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.