The NFL playoffs are in the AFC and NFC Championship games. These are going to be played this weekend. Anytime we get into the NFL playoffs, people talk about NFL quarterback legacies. Should career be defined by Super Bowl wins?
One of the best quarterbacks in NFL history is Joe Montana. Montana went to four Super Bowls and won all of them. In three of the four he was Super Bowl MVP. He is also in the Hall of Fame. So far, Joe Montana is the best Super Bowl quarterback if defined by wins.
Everybody thought Steve Young could never win the big game without Joe Montana and that he would never lead San Francisco to a Super Bowl title. This changed in Super Bowl 29 when he led the 49ers over the San Diego Chargers 49-26. He was the MVP of that Super Bowl. Sure he owns three Super Bowl rings but only one of them was as a starting quarterback.
John Elway was always told that he couldn’t win the big one, the Super Bowl. Before he had the running game of Terrell Davis the Broncos didn’t win the big game. He went to three of them and lost. Once they had the running game, they won Super Bowls 32 and 33. Elway passed for 51,475 in his career which is 6th, all time. He is a hall of famer.
Two players in the Hall of Fame who didn’t win a Super Bowl are Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. Dan Marino only went to one Super Bowl. That was back in 1983 for Super Bowl 19. Marino was one of the best passers in NFL history. He threw for 61,361 yards which at the time of his retirement was number one. Since then only Bret Favre and Peyton Manning have thrown for more yards in NFL history. Jim Kelly went to 4 straight Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills. They didn’t win any but Kelly is one of the best postseason quarterbacks in NFL history. He took a team to four straight Super Bowls which hasn’t happened again in NFL history.
In today’s game we are still defining a quarterback’s legacy by Super Bowl wins. Tom Brady has three Super Bowl rings. Heading into this year he hasn’t won the big game since the 2004-2005 season. Ben Roethlisberger has two rings. Both of them came early in his career coming in 2006 and 2009. For Peyton Manning its been said that he is the best regular season quarterback, setting NFL records. He is second in passing yards with 69,691 only behind Brett Favre. This season he broke Brett Favre’s career touchdown pass as he now has 530 touchdown passes. The postseason hasn’t worked out for him. His record in the playoffs is 11-13 with three Super Bowl appearances and one ring.
Super Bowl titles are great but they shouldn’t define a legacy. As we have seen with Jim Kelly and Dan Marino you can get into the Hall of Fame without winning a ring. With Peyton Manning it’s the opposite. You can win a ring but you still have doubters saying you can’t win the big one. A legacy should be defined by how many wins did he have, how many touchdown passes did he throw, and how many yards did he pass for.
How do you think a quarterback’s legacy should be defined? Should it be by Super Bowl titles or what they have done in their career?
The most prestigious achievement in football is a Super Bowl win. Most fans look at that not statistics .
Definitely have to consider how many Super Bowls a QB wins in assessing his legacy. Marino was a great QB but to this day you still hear “well he never won a Super Bowl”. Marino doesn’t have ring so in my mind he’s not a great like Montana, Bradshaw, Jim McMahon. 🙂
That is the biggest knock on Marino no super bowl ring The fact is he is still one of the best passers to play the game of football.