Top 20 quarterback performances in Super Bowl history
By Joe Romano
17. Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers, Super Bowl XXXVIII
The first quarterback to appear on this list despite not winning the game is Carolina Panther’s Jake Delhomme. He is also the first of very few on this list who will not be enshrined in the Hall of Fame one day.
Delhomme led the Panthers to one of the most stunning turn around in NFL history on their way to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. Only three seasons prior the Panthers were 1-15 and a laughing stock around the NFL after being one of two expansion teams in 1995.
Delhomme himself was an unlikely story, going from undrafted free agent, to playing in Europe to starting in the Super Bowl all in the span of five professional seasons.
He was unable to lead the Panthers to the Super Bowl as they lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (more on him later). Delhomme still had a stellar game. His stat line of 16-of-33 for 323 yards and three touchdowns was topped by Brady but still impressive.
The games most memorable moment unfortunately came during the halftime show. Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” was the talk of the country. The performance by the feisty Panthers now seems like an after thought.
Delhomme would go on to start for the Panthers until 2009. His legacy is up and down and he will never go down as one of the bests. On that Sunday in Houston he played like it.