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.