The 10 most underrated quarterbacks in NFL history
3. Tony Romo
Romo suffered a back injury during the 2016 preseason, opening the door for a rookie named Dak Prescott to take over, and after one brief appearance he retired after that season. His run as the Cowboys’ quarterback feels even further away when taking into account he missed 12 games with a broken collarbone in 2015.
In the nine seasons before that (2006-2014), encompassing the substance of his run as the starter, Romo averaged 4,127 yards and 30 touchdowns per 16 games played. In 2014, his last fully healthy season, he led the NFL in completion percentage (69.9), touchdown rate (7.8 percent), yards per attempt (8.5), passer rating (113.2) and QBR (79.7).
Romo’s 97.1 career passer rating is the fourth-best all-time. Go ahead and read that again.
During that stretch from 2006-2014, he had the seventh-most passing yards (33,270) and the fifth-most passing touchdowns in the league (242). The quarterbacks that bested him in both categories in that time frame are Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Philip Rivers. If he had played more than six games in 2010, and/or taken over sooner in 2006, Romo’s run would have been even better.
But alas, Romo never got to a Super Bowl and only won two playoff games in his career. The constant spotlight on him as the Cowboys’ quarterback opened the door for nitpicking his shortcomings. But a realistic look at his numbers proves just how good Romo was for a pretty significant stretch of years.