Throughout the past 104 years that the National Football League has been around, there have been a total of 721 quarterbacks that have played in the National Football League. Some great quarterbacks are now in the Professional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and others have yet to be considered to have panned out well after being drafted. When discussing which quarterbacks are the greatest of all, some football fans don’t have trouble with naming their top five, but naming a top ten is a tricky question due to many great quarterbacks have played the sport and made their mark on this league so instead of just stating a top five who have I, packed the league in many ways I have decided to not only state the top ten who have impacted the National Football League in the past but also mentioning a few who are impacting the National Football League right now, and also justifying why each quarterback was ranked in the particular order they will be ranked at. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into the top 10 all-time quarterbacks of the National Football League from both the past and the present.
Starting with the number ten quarterback in this top ten list is Sammy Baugh. He played in the National Football League from 1937 to 1952. He threw for 21,886 yards and had about 187 touchdowns and 203 interceptions, which isn’t an incredible touchdown to interception ratio. Still, he was a pioneer for the sport of football in the late 30s since he was one of the first quarterbacks to throw for over 100 yards in a single game. He had revolutionized what a passing game would look like in the National Football League.
The only reason he is placed into the number ten spot is the cause of the fact that even though he was a pioneer for the National Football League, he doesn’t have the accolades that other quarterbacks that are higher on this list do, such as Super Bowl appearances, Pro Bowl appearances or Most Valuable Player titles since they weren’t around during his time, but has to be on this top ten list due to his contributions to what the game of football is today since if weren’t for Sammy Braugh the game of football in the National Football League wouldn’t be the way we know it as.
Next on the list at number nine is former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. In his 18 seasons in the National Football League, Roethlisberger threw for 64,088 yards,418 touchdowns, and 211 interceptions. Roethlisberger has also won two Super Bowls and been selected to six Pro Bowl appearances.
Roethlisberger comes in at number nine due to only winning two Super Bowls in his career, unlike others on this list who have more than that number who are on this list but even though having decent numbers in specific statistics causes him to be on this list for being a top ten quarterback in the history of the National Football League.
Coming in at number eight is the quarterback who sat behind Joe Montana as his backup and one of my personal favorites since he is a lefty like myself, which is Steve Young. During Young’s 15-year career with both the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he threw for 33,124 yards,232 touchdowns, had 594 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 13 interceptions, had seven Pro Bowl appearances, earned one Offensive Player of the Year award, two Most Valuable Player awards, one Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award, and won three Super Bowls and was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in 2005.
With all these accolades, why is Steve Young ranked so low at number eight? Well, it’s cause even though he did all these things, others in this list did the same things but just had higher numbers in those specific categories, such as having more passing yards, touchdowns, championships, and Most Valuable Player awards than Steve Young ranks where he does because of the amount of statistics he had throughout his career.
At number seven is undoubtedly the greatest quarterback of their franchise, Roger Staubach of the Dallas Cowboys, known as Roger the Dodger, Captain Comeback, and Captain America. He was called these nicknames due to his style of playing quarterback when scrambling outside of the pocket. He was also called Captain America due to his time serving in the Navy in Vietnam and then serving as the quarterback for what Dallas was called at the time when Staubach was quarterback, which was America’s Team. During his 11-year career with the Dallas Cowboys, Staubach threw for 2,264 yards, 153 touchdowns, rushed for 182 yards, had 20 rushing touchdowns, and threw only 13 interceptions during his career, went to] six Pro Bowls, was the Most Valuable Player for Super Bowl six, leading the Cowboys to four Super Bowl appearances, being the inventor of the Hail Mary play and ultimately being inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
Staubach comes in at number seven since he was the inventor of the Hail Mary play, which is now well-known in football, but he needed the numbers that other quarterbacks have on this list. Still, he is one of the best to do it, especially with having to wait five years after being drafted to play due to having served his country at that point and time, but he is ultimately on this list based on the fact that he still holds many records in Cowboys franchise history.
At number six is the New Orleans Saints’ greatest quarterback, who not only gave that franchise a Super Bowl victory in 2009 but also helped rebuild the Saints after the events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While playing for 20 years, Brees’ career had many highlights and accolades, such as throwing for 80,358 yards, throwing for 571 touchdowns, and throwing for 243 interceptions; in his career, Brees has also had many accolades, such as being selected for 13 Pro Bowls, won the National Football Leagues’ Comeback Player of the Year award, two Offensive Player of the Year award, the Walter Payton National Football League Man of the Year award one Super Bowl Most Valuable player award and one Super Bowl championship.
Brees’ comes in at number six due to all his accolades only being less than the other quarterbacks who were ranked higher by only having one or two of each award but is also ranked high due to his statistics in different categories such as passing yards and passing touchdowns throughout his career.
At number five is a quarterback who has a career of longevity by going to three different teams, with two being in the same division, which was the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, before ending his career in the New York Jets and that would be the Gunslinger himself Brett Farve. During his 20-year career, Favre threw for 71,838 yards, 508 touchdowns, and 336 interceptions, has won three National Football League Most Valuable Player titles, one Super Bowl title, and was inducted into the Profesional Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
Farve is ranked at number five on this list based on the amount of Super Bowls he has won in his career, Most Valuable Player titles, and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player titles, which are less than the other quarterbacks who were ranked in the top four in this list but is ranked at number five cause of the longevity of his career as mentioned which is where he was ranked where it ultimately was.
At number four is Patrick Mahomes, who, even though he has only been in the league for seven years, has changed it in many ways. So far in his career, Mahomes has thrown for 28,424 yards and 219 touchdowns, has played in five pro bowls, one Offensive Player of the Year award, two Most Valuable Player awards, won three Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards, and won three Super Bowls.
Although Mahomes has done so much in his career so far, he ranks number four on this list because he hasn’t been doing for an extended period as the top three quarterbacks have and has enough in the tank still left and will do more in the league for years to come as he has already done so far and because of that he is ranked at four cause of that reasoning.
At number three is one quarterback who held many records and helped two franchises reach Super Bowl glory. He is the quarterback who made me fall in love with the game of football at the age of nine years old, and I had to see him get inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame at age sixteen, which is Peyton Manning. During his 18-year career, Manning threw for 71,940 yards and 539 touchdowns, has won one National Football League Comeback Player of the Year award, five Most Valuable Player awards, the Walter Payton National Football League Man of the Year award, one Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards, won two Super Bowl titles and was inducted into the Profesional Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Manning is ranked at nubbier three on this list because he didn’t win enough championships like the mother two quarterbacks ahead of him, but he is high on this list due to the many accolades that he has had throughout his career, which destined him for a first ballot spot into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
At number two is Joe Cool, the man who was the original G.O.A.T. before Tom Brady showed up in the National Football League, and that is Joe Montana. During his 15-year career, Montana had many accolades, such as throwing for 40,551 yards, 273 touchdowns, playing in eight Pro Bowls, winning one Offensive Player of the Year award, two Most Valuable Player awards, three Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards, and four Super Bowl championships. It was ultimately inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 200.
Montana ranks second due to having a quarterback who later broke his records.
And last but not least, the number one quarterback on the list is the G.O.A.T. himself, Tom Brady. In his 23-year career, Brady threw for 89,214 yards, 649 touchdowns, was selected to play in 15 Pro Bowls, won one Comeback Player of the Year award, two Offensive Player of the Year awards, three Most Valuable Player awards, five Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards, and seven Super Bowl Championships.
Brady is ranked number one since he has done everything most quarterbacks dream of doing in their careers, which is why Brady is the G.O.A.T.
Overall, these quarterbacks deserve to be named the top ten of all-time in National Football history. If you enjoyed this, stick around for more; we will talk about more in the world of football in the coming weeks. That’s all for me. See you next time, football fans, and whatever you do, keep living the football life.
Little Miss Football 