Dan Marino
Dan Marino is the only quarterback in the top 10 to have never won a Super Bowl, and he only reached one in his career, but what he accomplished throughout his lengthy career was enough to overcome that and earn him one of the top spots in the all-time rankings.
He was the 27th pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, the sixth quarterback taken in that first round, but he ended up with the best career of any of them. He earned the starting job in just the sixth week of his rookie season, and ended up with the most passing yardage in the AFC, but that was nothing compared to what was coming.
In 1984, he posted the greatest season by a quarterback in the history of the league, even today. He set new NFL records with 5084 yards and 48 touchdowns, destroying the old records of 4802 yards and 36 touchdowns. Both were way above the average starter numbers in the league of 2799 and 18, the greatest difference in history for either category. He also led Miami to an AFC-best 14-2 record and was obviously awarded the MVP following the season.
He also had the best playoff performance of his career that season, putting up 683 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions in the two games that led Miami to the Super Bowl, and his 421 yards and 4 touchdowns are still AFC title game records. The Super Bowl didn't go quite as well, with 318 yards, but only 1 touchdown and two picks, and the Dolphins lost 38-16 to Joe Montana and the 49ers. It would be the only Super Bowl appearance of his career.
His production dropped off significantly the next season, but he was still good enough to lead the league in both yards and touchdowns, at 4137 and 30, which just goes to show how great his previous season was. Miami was able to make it only as far as the AFC title game that year, losing to New England 31-14.
In 1986 he again led the league in yardage and touchdowns for the third straight year, this time throwing 4746 yards and 44 touchdowns, marking only the second time a player reached 40 touchdowns, joining himself in the club. His Dolphins failed to make the playoffs that year, however, which made it somewhat of a waste.
He had a bit of a down year in 1987, but made a nice personal comeback in 1988, leading the league in yardage again with 4434, becoming the first player ever to reach 4000 yards 4 times, passing Dan Fouts, who had done it three times. The Dolphins missed the playoffs for the third straight season, though, so his production continued to do nothing.
After a fourth straight playoff-free season, Miami finally made it back in 1990, although Marino threw only 3563 yards. He was decent in the playoffs, throwing 5 touchdowns in 2 games, but he couldn't get past Buffalo, which was on its way to its first Super Bowl defeat.
Two years later he reached 4000 yards yet again, leading the league in yardage for the 5th and final time in his career, and he also got Miami back to the AFC title game for the first time in 7 years, but they lost to Buffalo again, leaving Marino short of the ultimate prize one more time.
He tore his Achilles tendon early in 1993, causing him to miss the final 11 games, the first major injury of his career. Many doubted that he would be able to return to his previous form, but he came back strong in 1994, tossing 4453 yards and 30 touchdowns and earning the Comeback Player of the Year Award, but Miami would fall in the second round again.
From there on it was a slow decline for Marino, who would continue to get Miami to the playoffs, but could never win more than one game in a single postseason. He was no longer among the elite quarterbacks, but he played through 1999, a career that spanned 17 seasons.
Marino may not have the championship resume of any other player in the top 10, but what he does have is eight full seasons as an elite quarterback, including 2 seasons as the best passer in the league and the 1984 season, which was the greatest in NFL history. He was also very good in that playoff run, and though that would be one of only 3 deep playoff runs in his career, his regular season prowess was enough to earn him a spot among the best to ever play the game.
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