his career. In 2000 he threw for 3937 yards and a league-leading 33 touchdowns, and he also rushed for 7 touchdowns, most among NFL quarterbacks. A season like that was very impressive for a man who hadn't thrown a pro pass before the season.

The success, however, was short-lived, as he struggled with accuracy over the next two years, throwing more picks than touchdowns. He did rush for 10 touchdowns in 2002, however, which is still the 6th-best mark for a quarterback in league history, which kept that period of his career from being a total disaster.

He improved his accuracy in 2003, with a TD:INT ratio of 25:11, but Minnesota still missed the postseason for the third straight year, but he was just building up to a great performance in 2004. That season was one of the best for a QB in history, as he led the league with 4717 passing yards, threw 39 touchdowns with only 11 picks, and ran for 406 yards, which helped him break Dan Marino's record for most total yardage in a season.

He was unable to match the feat the next season, struggling mightily through 7 games before going down with a major knee injury, tearing 3 ligaments in one knee. He would never be the same after the injury, and although he did manage to start 20 games over the next 4 seasons for 3 different teams, he was just a ghost of his former self.

Although it may seem that he didn't accomplish much during the short time he was healthy, add together one great season and one of the greatest seasons ever recorded, and you have a career worth remembering as one of the best we've ever seen.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #34

Tony Romo

Tony Romo is one of those guys that everybody loves to hate, and most are convinced that he is not and has never been a great NFL quarterback, but neither is true. He has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL for 9 years, and though his playoff success has been nearly nonexistent, he has still done enough to be ranked.

Romo's story is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he was not even drafted by an NFL team, and spent his first three seasons as as third string quarterback for the Cowboys, never throwing a single pass. His hard work finally paid off in 2006, when he was inserted in place of an ineffective Drew Bledsoe, and he has not given up the starting gig since.

It is hard to pinpoint which season has been his best, but a strong contender would be 2007, his first full season as a starter, in which he threw for 4211 yards and 36 touchdowns, which is still his career high. The Cowboys also finished 13-3 that season, their best record under his leadership.

He missed most of the 2010 season due to a broken clavicle, and though he rebounded statistically rather quickly, the Cowboys missed the playoffs 4 straight seasons, but in 2014 he finally got Dallas back over the hump, leading the league with a 69.9% completion rate while throwing 34 touchdowns and only 9 picks, and bringing the Cowboys a division title. He also had his first ever good playoff performance, throwing for 484 yards and 4 touchdowns over 2 games, without turning the ball over once.

While he still cannot be called a real winner, he has had a career of decent length, and has been a strong QB for nearly a decade in the era with the greatest competition at the position in history. For those reasons, he deserves inclusion on this list, but obviously can't be ranked any higher, where many of his contemporaries rank.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #35

Sonny Jurgensen

Every quarterback I have profiled so far has been missing something that could have put them in the very top tier of quarterbacks, and today's player is no exception. Sonny Jurgensen was a record-breaking quarterback for many years, but lacked the winning edge, never making the playoffs as a starter.

He was drafted in 1957 by the Philadelphia Eagles, where he played backup for his first 4 seasons, including the 1960 championship season in which Norm Van Brocklin led them to the title. When Van Brocklin retired after the season, Jurgensen became the starter for the Eagles, and immediately showed that he was worth the wait, setting the league record in passing yards with 3723 and tying the record with 32 touchdown passes. Philly ended the season at 10-4, but finished a half game behind the Giants for the berth in the championship game.

He led the league in passing yards again in 1962, but the Eagles struggled, finishing 3-10-1, good for last place in the East. After missing half of 1963 to injuries, Philadelphia traded their QB to Washington. It took a couple seasons, but he worked himself back into league-leading form, finishing first in passing yards again in 1966.

His best season in Washington came in 1967, when he broke his own record for passing yards in a season, racking up 3747, while coming up just short of the touchdown record, ending up with only 31, but still the Redskins could not manage to make the playoffs. In 1969 he led the league in passing yards for the fifth time, and also finished first in completion percentage, at 62.0%

The Redskins started to improve in the early 1970's, but it happened while Jurgensen was injured, starting only 13 games over his final 4 seasons. In 1974, at age 40, he made his first and only appearance in a playoff game as quarterback, throwing for 78 yards and 3 interceptions in relief of Billy Kilmer.

He may not have met the winning criteria during his career, but he was consistently among the league passing leaders for an entire decade, giving his the performance and longevity needed to earn him a spot on this list.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #36

Rich Gannon

It is quite common for a quarterback to need a few years before hitting his stride and beginning to really contribute to a team, but Rich Gannon took that to the extreme. It wasn't until his 12th season, in which he was 34 years old, that Gannon finally became a quarterback worth noticing, but his next 4 seasons were absolutely great.

Gannon was a true journeyman by the time he reached Oakland in 1999. He was drafted by New England, traded to Minnesota, then Washington, then signed with Kansas City before arriving in northern California. He had never been a full-time starter when he got there, but he was a perfect fit in Oakland's system, and he led them to some of the best days the Raiders had seen in a while.

In 1999 he reached the top 10 in passing yards and #4 in touchdowns, with 3840 and 24, but the Raiders finished one game outside the playoffs. The numbers were by far his career highs at the time, and he was finally cemented into a starting job.

The following year his numbers were equally impressive, 3430 yards and 28 touchdowns, but he also led the Raiders to their best record in a decade, at 12-4. They even won their first playoff game 27-0, which advanced them to the AFC Championship Game, which they lost to Baltimore. It was pretty impressive for a team that hadn't even made the playoffs in 7 years.

His stats in 2001 were very similar to the previous two seasons, except that he increased his accuracy, connecting on 65.8% of his throws, up from 60.0% the previous year. They made the playoffs again, only to lose to the eventual champion Patriots in the divisional round.

After three very strong years he broke through and had an amazing season, winning the league MVP award with a league-leading 4689 yards, along with 26 touchdowns and a 67.6% completion percentage. Oakland won their division for the third straight year, and this time he took them even farther, getting clear to Super Bowl XXXVII, where they met the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He turned in an uncharacteristically poor performance in the Super Bowl, finishing with only 272 yards and 2 touchdowns, but 5 interceptions, 3 of which were returned for touchdowns. Many have blamed this on the fact that Tampa's new coach was Jon Gruden, who had been coaching the Raiders and Gannon the previous season. Oakland's new coach had not changed any of the team's plays or audibles, despite the fact that Coach Gruden still knew them.

Gannon played two more seasons for Oakland, but was injured more often than he was healthy, and he retired in 2005 at age 39. He may not have won a Super Bowl, and he also had a relatively short period of success as a starter, but he did more during those 4 years than any of the QB's ranked below him on this list.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #37

Tobin Rote

Rote was one of the early pioneers in the NFL, playing most of his career in the 1950's, and while his name isn't remembered much today, he was a very good quarterback who had a couple of great seasons.

Rote was drafted by Green Bay in 1950, and he spent his first 7 years playing for the Packers, who were a struggling team at the time. He improved steadily every year, culminating in his career year in 1956, during which he led the league in completions, passing yards and touchdowns, and led all quarterbacks in rushing yards and touchdowns. Even with his great performance, his team finished 4-8, and he was traded to Detroit, while Green Bay replaced him with Bart Starr.

In his first season with the Lions, he split time at QB with Bobby Layne, but Layne broke his leg late in the season and Rote was given the starting duties just in time for a one-game tiebreaker against the San Francisco 49ers. The Lions trailed 27-7 early in the third quarter, but Rote led them on 4 scoring drives and they won 31-27.

The following week they faced Cleveland in the NFL Championship Game, and he had one of the greatest performances in championship history, finishing with 280 yards, 4 touchdowns without an interception, plus a rushing touchdown, as they destroyed the Browns 59-14. Championship MVP's were not named back then, but it is a sure thing that he would have been the choice.

Rote played for 2 more years in Detroit, but the team could not match their previous greatness, and Rote was released after the 1959 season. Finding no NFL team to join, he went to play in the CFL, where he played 3 seasons and set a number of records (although none of that was taken into account for this list).

In 1963 the AFL came calling, and he joined the San Diego Chargers, where he recorded his career highs in passing yards, completion percentage, and touchdown passes, although the competition was better than when he had previously set them. He did have one last hurrah, as he won the AFL MVP and led his team to the championship that season, whipping the Boston Patriots 51-10 behind his 3 touchdowns, two passing and one on the ground. The aging QB played two more seasons before retiring.

While a few of the prime years of his career were cut out by his time in Canada, Rote was a two-time champion who led the league in multiple categories over and over, and his first championship performance was legendary. At least he is able to live on on this list of the all-time greats.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #38

Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco may not seem like a great quarterback, and for the majority of his career he has been just above average, but during one magical postseason run he played at a level that has been nearly unmatched in league history.

Flacco was the Baltimore Ravens' first round draft pick in 2008, and was immediately named the starter. During his 7-season career, he has started every single Ravens game, including 112 in the regular season and 15 in the playoffs. He has also led the Ravens to the playoffs in 6 of those 7 seasons, which is very impressive.

Not only did he lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons, they won at least one game in each of those seasons, becoming the first, and so far only, quarterback in history to achieve that feat. He was also the first rookie quarterback ever to win two playoff games in his first season.

The real magic happened in 2012, his fifth season in the league, when he led Baltimore to the AFC Central title with a 10-6 record, then marched straight through the playoffs, taking out both Denver and New England on the road. Even more impressive is the fact that he outplayed Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in consecutive playoff games, both on the road, guiding the Ravens to their second Super Bowl trip.

In Super Bowl XLVII, he continued his stellar play, finishing with 287 yards and 3 touchdowns, while the Ravens held the lead for the entire game. He tied a playoff record for most touchdown passes in a single postseason, with 11 (along with Kurt Warner and Joe Montana), and also tied Montana's record for most TD passes without an interception during a postseason run. In total, he threw for 1140 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions over the course of 4 games, which will go down as one of the greatest quarterback playoff performances of all time, and probably the best ever for a QB who was not considered a star player.

Flacco is one of the league's most consistent quarterbacks, throwing for over 3600 yards for 6 straight years and at least 20 touchdowns 5 times, while missing the playoffs only once and winning a playoff game in every season in which he made the playoffs. Combine that consistency with one of the all-time greatest playoff runs, and you've got the credentials for one of the top quarterbacks of all time.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #39

Matt Hasselbeck

Matt Hasselbeck is the second active quarterback to appear on this list, although he has hardly played at all in the past two seasons. He is on this this because of his work during his decade as the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, which was the most successful decade in team history.

He arrived in Seattle in 2001, after spending the first two years of his career backing up Brett Favre in Green Bay, and was immediately the team's starting quarterback. He had his first impressive season in 2003, when he finished #4 in the league with 3841 yards and third with 26 touchdowns, and Seattle made its first of 5 consecutive playoff appearances, losing to his former team in overtime in his first ever playoff game.

His greatest season came two years later, when he led Seattle to a 13-3 record, best in the NFC, and was once again among the leaders in both yards and touchdowns and set career highs in TD:INT ratio and completion percentage. He also led Seattle to its first Super Bowl appearance that year, which they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, although both the referees and the league have since admitted that incorrect calls influenced the result of the game.

He suffered through injuries the next year, including an MCL sprain that caused him to miss 4 games and some broken fingers that decreased his efficiency late in the season, but he came back strong again in 2007, leading Seattle back to the division crown with career highs of 3966 yards and 28 touchdowns. Unfortunately, they lost again to Green Bay in the playoffs.

He spent the next several years battling a variety of injuries, but managed to get healthy in time for the wild card game against defending champion New Orleans, and he outplayed Drew Brees with 272 yards, 4 touchdowns, and just one interception as Seattle pulled off one of the biggest upsets in playoff history.

After that season he started for just over a year for Tennessee, then signed on with Indianapolis to be Andrew Luck's backup, where you will find him still today. The work he did in Seattle, especially from 2003-2007, including 5 straight playoff appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl, are what makes his one of the all-time greats.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #40

John Brodie

John Brodie is a name that is now nearly forgotten, partly due to the greatness of later 49ers quarterbacks, and partly because of his lack of success in the playoffs, but he was considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of his time.

Brodie spent his entire life in the Bay Area, being born in San Francisco, going to college at Stanford, then being drafted by his hometown 49ers. For the majority of his career only two teams advanced past the regular season, so postseason success was rare. He played for San Francisco for 17 years, making three playoff appearances late in his career, but he was very consistent throughout his prime.

His breakout season came in 1965, his 9th in the NFL, when he led the league with 3112 yards and 30 touchdowns, and he received a huge contract offer from the Houston Oilers of the AFL to jump leagues. After rumors of a merger surfaced and the 49ers upped their offer, he elected to stay home and continue on with the Niners.

His very best season came 5 years later, in 1970, when he again led the league in both yardage and touchdowns, with 2941 and 24, but his team finished 10-3-1, earning the first playoff berth for the 49ers in 13 years. They even managed to win one playoff game, beating the Minnesota Vikings 17-14 behind Brodie's two touchdowns, one passing and one rushing. For his efforts during the regular season Brodie was named the league MVP.

He had just one more good season left in him, as he took San Francisco back to the playoffs once again, managing to win another playoff game before being taken out by Dallas for the second year in a row. He retired at the end of the 1973 season, and at the time he was #3 in league history in passing yardage.

Brodie is another quarterback, like Esiason, who just didn't have the championship pedigree, but put up big numbers for a long time, and with the MVP award under his belt, he has earned the right to be ranked as the #40 quarterback of all time.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #41

Boomer Esiason

Boomer Esiason, like Jim Plunkett, did not make many playoff appearances as a starter, making it out of the regular season just twice in his career, but unlike Plunkett, Boomer was a great QB during the regular season.

Boomer was drafted in 1984 by the Bengals to eventually replace Ken Anderson, and his time to take over came in his second season. While Cincinnati did not see a ton of success during his run as starter, he did finish in the top 10 in both passing yards and touchdowns 7 times in his first 9 seasons.

The biggest reason he is on this list is the 1988 season, in which he finished with 3572 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just 14 interceptions while leading the Bengals to a 12-4 record and the #1 seed in the AFC. For his efforts during that season, Esiason was awarded the league MVP award, becoming only the second Bengal ever to receive it.

That postseason was also the best in Bengal history, as they won each of their first two playoff games easily on their way to face San Francisco in Super Bowl XXIII. Cincinnati took the lead on a field goal with 1:22 remaining in the game, but Joe Montana led a 92-yard touchdown drive to seal the win and keep Cincinnati from their first title. Esiason threw for only 144 yards and one pick in the game, which happened to be his best game of a subpar postseason in which the team rode running back Ickey Woods as far as he could take them.

The Bengals made it back to the playoffs 2 years later, and Esiason played better than the previous time, with 254 yards and 3 touchdowns over two playoff games, but they were knocked out in the divisional round by the Raiders. Boomer Esiason would never see the playoffs again.

A few years later he was traded to the New York Jets, and he had a bit of a renaissance that year, throwing for 3421 yards and 16 touchdowns during the season, but by that point he was 32 years old and on the downside of his career, and he retired in 1997 without ever winning a title.

Boomer never suffered a major injury during the prime of his career, which allowed him to rack up some big numbers. He is currently among the top 20 all-time in passing yards and touchdown passes, and is #1 all-time in both categories among left-handed quarterbacks, but the lack of success in the postseason prevented him from climbing any higher on the all-time list of greatest quarterbacks.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #42

Jim Plunkett

Of the 11 quarterbacks that have won multiple Super Bowls, only Jim Plunkett remains out of the Hall of Fame. Of those same quarterbacks, he is ranked 10th on my list, ahead of only Bob Griese. That doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve to be mentioned among the top QB's of all time, but you must recognize that he doesn't measure up to most of the others who have reached the pinnacle multiple times.

Jim Plunkett was the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft in 1971, being taken by the Boston Patriots. He remains the only player of Hispanic heritage to be the top overall pick in the draft. (His paternal grandfather was Irish, but his 7 other great-grandparents were from Mexico.) He started in New England (they changed their name right after the draft) for 4 1/2 years, but threw more interceptions than touchdowns during all but his rookie season.

Plunkett was traded to San Francisco before the 1976 season, but during his two seasons starting for the 49ers, he again threw more picks than scores, making 6 out of 7 seasons with that dubious distinction. He was let go after the 1977 season, which is when he made his way to Oakland, where he sat on the bench for two seasons, throwing only 15 passes over two full seasons.

Early in the 1980 season, his tenth in the league, his luck finally changed when Dan Pastorini broke his leg and Plunkett was inserted into the starting lineup. For the first time since his rookie season, Plunkett threw more touchdowns than picks (18 to 16), and the Raiders won 9 of his 11 starts. After a home win in the wild card round, Plunkett led the Raiders to three straight upsets, including a win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV in which Plunkett threw for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns without a single interception. He was deservedly named the MVP of the game.

For the next couple years he was back to playing backup, now to Marc Wilson, but after an injury ended Wilson's 1983 season early, Plunkett was again thrust into the starting role. For just the third time in his career, he had more touchdowns than picks (20 to 18), and the Los Angeles Raiders won 12 games, getting them a first-round bye.

Plunkett was not nearly as good in the playoffs as he had been three years earlier, throwing for only 618 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions over three games, but the team was better and didn't need him to do as much. They were again picked to lose in the Super Bowl, but he once again played a mistake-free, although unspectacular, game, and the Raiders upset Joe Theismann and the Washington Redskins 38-9.

He spent the final 3 seasons of his career as a backup again. Had it not been for those two seasons with the Raiders in which the starting quarterbacks were injured, he probably would have been remembered as one of the biggest busts in history, but those two seasons, and especially his performance in his first Super Bowl, did enough to make his career something that is worth celebrating.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #43

Norm Van Brocklin

Norm Van Brocklin may not be a household name, but he was a great quarterback way back in the 1950's, winning titles with two different teams and setting a huge record that has still never been broken.

He began his career in 1949 with the Los Angeles Rams, but the team already had a star quarterback named Bob Waterfield, so he hardly played as a rookie. After that season, the Rams got a new coach with a new approach, a platoon system at quarterback that gave each of them equal time. It worked well, with the Rams advancing to the title game, which they lost 30-28.

The following year the Rams returned to the NFL championship game and earned their revenge, beating the Cleveland Browns 24-17 on Van Brocklin's first-ever playoff TD, a 73-yard pass late in the 4th quarter. That play enabled them to overcome Waterfield's two earlier interceptions, and Van Brocklin was a champ for the first time.

1951 was also the season that Van Brocklin set his most famous record. In the season opener, the Rams were hosting the New York Yanks, who would finish in last place, and Waterfield was out with an injury, so Van Brocklin got to take every snap of the game. That perfect set of circumstances led to him throwing for 554 yards, and record that still stands 64 years later. He also threw 5 touchdowns in that game, which was a huge blowout for the future champs.

The next year the Rams lost a tiebreaker game to Detroit after the regular season, which kept them from their 4th straight championship game, and Waterfield retired after the season ended, which handed the quarterback reins exclusively to Van Brocklin for the first time. The following season was one of his best, with new career highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and TD:INT ratio, but it was also the first time in his career that his team missed the playoffs.

He continued to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league for several more years with the Rams, but only made it back to the title game once more, another loss to Cleveland in 1955. He had won a title in 1951, but had yet to win one as a starter. He grew tired of LA's offensive scheme and decided to retire after the 1957 season, only to unretire after being told he would be traded to Philadelphia.

When he arrived, the Eagles had missed the playoffs 8 straight years, and they did no better in his first season with the new squad, but they improved the following season, posting a winning record for the first time in nearly a decade, then made the big jump in 1960, earning the best record in the league at 10-2. Van Brocklin also won the league MVP honor that season, with 2471 yards and 24 touchdowns, both among the league leaders.

Because they won the Eastern Division, they got to play in the 1960 championship game, in which they faced the Green Bay Packers. The Eagles won that game 17-13 behind 204 yards and a touchdown from Van Brocklin, and he finally earned his title as a starter. He retired a couple weeks after the game to begin a career as a coach, which didn't go nearly as well, but he remains the only quarterback to beat the Packers in a playoff game while Vince Lombardi was the coach.

Other than his one huge single-game passing record, Van Brocklin didn't do anything super flashy during his career, but was a very good quarterback for an entire decade and won 2 NFL titles while narrowly missing a third. That is enough to say that he deserves a place among the all-time greats.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #44

Jake Delhomme

Jake Delhomme is probably the most unexpected player you will find in this countdown. He did not have a long career as a starter, and is not remembered by many outside of Carolina, but he did enough in his first three seasons as a starter to warrant inclusion on this list.

Delhomme went undrafted in the 1997 NFL Draft, signing on with his local New Orleans Saints, where he spent 6 years as a 3rd-string quarterback, playing in only 6 games over 6 years and starting only twice. In 2003, he finally realized that New Orleans was not going to give him a shot to start, and he signed on with Carolina, who wanted him to be a backup for their shaky starter, Rodney Peete.

When he signed on, the Panthers had not made the playoffs in six straight seasons, and things didn't look very good in the first game of the season, with the team going to halftime down 17-0 to Jacksonville. At that point, Delhomme was inserted at quarterback, and he led them to a 24-23 come-from-behind victory, which would become the story of their season. He was named the starter in week 2, and led them to an 11-5 overall record, leading 8 game-winning drives over the course of the season, which is still an NFL record.

His great play did not stop at the end of the regular season. Carolina easily won their Wild Card game against Dallas, then shocked the Saint Louis Rams in double overtime as Jake led yet another game-winning drive. The following week they went to Philadelphia to face the #1 seed, and behind another mistake-free game from Delhomme, the Panthers advanced to their first-ever Super Bowl.

Delhomme had his best game of the playoffs in Super Bowl XXXVIII, putting up 323 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, outplaying Tom Brady by a small margin, but after tying the game up with a touchdown pass with 1:08 remaining, Brady led the Patriots down the field to kick the winning field goal as time expired. Despite losing the Super Bowl, Delhomme was the best overall quarterback that postseason, finishing with 987 yards, 6 touchdowns, and only 1 interception.

Delhomme came back even better the following season, posting career highs with 3886 yards and 29 touchdowns while throwing only 15 picks, but Carolina missed the playoffs after losing their top 2 rushers and best receiver for the majority of the season. When the team finally got healthy again in 2005, Delhomme led them back to the playoffs, where they again made a Cinderella run, winning two road games before falling to Seattle in the NFC championship game.

He was plagued by injuries and interceptions for the next several seasons, which led to his release by Carolina in 2010, but there is no denying that he led the Panthers to the two best seasons in team history and was a major reason for the franchise's big turnaround. While he was never a huge star and flamed out pretty quickly, two deep playoff runs and three very good seasons were just enough to earn him recognition as one of the best to play the position.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #45

George Blanda

George Blanda is one of the most famous names of the early NFL, but the majority of his notoriety comes from what he did as a placekicker, not at the quarterback position, although he was pretty good there as well.

Blanda began his career with the Chicago Bears in 1949, finally earning the starting quarterback job in his fifth season, but it only lasted two years, when an injury ended his season early and caused the Bears to look elsewhere for a QB. He spent the next 4 years as a kicker only, and he became so fed up with Coach Halas' insistence that he would not put him back at quarterback that he retired in 1958.

After one year out of football, the 33-year-old Blanda had the stroke of luck he wanted when the AFL was formed and teams started gobbling up castoff players. He landed with the Houston Oilers, which he led to a 10-4 record and a berth in the first AFL championship game, which they won behind a great game from Blanda, who went 16 for 31, racked up 301 yards, and threw 3 touchdowns without a pick.

The following season he took them back the the championship game, which they again won despite a mediocre game from Blanda, who was only 18 for 40 for 160 yards and the game's only touchdown. The team was able to overcome his 5 interceptions, partly due to the opposing quarterback throwing 4 of his own. He took them to one more title game in 1962, but they failed to threepeat, going down to the Dallas Texans 20-17.

Blanda played 7 seasons with the Oilers, who finally decided that the 39-year-old QB was washed up, but rather than retire, he signed on with the Oakland Raiders to play kicker and backup quarterback, which he did for another 9 years, finally retiring at age 48 as the league's all-time leading scorer.

Among the many record he still holds are oldest player to participate in a game (age 48), most interceptions in a season (42), most extra points made (943 out of 959), and most touchdown passes in a game (7). Despite playing for 26 seasons, he was only a starting quarterback for 9 and only a good one for 3, but his play in the first AFL title game was the reason the Oilers won, and he was good enough in the next two years guiding them to more title games that he qualifies as one of the all-time greatest QB's.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #46

Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson is the first active quarterback to appear in my top 50, but just how can a guy who has only played 3 seasons be included among the greatest of all time?

First of all, consider that there are only 14 quarterbacks in NFL history that have thrown for at least 20 touchdowns and 10 or fewer interceptions in a season during the first three years of their career while leading their team to a winning record. Of those 14, 11 were first-round draft picks (Wilson was not). And even more impressively, among those 14, only 1 has ever done it more than once - Wilson, who has done it in all 3 of his professional seasons.

It is pretty rare for a quarterback to be named the starter before his first NFL game, especially if he was not a first-round pick. It is even rarer for him to keep that job for more than a season. And it is basically unheard of for that quarterback to not only lead his team to three straight winning seasons to open his career, but to win 75% of his regular season games, and average record of 12-4 per season. Wilson has done all of that.

Aside from his accurate passing numbers, it is also important to note that Wilson is one of the best running quarterbacks currently in the NFL. In 2014 he led all quarterbacks with 849 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground, and in 2013 he was #2 in rushing with 539 yards, while in his rookie season he was #3 with 489 yards. With those numbers, he is truly a dual-threat quarterback.

Finally, he is a winner. He has not only won 75% of his regular season games, he has matched that number in the postseason, with 6 wins and only 2 losses, including a Super Bowl win in just his second season and a near-win in season #3. If he had completed his final pass in this year's Super Bowl to a teammate rather than an opponent, he would have become the youngest ever to win two titles, and probably would have jumped between four and six spots higher on this list. At this point, he's got a lot of seasons still ahead, so who knows how high he will climb.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #47

Y.A. Tittle

Yelberton Abraham Tittle is the full name of a quarterback who is often named as one of the early greats, but Y.A. barely made it into my top 50. He retired over 50 years ago, so it's actually somewhat impressive that his career still stands up to many of today's offensive-minded quarterbacks.

He began his career with the Baltimore Colts of the AAFC, a short-lived league that was absorbed into the NFL after Tittle's second year. One year later, then team folded, and Tittle and his teammates were thrown back into the draft to be dispersed among the remaining teams, and Tittle ended up being picked up by San Francisco.

He spend the entire decade of the 1950's in San Francisco, starting most of the games for a team that was almost always in the middle of the pack in the Western Division, back in the days before playoffs existed and you had to win your division to play in the championship game. During his 10 years leading the 49ers, they tied for the division lead once, which put them in a one-game playoff with Detroit, who beat them to advance to the title game.

He was traded to the New York Giants prior to the 1961 season, and he most likely wouldn't be on this list if that hadn't happened. Despite playing only four seasons in New York before retiring, Tittle amassed some amazing numbers that made him one of the greats. He was named MVP in 1961, 1962, and 1963, leading the Giants to the Eastern Division title each time, but losing in the championship game all three times, twice to Green Bay and once to Chicago.

Even though he did not win a championship during his career, or even a playoff game, his passing prowess was amazing. In 1962 he threw for 3224 yards and 33 touchdowns, 4 more than any other quarterback that season. The following season was even better, with 3145 yards and an NFL-record 36 touchdowns with only 14 interceptions.

He is the second quarterback in a row to make this list without earning any credit for playoff performance, but his great play in those two season in particular were enough to get him included on the list of the greatest of all time.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #48

John Hadl

John is one of the most obscure quarterbacks on my list, and for good reason. First of all, his best seasons came in the 1960's AFL, and through his entire career as a starter he only guided his team to the playoffs two times, and did not pick up a win in either playoff appearance. John is here completely due to his performance during the regular season.

He took over as starter for the San Diego Chargers in the middle of the 1964 season, while they were still the defending champions of the AFL. Over the course of the next 8 seasons, he was in the top 5 (NFL and AFL combined) in terms of passing yards and touchdowns 6 times, but was always kept from greatness by his penchant for throwing interceptions, throwing over 20 in a season 7 times.

John was traded to the Los Angeles Rams before the 1973 season, and for the first time in 9 years made the playoffs, leading them to a 12-2 record, tops in the league. Even with the high expectations, they were upset in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys, and he was again traded the following season, this time to Green Bay.

The trade to Green Bay has gone down as one of the most lopsided in history, with Hadl way past his prime and unable to guide a team that hadn't made the playoffs in 7 years going one way, and 5 early-round draft picks going the other. It would be 20 years before the Packers would make the playoffs again.

It is hard to determine which one his season was statistically best, but the season that did the most to get him into the top 50 was 1967, when he near the top in every passing category, finishing with 3365 yards and 24 touchdowns while guiding San Diego to an 8-5-1 record. He may not meet the criteria of being a winner, but he was a very good offensive player who maintained his high level of play for a full decade, which has earned him a spot in the lower reaches of my countdown.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #49

Danny White

In the early days of the NFL, it was not uncommon for a team's quarterback to pull double duty as a punter or kicker, but this practice was almost completely phased out by the late 1960's, when player specialization really took hold. The only notable exception in the past 50 years was Danny White, Dallas' quarterback for much of the 1980's, who also handled the team's punting for 8 seasons.

White set 7 NCAA passing records during his career at Arizona State, but was disappointed to be drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, who had a star quarterback in the prime of his career by the name of Roger Staubach. Dallas wanted to bring him in as a punter, but he felt he belonged at QB, so he joined the USFL for a couple years before the league folded and he decided to take Dallas' offer to play punter and backup quarterback. In that role he was a member of the Super Bowl XII champions, and even got the chance to play quarterback for a series in the fourth quarter. He spent 4 years backing up the legend in Dallas before finally getting his chance at the helm in 1980.

None of the above helped White make this list, because punting statistics were not counted toward greatness at the QB position, and he wasn't a major contributor to the championship, but when he stepped in to replace Staubach, he was almost immediately one of the top quarterbacks in the league. During each of his first three season as the starter, Dallas advanced to the NFC championship game, but fell short each time in its bid to reach the Super Bowl. For this reason, plus the fact that he was being compared to his predecessor, White has never been fully appreciated by football fans.

His best overall season came in 1982, which was shortened to 9 games due to a strike, when he finished with 2079 yards and 16 touchdowns, both #4 in the league during the short season. He again finished among the top 5 in both categories the following season, with 3980 yards and 29 touchdowns for a full season, but his team lost in the wild card round and White lost his starting job to open the next season.

When Gary Hogeboom, his former backup, began struggling midway through the 1984 season, White was reinstated as the starter and nearly got his team back to the playoffs, missing out due to a tiebreaker. The following season he led them back to the playoffs, but the season ended in disappointment again with another first round playoff loss.

In 1986, the Cowboys were in first place midway through the season and White was the top-rated passer in the league when he suffered the only major injury of his career, a broken throwing wrist, which ended his season and, eventually, his playing career, as he was never able to return to his previous form.

In the five seasons in which he was the unquestioned starter, he led Dallas to the playoffs five times, three times advancing to the conference championship game. Although he never led his team to the Super Bowl, he led one of the NFL's best offenses for most of a decade, which is why he is included among the top 50 quarterbacks of all time.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #50

Phil Simms

Phil Simms was the first quarterback selected in the 1979 NFL Draft, a draft that included Joe Montana, so he was often looked at as a disappointment, but he was actually a pretty good quarterback when he wasn't injured. He began his career as the Giants' starter, but saw very little success through his first three seasons, He suffered through season-ending injuries in 1981, 1982, and 1983, first a separated shoulder, then a torn knee ligament, and a broken thumb.

While recovering from his thumb injury, Simms committed himself to watching more game film, and the result was a breakout season in 1984, with over 4000 passing yards and his first Pro Bowl appearance, in which he was voted the MVP. It was also the first of three straight playoff appearances for the Giants under Simms.

The biggest reason he is on this list is his performance in Super Bowl XXI, in which the 14-2 Giants faced John Elway and the Denver Broncos, the third trip to the big game for Elway. It was the first time New York had ever played in the Super Bowl, but Simms played the game of his life, connecting on 22 out of 25 passes for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Giants won 39-20. For his efforts, Simms was named Super Bowl MVP, and his 88% completion percentage is still the best ever in a Super Bowl.

A player strike shortened the following season, and Phil and the Giants struggled to get back to Super Bowl form, but in 1990 they were finally back on track, with Phil having a great season, when Simms broke his foot in game 14 and was replaced at QB by Jeff Hostetler, who took the Giants to 5 straight wins and another Super Bowl win.

After the Super Bowl win, the Giants replaced Simms as the starter with Hostetler, and he only played after Hostetler was injured near the end of the 1991 season. He won back his starting job at that point, only to lose it again due to an arm injury early in 1992. He won his starting job back before the 1993 season and had his best season since 1988, but the Giants decided to release him following the season after he required yet another surgery, and he decided to retire rather than looking for a new team at age 38.

Simms is a player who may never have lived up to his full potential due to five different season-ending injuries, each to a different body part, but the fact is that he still won a Super Bowl for the Giants, something fewer than 40 quarterbacks can say, and he set them up for another. Maybe he didn't quite measure up to Joe Montana, but I would not go so far as to call his career disappointing, not while he owns a Super Bowl ring and Super Bowl MVP award.

Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks of All Time: Intro

4 years ago, I shared the results of a long-term project I had been working on here on my blog, the top 100 NBA Players of All Time, using statistics, playoff performance, and longevity to determine which basketball players were better than others. I unveiled the rankings one at a time from June 2011 to June 2012, and you can still take a look at them by checking the blog archive on the left side of this screen. (Click on "View web version" at the bottom first if you are viewing this on your phone.)

For the past few years I have been working on a formula for ranking the top NFL Quarterbacks of All Time, and I have spent a lot of time making sure that the players have similar credentials to those that made by Top 100 NBA list. I ran a multiple regression analysis to determine which statistics were most important in determining team success, and used the resulting formula to rank every quarterback in every season since 1932, when the league began tracking passing statistics.

Within each season, I ranked the players by average value per game, using total possible regular season games since a player is not helping his team when he is not playing. I also added in playoff statistics as extra credit, giving players who led their teams to the playoffs and those that won playoff games a little more of a boost. I then found the average value for a starter and awarded each player above that level points for how high they were above that average for the season. Players below the average were not rewarded or penalized. The players totals for each season were then totaled into a career value, which were ranked from 1 to 217. This method allows for players to be recognized for sustained productivity or short periods of excellence, with the players at the top showing sustained excellence.

One of the criteria most often used to determine excellence in quarterbacks is Super Bowl wins, with Super Bowl losses often being viewed as complete failure. While neither of these is completely true, neither is completely false either. Winning the Super Bowl, especially multiple times, is often a good sign of a great player, but some who have won the biggest game were no more than placeholders for teams that won mostly by running the ball or using suffocating defense. For this reason, there are several Super Bowl champs that did not make this list, including two-time winner Bob Griese, who was not a great passer, but ran a team with bruising running backs.

The evolution of the position has caused modern players to show up more often on this list than many of the early greats, with no player in the top ten playing before 1979, and 10 active quarterbacks ranked among the top 50 of all time. There are still several older QB's on the list, including a few who played their entire careers before the Super Bowl was even created.

I plan to begin unveiling my rankings tomorrow with #50, and will continue for the next several months. I hope you enjoy following through this process and learning a bit more about some of these players in the process.