Top 30 NFL players of the 1900s

Top 30 NFL Players of the 1900s

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 13: Quarterback Joe Montana #16 of the San Francisco 49ers passes during pregame warm up before a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium on September 13, 1987 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the 49ers 30-17. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

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CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 11: Quarterback John Elway #7 of the Denver Broncos passes as he warms up before the 1986 season AFC Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on January 11, 1987 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Broncos defeated the Browns 23-20. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

11. John Elway

For 16 seasons, and in a lot of ways, even today, John Elway was the Denver Broncos. The quarterback out of Stanford led the franchise to five Super Bowls, closing out his Hall of Fame career by winning consecutive world championships.

While Elway was able to ride off on his white horse into the sunset, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for him in Denver. While he made multiple Pro Bowls and consistently led Denver to the postseason, the Broncos never had enough talent around their elite quarterback to get him a Lombardi Trophy.

Denver lost three Super Bowls by wide margins in the early-mid stages of Elway’s career. It wasn’t until the twilight of his career that Denver won for John as huge underdogs to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, who were fresh off their own Super Bowl victory.

Elway and the Broncos repeated as champions with a 31-19 win over the Falcons, Elway’s final game at the helm. There aren’t many stories like that of John Elway, which made his ending that much better as he finished on top. The former league MVP was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

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