Fun Facts about Super Bowl Quarterbacks!

With all due respect to Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes is not just competing this Sunday against Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LlX. He’s also competing for a place in NFL history. And he’s competing against the ghosts of Super Bowls past.

Everyone knows the reigning G.O.A.T. of Super Bowl Quarterbacks is one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. There was a time when his eleven Super Bowl appearances along with his seven wins seemed insurmountable. But no longer, as Mahomes and his Chiefs are charging fast at the Patriots legacy.

It takes an Owner, a Coach and a QB

A Quarterback is no better than the franchise and the team around him. So Brady’s extraordinary record is not only a product of his own incredibly elevated play, but also a result of being in the right place at the right time. He was drafted (recall in the 6th round!) into a stable organization whose owner knew how to turn the football business over to the football experts.

Say what you want about Robert Kraft’s extra curricular activities, but the man gave Bill Belichek all the room and resources he needed to build a dynasty. How many NFL owners have we seen who simply cannot get out of their own way? Way too many!

“Do Your Job”

The bottom line: Bill Belichek holds NFL records as a head coach for most Super Bowl wins (6), most Super Bowl appearances (9) and most total playoff wins (31). Brady’s records mirror his coach’s success with the additional caveat (and this is huge) that he added another Super Bowl appearance (his 11th) and win (7th) at age 43 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brady, in that 2020 season, seemed to will the Buccaneers to the Championship. Ironically, the record extending win was over the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. Brady’s career playoff appearances include an NFL leading 35 wins against 13 losses including the magical 7 Super Bowl wins against 3 losses.

What about Mahomes’ Upside with the Chief’s

Like Robert Kraft, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has handed the keys to the franchise over to a Hall of Fame coach, Andy Reid. Reid, who is 66 and appears to have no interest in letting up, has a career record of 273 wins against 146 losses with two NFL franchises (Kansas City and Philadelphia).

He is the only NFL coach to win 100 games with two different franchises and also the only coach to appear in four consecutive conference championships with two different teams.

Andy Reid has a playoff record of 28-16 (18-7 with the Chiefs) including three Super Bowl wins against one loss. There are only four NFL coaches with over 300 wins (including playoffs) and they are Don Shula (347), Bill Belichek (333), George Halas (324) and Andy Reid (301).

Three Straight?

If the Chiefs win Sunday, Reid as head coach and Patrick Mahomes as QB will become the first NFL franchise, coach and QB to win three straight Super Bowls. Something that eluded both Belichek and Brady.

By playing in 5 of the past 6 Super Bowls Patrick Mahomes has almost overnight worked his way into the QB G.O.A.T discussion. At age 29 he will be playing in his 5th Super Bowl and carries a 3-1 record into Sunday’s game. At the same age Tom Brady’s Super Bowl wins totaled …. 3. Moreover, Patrick’s playoff record is an astounding 17-3. This guy wins the biggest games on the biggest stage.

High Stress Wins

It’s not exactly like the Chiefs, who have won 9 consecutive division titles and have played in the past 7 AFC Champion games, have been blowing away the competition. In fact, while the Chiefs went 15-2 this season, eleven of their wins came by one score. The nail-biting win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game two weeks ago was the 17th straight Chiefs win in games with a margin of one score or less. Another NFL record.

So Patrick Mahomes’ wins are high quality high stress wins. He finds a way. He employs a unique field of vision, and has the ability to extend plays with his legs. But, he typically buys time for secondary receivers than hoofing it down field. Patrick understands situational football in the heat of the battle. He knows how to move the chains. Sunday provides yet another stage for Patrick Mahomes to elevate his case as the Super Bowl’s greatest of all-time.

Other QBs in the Conversation

But let’s take a closer look at this very exclusive club of the Super Bowl’s greatest Quarterbacks. We’ve already identified Tom Brady (7 wins and 5 Super Bowl MVPs) sitting on the Super Bowl G.O.A.T. throne and well-deserved. But who’s next? Who stands in Mahomes way to the Brady throne?

Cool Joe

In my book the 49ers Joe Montana sits today as the #2 Super Bowl QB of all-time. He has the 2nd highest win total (tied with Terry Bradshaw) and was undefeated at 4-0. He also had spectacularly dominant games. Sometimes called “Cool Joe,” Montana personified coolness under pressure. He helped his teams to thirty-two 4th quarter come-from-behind victories.

This was never more personified than in the 1981 NFC Championship Game vs the Cowboys, when Joe completed the game-winning touchdown pass to Dwight Clark so memorable it would become known as simply, “The Catch.” ?Or the 92-yard drive at the end of Super Bowl XXll vs the Bengals when Joe tossed the game-winning TD pass with only 36 seconds left on the clock.

Over his four Super Bowl victories, Joe was 83 of 122 passes for 1,142 yards with 11 touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. Repeat: ZERO. In Joe’s final Super Bowl in 1990 vs Denver he completed 22 of 29 for 297 yards and 5 TD passes and the zero pics. That’s clutch and in that Super Bowl Joe became the first three-time Super Bowl MVP winner and still maintains the top QB Super Bowl passer rating of 127.8. Case closed.

The Blonde Bomber

But based on success and performance, it was not a walk to select Montana over Terry Bradshaw. The Steelers’ Bradshaw is tied with Montana for #2 in Super Bowl wins and also undefeated in the Big Game at 4-0. Across all career playoff games Montana went 16-7 vs Bradshaw’s 14-5.

A first round pick out of D-ll Louisiana Tech in 1970 Bradshaw won all four of his Super Bowls in a six year window with the first in 1974 in Super Bowl lX vs the Vikings and the last in Super Bowl XlV vs the LA Rams. Terry was a two-time MVP in the Super Bowl and threw a winning TD pass in all four. Moreover, The Blonde Bomber was one of the few Quarterbacks to call his own plays in the Super Bowl.

Why Montana?

But my conclusion of placing Montana above Bradshaw was based on their respective importance to their team. The 49ers’ success was heavily weighted on Joe Montana’s shoulders. Just in the Super Bowls Joe averaged over 30 pass attempts and 20 completions per game with a staggering (for the 1990s) 68% completion percentage. Throw in the 11 TD passes with zero pics and you have a Quarterback protecting the football while keeping his defense off the field with long possession drives.

Terry had lethal arm strength and it’s why the Steelers were quick strike experts. They could score from anywhere on the field and rely on that famous “Steel Curtain” defense to throttle the opposition. Bradshaw connected with All-Pro receivers like Lynn Swann for a 64 yard bomb in Super Bowl X as well as a 73 yard strike to another All-Pro WR John Stallworth in Super Bowl XlV. In between, Bradshaw had the luxury of handing off to All-Pro running back Franco Harris.

In the three playoff games Pittsburgh played in 1974, Harris rushed for a combined 343 yards and 6 touchdowns while being named a Super Bowl MVP. Meanwhile Terry threw only 14 and 19 passes in two Super Bowl games. In each of those games he completed just nine of those passes.

Joe Montana gets the nod as the reigning #2 Super Bowl QB and Terry Bradshaw is right behind him at #3. So who’s next? Well, other than Patrick Holmes there is only one other QB who has three Super Bowl wins. Can you name him?

The Ice Man

Troy Aikman was the number one pick in the 1989 NFL draft out of UCLA. He played 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and win three Super Bowls. He was named MVP of Super Bowl XXVll when he connected on 22 of 30 attempts for 273 yards and 4 touchdowns with zero pics in the Cowboy’s 52-17 thumping of the Buffalo Bills. Impressive. Troy was know to have ice in his veins given his coolness in the pocket. Over three Super Bowls, Troy would connect on 70% of his pass attempts, which is still a record. Troy closed his career with a playoff won-lost record of 11-4 and a stellar 3-0 in Super Bowls and holds down our #4 position of great Super Bowl QBs.

Super Bowl LlX Will Decide

It is right here at #5 where we insert Patrick Mahomes in our greatest Super Bowl QBs. If Patrick goes to 4-1 this weekend he’ll jump ahead of Aikman with his three wins, even though Troy was undefeated.

The Honorable Mentions

Below the top 5 we have an interesting mix of QBs and stories. So I’m listing below my Honorable Mentions via a list of Fast Facts:

A total of just 34 Quarterbacks have combined to win 58 Super Bowls. It’s the most exclusive club in sports. Of the 34 starting QBs who have won a Super Bowl 30 are still living. Gone are Bart Starr, Len Dawson, Johnny Unitas and Ken (The Snake) Stabler.

The Two-Timers

Only 13 Quarterbacks have won multiple Super Bowls. We’ve covered the top 5 which leaves John Elway, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Jim Plunkett, Bob Griese, Roger Staubach, and Bart Starr as two game winners.

Of the above group Bart Starr sticks out with a 9-1 career playoff record and winning both MVP awards in his two Green Bay Packer Super Bowl wins.

Peyton Manning won with two different franchises, Indianapolis and Denver, but had a rather pedestrian 14-13 career playoff record. Meanwhile his brother Eli won’t let him forget that in the 2011-12 post-season Eli passed for 1,219 yards over his four wins which remains a post-season record for passing yards. Moreover, Eli loves to remind big brother that Eli possesses TWO Super Bowl MVP awards to Peytons one.

The Pride of Stanford

John Elway’s journey with Denver to his two Super Bowl wins was almost painful. His first three appearances in the Big Game in 1986, 1987, and 1989 were unsuccessful. It would take him another eight years to get back to the Super Bowl and finally win it in 1998 over the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre. Elway would repeat the feat in 1999 beating the Falcons 34-19 and winning the MVP award in what would be the last game of his career.

Elway was a prolific passer who finished his career with 300 TD passes and over 50,000 passing yards. But John was a dual-threat ahead of his time as he also rushed for a career 3,407 yards and 33 TDs. In fact, he is one of only two players (Thurman Thomas) to score a rushing touchdown in four different Super Bowls and the only QB to do so.

Another Cardinal

Stanford was a QB machine back in the days of John Elway and Jim Plunkett. Plunkett was not only a Heisman winner but also the #1 pick in the 1971 draft. But his career would take stops in New England and San Francisco before he found the Super Bowl in Oakland and LA with the Raiders. Overcoming injuries and taking the Raiders to the Super Bowl is why Jim won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1980.

In the 1980 Super Bowl Plunkett would complete 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three TDs. He would become only the second Heisman Trophy winner to also win the Super Bowl MVP Award (Roger Staubach). Icing on the cake for Plunkett was another Super Bowl win in 1983 vs the Redskins 38-9. In the game Plunkett was a pristine 16 of 25 for 172 yards one TD and no pics. The Raiders rode MVP Marcus Allen’s 191 yard rushing to victory.

One-Time Super Bowl Winning QBs Still Kept it Interesting:

Phil Simms, NY Giants, won a Super Bowl MVP award in Super Bowl XXl by going a mere 22 of 25 for 268 yards and three TDs! Yikes! In the 39-20 victory over Denver, Simms started the game 7 for 7 and finished up the game with 10 of 10 passes in the second half. The 88% completion rate and his passer rating of 150.9 are both still Super Bowl records.

My all-time favorite single quarter played by any Quarterback anywhere was by the Washington Redskins’ Doug Williams in Super Bowl XXll. Doug would win the MVP award by posting 18 of 29 for 340 yards and 4 TDs but that’s hardly the story.

The Best 15 Minutes Ever!

The game against Denver started with the Redskins down 10-0 in the first quarter. Williams went down at the end of the quarter with a knee injury and there was a question if he would return.

But Doug Williams opened up the second quarter by hitting WR Ricky Sanders for an 80-yard touchdown. Williams would complete 9 of 11 second quarter passes for 228 yards and FOUR touchdowns. Two of the TDs were over 50 yards and I can vividly recall watching the game and thinking I’ve never seen a guy throw like this before! The 35 points the Redskins scored in the second quarter remains a single quarter Super Bowl record.

Broadway Joe

Joe Namath played in only one Super Bowl. But his impact to the Big Game and the pending NFL/AFL merger was dazzling!

The AFL and NFL were in the process of merging. The NFL via the Green Bay Packers had dominated its “lesser” rivals in the AFL in the first two Super Bowls 35-10 over the Chiefs and 33-14 over the Raiders. Recall that Bart Starr was the MVP in both games.

Joe Namath and his NY Jets came into Super Bowl lll in Miami as a 19 point underdog to Don Shula’s Baltimore Colts. The Colts had gone 13-1 in the regular season and their defense was considered one of the best in NFL history with stars like DE Bubba Smith, MLB Mike Curtis, OLB Don Shinnick, Cornerback Bobby Boyd and safeties Jerry Logan and Rick Volk.

The Colts had rolled over the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game 34-0. The Jets had gone 11-3 and had narrowly defeated the Raiders 27-23 in the AFL Championship Game.

Jets Get No Respect

In the week leading up to the game Joe Namath and the Jets heard a relentless litany from the press about how they didn’t stand a chance vs the Colts powerhouse. Finally, three days before the game, Joe Namath was fed up with the skepticism regarding the Jets’ ability to take on the Colts.

Joe made an appearance at the Miami Touchdown Club and at the press conference he personally guaranteed a Jets victory. Coach Weeb Ewbank almost had a heart attack! But Broadway Joe made good on his promise as the Jets dominated the game early and built up a 16-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Shula would pull QB Earl Morrall after his 3rd interception and replaced him with the aging Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas. Johnny U would lead the Colts to its only touchdown, but too little too late as the Jets prevailed 16-7. While Joe Namath would win the MVP award, it’s little remembered that the Jets did not throw one pass in the fourth quarter. The Jets preserved the lead and ran the clock down on the legs of running back Matt Snell. Namath’s MVP award in the Super Bowl was as much for his leadership and charisma as it was for his arm.

Back to This Sunday

We opened with the observation that Patrick Mahomes is not just facing the Eagles and Jalen Hurts but a long legacy of great Super Bowl Quarterbacks. Many of whom are listed above. But Jalen Hurts is also bucking some history!

You see, there are 36 starting Quarterbacks who lost their Super Bowl debuts including Jalen Hurts. Ironically, his loss in Super Bowl LVll came at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35.

Hurts played brilliantly in the game driving his Eagles to a game-tying touchdown with 5:15 left in regulation. But the Chiefs prevailed 38-35 on a game-winning field goal with eight seconds remaining. So while Hurts completed 27 of 38 for 304 yards and a TD, Patrick Mahomes won the game and the MVP award.

Is it a Jinx?

Of the 36 starting QBs who lost their Super Bowl debuts only three have returned to win a Super Bowl. Seems incredible.

The first was Chiefs’ Len Dawson, who lost in in the very first Super Bowl to the Packers but came back to win it all in Super Bowl lV in 1970 vs the Vikings.

Then the Dolphins’ Bob Griese, who lost to the Cowboys in Super Bowl Vl in 1972 but came back the very next year to win Super Bowl Vll over the Washington Redskins 14-7.

And the third is the aforementioned John Elway, who not only lost his first Super Bowl but lost his first three! Elway finally gained redemption in his fourth try winning Super Bowl XXXll in 1998 vs the Packers.

27 Years

So it’s been 27 years since a Quarterback who lost his Super Bowl debut has returned to win the Big Game. Holy Cow. In those 27 years 19 Quarterbacks have lost their debut Super Bowl and failed to even get back to the Super Bowl! You can see why multiple Super Bowl win QBs are, in fact, in a very exclusive club.

Jalen Hurts has a mighty big hill to climb! Jalen is coming off a sore knee he bruised in the NFC Championship game vs the Washington Football Team. The Eagles are also coming off an NFL playoff record 7 rushing touchdowns in that game. Jalen had 3 of those rushing TDs while Saquon Barkley added three more.

Its About the Mojo!

I’m wishing Jalen luck to break the streak of debut-losing Super Bowl QBs, but I gotta say… Patrick Mahomes seems destined to take on Tom Brady as the Super Bowl QB G.O.A.T. Its going to be Philadelphia’s brute running game taking on the Kansas City one-score win streak. I think the Chiefs and Patrick still have a little magic left. Will Patrick make good on the three-peat and elevate him to his fourth win and the # 4 ranking on our All-Time Super Bowl QB list? Either way this is going to be a great game!

ABOUT

The Quarterback Connection is a meeting place for quarterbacks, their teammates, and fans. Our new blog provides weekly commentary, perspective, and facts about quarterbacks at the high school, college, and pro levels. Kim McQuilken, a former consensus All-America QB at Lehigh University, third-round draft choice of the Atlanta Falcons, and eight-year veteran of the NFL, is joined by former teammates, coaches, sports writers, and commentators to bring a fresh perspective to the Quarterback Room.

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