Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #12 - Terry Bradshaw

Terry Bradshaw

Terry Bradshaw is well-known for being the first quarterback to win both a third and a fourth Super Bowl, but he was also famous during his playing days for throwing tons of interceptions, and his career touchdown total did not exceed his interception total until the final game of his career.

Bradshaw started out as the #1 overall pick in 1970, and he struggled mightily as a rookie, throwing only 1410 yards and 6 touchdowns with 24 interceptions. He spent his first 5 seasons never throwing more touchdowns than picks, but somehow got Pittsburgh to the playoffs in 1974. During the postseason, they were able to run past their first two opponents to reach the Super Bowl, where they prevailed despite only 96 yards from Bradshaw.

The championship win seemed to awaken Bradshaw, and he went on to have his best season to that point in 1975, when he reached 2000 yards for only the second time and threw twice as many TD's as picks, a huge improvement for him. The Steelers finished with the league's best record and romped through the playoffs again on their way to a repeat championship, this time behind 209 yards from Bradshaw.

He missed 4 games due to injury the following season, giving them a tougher draw in the playoffs, and they ended up going down in the AFC title game, losing the chance at a three-peat. The loss seemed to impact him the next year, as he was back to throwing tons of interceptions, and Pittsburgh lost in the first round.

He had his best overall season in 1978, setting a career high in passing yards and leading the league in touchdowns, and Pittsburgh finished at 14-2, two games ahead of any other team in the league. They destroyed Denver and Houston to reach the Super Bowl, then Bradshaw put on his best championship performance, throwing 318 yards and 4 touchdowns as they beat Roger Staubach and Dallas 35-31 and he was named the game's MVP, which went nicely next to the regular season MVP from that season.

He upped his yardage to 3724 in 1979, guiding Pittsburgh back to the top record in the league. They again had an easy run back to the Super Bowl, and Bradshaw put on another good performance, with 309 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 31-19 win over the Rams. No other QB had won 3 Super Bowls, and now Bradshaw was a 4-time champ.

They missed out on the three-peat again in 1980, when they didn't even make the playoffs despite a decent season from Bradshaw. Injuries to his throwing arm started to take a toll, and he retired in 1983 after throwing 2 touchdowns in his final game to bring his career TD total to 212, surpassing his INT total of 210.

Bradshaw is one of the few QB's in history to win 4 titles, but he wasn't very good during the first two title runs. He was never considered a great passer, reaching 300 yards in a game only 7 times in his entire career. One thing that really helped him was the fact that two of those 7 big games came in the Super Bowl, so he really stepped up when he needed to later in his career. He can't be left out of the conversation of the all-time greats, but he just wasn't ever the dominant QB that most of the players ahead of him were.