Fansided

March Madness bracket: Who’s the greatest all-time NFL quarterback?

By John Buhler

Sep 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) greet each other on the field following the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) greet each other on the field following the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 9
Next
Sep 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) greet each other on the field following the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) greet each other on the field following the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports /

Elite Eight

Leaf Region

The Ryan Leaf Regional Finals will feature a pair of starting quarterbacks that won four Super Bowls apiece. Joe Montana won four with the San Francisco 49ers and Terry Bradshaw won four with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Here’s how they got here. Montana beat Norm Snead, Matt Ryan, and Joe Namath.

Montana saw the ghost of John Candy in the end zone to ultimately be cooler than Broadway Joe in the clutch. Bradshaw bested Cam Newton and upset both Roger Staubach and Peyton Manning to get this far. Manning clinched his teeth and a looser Bradshaw laid down the hammer in the Sweet Sixteen.

Russell Region

The JaMarcus Russell Regional Finals will be a rematch of the 2016 AFC Championship between Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger. Brady beat Vinny Testaverde, Boomer Esiason, and Drew Brees in succession. Brady used something Brees didn’t have to advance: a defense backing him up. Roethlisberger wrangled Randall Cunningham, upset Brett Favre, and stopped Steve McNair’s Cinderella run. McNair’s Titans came up one yard short of pulling off another Music City Miracle.

Smith Region

Two of the most talented quarterbacks collide in the Akili Smith Regional Finals in Aaron Rodgers and John Elway. Rodgers knocked off Michael Vick, Bart Starr, and Eli Manning to reach the Elite Eight. Manning’s receivers were on a boat somewhere near South Beach in the Sweet Sixteen.

Elway cruised past Steve Bartkowski, Len Dawson, and Steve Young to meet Rodgers for a shot at the Final Four. Young used all of his gas to wipe the floor against Dan Fouts in the Round of 32. Elway took the lead over Young in the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Stouffer Region

The Kelly Stouffer Regional Finals wasn’t entirely chalk. No. 4 seed Troy Aikman upset No. 1 Johnny Unitas in the Sweet Sixteen, while No. 2 Otto Graham held off No. 3 Warren Moon. Aikman beat Trent Green and Kurt Warner before using his own lucky horseshoe to upend Unitas. Grahams’s first two opponents were a breeze in Bert Jones and Ken Anderson. His championship pedigree in the NFL made it Goodnight, Moon.

Home/NFL