Top 20 quarterback performances in Super Bowl history

MIAMI, FL - January 14, 1968: Quarterback Bart Starr #15 of the Green Bay Packers turns to hand the ball off against the Oakland Raiders during Super Bowl II at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The Packers won the game 33-14. Starr played for the Packers from 1956-71. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

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Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw (12) rolls out of the pocket during Super Bowl XIII, a 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on January 21, 1979, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Nate Fine/Getty Images) /

9. Terry Bradshaw, Super Bowl XIII

At the beginning of the Super Bowl era, the forward pass was not the focus of offense in the NFL. Teams relied on the running game, and some quarterbacks actually won the Super Bowl MVP without throwing a touchdown pass (shout out to Joe Namath in Super Bowl III).

That changed in Super Bowl XIII when Terry Bradshaw put on a clinic for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers had won two Super Bowls entering their matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, and Bradshaw had put up solid but unspectacular numbers in the wins.

Bradshaw took center stage against the Cowboys, completing 17 of 30 passes for 318 yards with. four touchdowns and one interception. The highlight of the day came in the second quarter when Bradshaw completed a 75-yard bomb to John Stallworth to tie the game at 14.

Bradshaw helped the Steelers outlast the Cowboys 35-31 in a shootout, helping put together the highest scoring Super Bowl ever seen at that point in history. The game also saw Bradshaw become the first quarterback to ever pass for 300 yards in a Super Bowl, a mark that has been regularly eclipsed by today’s passers.

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