Top 20 quarterback performances in Super Bowl history
By Joe Romano
Super Bowl 52 is here! This is the perfect time to look back at some of the best quarterback performances of all time in the NFL’s biggest game.
This Sunday will mark the NFL’s 52nd Super Bowl in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The league has changed a ton since that first Super Bowl in 1967.
The element of the game that has changed the most has to be the passing game. Quarterbacks are the most critical position in all of sports. This NFL season is a rare case where teams were able to survive the loss of a starting quarterback.
Look at the Houston Texans and how much a player like Deshaun Watson impacted the entire team. The final few weeks of the season the same thing happened to the San Francisco 49ers. Jimmy Garropolo took over and showed how important the quarterback position truly is.
Just a year ago the NFL witnessed one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time leading his team to the biggest Super Bowl come back of all time. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are a lock to make this list. You will have to wait and see just how high.
It is not just Tom Brady. Some of the NFL’s best quarterbacks of all time have cemented their legacy in the big game. Outside of Dan Marino, if a quarterback is considered one of the best of all time, they have won a Super Bowl and performed well in that game.
Lets take a look at the 20 best performances by quarterbacks in Super Bowl history. There will be quarterbacks who lost the game but played well enough to make this list. However, winning the game is a very important factor in making the cut.
20. Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI
It is fitting that one of the most polarizing players in NFL history kicks off this list. Brett Favre will be remembered for his longevity. However, early in his career he was able to secure his position towards the top of the best quarterbacks ever list.
In 1997 Favre’s Green Bay Packers met the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI from New Orleans. The game pitted Favre against fellow star quarterback Drew Bledsoe. The Patriots were coached by the legendary Bill Parcells.
This game will be remembered for it’s electric start. It set the record for most first quarter points with 24. The game was a back and forth battle except for the Packers 17 unanswered points. Favre’s defining play in the game came to cap those 17 points, an 81 yard pass to Antonio Freeman.
By the final whistle the Packers had prevailed 35-21. Obviously both team’s adjusted and offenses struggled as the game wore on. The Patriots’ Curtis Martin was able to cut the lead to seven in the third quarter. However, on the ensuing kickoff Desmond Howard would take the ball 99 yards for the games final touchdown. Howard would go on to win Super Bowl MVP for his efforts on special teams. This marked the first time that a special teams player would garner that honor.
Favre finished the game 14-for-27 for 246 yards and two touchdowns. His counterpart, Bledsoe, would go on to throw four interceptions, a then Super Bowl record. This was Favre’s best performance and only Super Bowl victory.