The passing game is the focus of today’s NFL offenses. There’s more to quarterbacking than throwing the ball. A look at 20 great seasons at the position.
Let’s erase any confusion from the get-go. The following are the 20 greatest single-season performances by quarterbacks in NFL annuals. That’s why you may see a player’s name on here more than once. It is not a list of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history based on their entire careers.
Also considered is that the rules when it comes to the offense have changed multiple times in recent years, starting with major alterations in 1978. That’s one reason some of the older quarterbacks on this list and in their careers have higher interception totals than the more modern-day quarterbacks.
These performances also include some postseason work, as well as how a player or quarterback performed when it came to running the football. That has become more prevalent with today’s signal callers.
Here are the best individual quarterback seasons NFL fans have ever seen:
20. Matt Ryan, Falcons (2016)
It was somewhat shocking to watch veteran quarterback Matt Ryan struggle throughout the 2022 season with the Indianapolis Colts. The third overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons was a steady performer for that franchise for 14 seasons, although that franchise has yet to win an NFL championship.
In 2016, the pieces all came together for Ryan under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. He connected on 69.9 percent of his passes for 4,944 yards and 38 touchdowns. He threw only seven interceptions and lost just two fumbles.
In three postseason contests, Ryan connected on an impressive 71.4 percent of his throws. The 2016 NFL MVP passed for a combined 1,014 yards and nine scores and wasn’t picked off vs. the Seahawks, Packers, and Patriots. Of course, there was that costly lost fumble in the Super Bowl LI loss to New England.
19. Dan Fouts, Chargers (1981)
In 1978, the then-San Diego Chargers knocked off the Seahawks in Week 1 but then dropped three straight. Head coach Tommy Prothro stepped down and was replaced by Don Coryell. The club jelled by the end of the season and finished 9-7 after a 2-6 start.
Quarterback Dan Fouts and the offense were the catalysts for a 7-1 finish. The following season would begin a stretch in which the talented signal-caller would lead the NFL in passing yards for four consecutive years. Fouts would be named to the Pro Bowl each season and earned All-Pro honors in 1979 and the strike-shortened campaign of 1982.
Of course, the Chargers never got to the Super Bowl during that era. Arguably, the 1979 Bolts were the franchise’s best team. In 1981, Fouts put together a magnificent season for a 10-6 club that won the AFC West and led the league in scoring with 478 points. He totaled career highs in passing yards (4,802) and touchdown tosses (33) while serving up only 17 interceptions. It was easily his best TD-pass-to-INT differential (plus-16) for a season.
In the epic 41-38 overtime win over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, Fouts connected on 33-of-53 throws for 433 yards and three touchdowns (1 interception). Unfortunately for the Chargers, he and the club were cooled off a week later in sub-zero Cincinnati in the conference title game.
18. Drew Brees, Saints (2009)
The team was in the fourth year of the Sean Payton/Drew Brees Era. However, after reaching the NFC title game during their debut year in 2006, the New Orleans Saints failed to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. However, 2009 would be a much different story in the Big Easy as the club got off to an impressive 13-0 start. The talk of an unbeaten season ended at home against the Dallas Cowboys. Regardless of the reasons, the Saints would drop their final games on the way to the playoffs.
Brees was impressive throughout the regular season. For the second straight year, he led the National Football League with 34 touchdown passes (he shared the lead with Chargers’ QB Philip Rivers in 2008), throwing for “only” 4,388 yards.
The difference from the previous season was an improved completion percentage (70.6 opposed to 65.0 in ’08) and just 11 interceptions, six fewer than the year before (17). He also did this in one fewer game than in 2008 as he and many of his teammates sat out Week 17 in preparation for the postseason.
In the playoff sweep of the Cardinals, Vikings, and Colts, the Saints scored a combined 107 points. Brees threw for eight scores and played turnover-free football. He earned Super Bowl XLIV MVP honors in completing a blistering 82.1 percent of his passes in the 31-17 win over Indianapolis.
17. Lamar Jackson, Ravens (2019)
It was general manager Ozzie Newsome’s final year as the general manager of the Baltimore Ravens. He decided to give head coach John Harbaugh and the organization a going-away present. He swung a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to grab the final pick in the first round in 2018, and he selected University of Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson.
In ’18, Joe Flacco was the team’s starting quarterback to begin the year, but Jackson would see his share of action in certain formations and specialty plays. His running skills were impressive, to say the least, and Harbaugh’s team took advantage of that. He wound up starting the club’s final seven games and the Ravens were playoff bound. Jackson did have his problems in the home wild-card loss to the Chargers.
In 2019, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner looked unstoppable in 15 games. He set a then-record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback (1,206) and scored seven times. He threw for 3,127 yards and served up a league-high 36 TD passes with only six interceptions, completing 66.1 percent of his throws. Jackson was a unanimous choice for league MVP, but he and the top-seeded Ravens saw their 2019 season end with a playoff loss to the Titans.
16. Aaron Rodgers, Packers (2011)
It remains the top-ranked single-season performance in terms of passer rating. It’s a complex formula that the National Football League uses to this day. For the sake of perspective, numerous quarterbacks have managed the “perfect game” in terms of passer rating (158.3). Obviously, this is something you would not see for an entire season.
Following the 2012 NFL campaign in which the 10-6 Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV as a wild card team, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sensational in leading his team to a strong 13-0 start. The team’s defensive unit struggled against the pass throughout 2011 so it was up to the productive quarterback and the offense to carry the load for the most part.
Despite sitting out the regular-season finale, Rodgers threw for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He did not lose a fumble and put the ball on the ground just four times. He threw at least one TD pass in all but one of his 15 starts and owned a completion percentage of 68.3. His passer rating that season was an imposing 122.5.
However, Rodgers and the team were stunned at home by the Giants in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. Was it a long layoff or perhaps other matters that had a hand in a subpar performance by the 2011 NFL MVP and Mike McCarthy’s club that day?
15. Peyton Manning, Colts (2004)
In 2003, the Indianapolis Colts won a playoff game for the first time since 1995. In fact, head coach Tony Dungy’s team won a pair of postseason contests that year. The club scored a combined 79 points in wins over the Broncos (41-10) and Chiefs (38-31), the latter at Arrowhead Stadium. The team would fall to the New England Patriots in the AFC title game at Foxborough that year.
In 2004, Dungy’s squad was once again led by quarterback Peyton Manning. He would earn NFL MVP honors that season after breaking Dan Marino’s 20-year-old record for touchdown passes (48) in a season. Manning played and started in all 16 games and threw for 4,557 yards and 49 scores with only 10 interceptions. He connected on an impressive 67.6 percent of his passes.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (14), as well as Reggie Wayne (11) and Brandon Stokley (10), all 1,000-yard-plus receivers, combined to total 35 of Manning’s 49 TD tosses. He would throw for four more scores in a wild-card win over the Broncos. However, a team that totaled 522 points during the regular season and 49 more in the playoff victory over Denver was stifled by the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots, 20-3, in the divisional round.
14. Randall Cunningham, Vikings (1998)
It was the debut season for future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, who lit up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 and didn’t slow down the rest of the season. But less than two games into 1998, Minnesota Vikings’ head coach Dennis Green was forced to make a quarterbacking change after starter Brad Johnson suffered an ankle injury.
Randall Cunningham was a second-round pick from UNLV in 1985 by the Philadelphia Eagles. In the early stages of his career, he played for defensive-minded head coach Buddy Ryan. His athleticism was superb but most of his greatest plays were of the improvisational variety. There was no doubting his arm and now as a member of the Vikings, he was able to enjoy his finest season.
He threw for 3,704 yards and 34 scores with only 10 interceptions, connecting on 60.9 percent of his passes. The team finished 15-1 during the regular season, winning 13 of their last 14 contests. They dismantled the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round and appeared to be Super Bowl-bound. Cunningham threw for two scores without an interception in the NFC title game vs. the visiting Falcons. However, he fumbled three times and lost two of those miscues in the stunning 30-27 overtime loss.
13. Cam Newton, Panthers (2015)
The 11-year veteran (who didn’t play in 2022) remains in the news. He recently came up with a list of quarterbacks he would back up in the league. That’s all well and good, but first things first. As of late April, Cam Newton was still looking to be signed to an NFL roster.
That wasn’t the case in 2015, his fifth season in the league. The first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft endured his growing pains his first two seasons. The Carolina Panthers rebounded from a slow start in 2013 to win the NFC South. Ron Rivera’s club was a division champion in 2014 albeit with a 7-8-1 record. Carolina reached the divisional playoffs each year but failed to advance.
The Panthers took the league by storm in 2015, winning their first 14 games. Newton got off to a sluggish start but was just getting warmed up. He finished the year with 3,837 yards through the air and 35 touchdowns, with just 10 interceptions. He added 636 yards rushing and 10 scores. Rivera’s squad finished 15-1 and scored a league-high 500 points.
Newton had a monster outing in the 49-15 win over Arizona in the NFC title game. However, the Panthers were humbled in Super Bowl 50 by the Denver Broncos, and that put a bit of a damper on the 2015 NFL MVP’s impressive season.
12. Aaron Rodgers, Packers (2020)
It was a memorable year for one of the game’s most talented signal-callers. It’s safe to say Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won’t forget 2020 for numerous reasons.
In April, general manager Brian Gutekunst and the organization opted to move up in the first round of the draft to select Utah State University quarterback Jordan Love. It’s safe to say that many, including Rodgers, were caught off-guard by the selection.
When it was time to take the field, the veteran performer and his team came out with a vengeance. Green Bay scored 30-plus points in each of their first four games, all wins. Rodgers threw a combined 13 touchdown passes without an interception during the club’s 4-0 start. It would be a different story in a 38-10 loss at Tampa in Week 6 and more significantly, a sign of things to come.
Matt LaFleur’s squad would finish 13-3 for the second straight year and once again win the NFC North. Rodgers would pass for 4,299 yards and 48 scores while being picked off only five times in winning his third NFL MVP. He added 296 yards through the air and two scores and ran for a touchdown in the divisional playoff win over the Rams. However, the club would fall to the Buccaneers at home in the NFC title game.
11. Sid Luckman, Bears (1943)
There have been a total of 103 champions crowned in NFL annals and the franchises with the most league titles are the Green Bay Packers (13), Chicago Bears (9), New York Giants (8), Pittsburgh Steelers (6), and New England Patriots (6).
As for the Bears, all but one of their NFL championships came before the Super Bowl Era. The lone exception was in 1985 when Mike Ditka’s club won Super Bowl XX. More than four decades earlier in 1943, the team’s co-coaches were Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnson. The Bears quarterback was former Ivy League sensation Sid Luckman.
The University of Columbia standout put together quite the year as the Bears finished 8-1-1 and scored nearly twice as many points (303) as they allowed (157). Luckman threw for a league-high 2,194 yards and 28 scores and was picked off only 12 times, including a still-record-tying seven TD passes in a win over the Giants. He also ran for four more scores. Luckman finished with 286 yards and five more touchdown tosses (2 interceptions) in a 41-21 win over Washington in the NFL Championship Game.
Of course, he was also a two-way player who was the Bears’ primary punter. He saw action on special teams as well as on defense, picking off 17 passes.
10. Johnny Unitas, Colts (1959)
For so many years, he was considered by numerous people who know and played the game as the greatest player at his position. There are those who still hold Pro Football Hall of Fame signal-caller Johnny Unitas in high regard. He adorns many lists when it comes to the best quarterbacks in NFL annals.
One year after the Baltimore Colts won the franchise’s first league championship via “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” the 1959 version of the team was even better. There would be no 23-17 sudden-death overtime win over the New York Giants for the NFL title. Led by head coach Weeb Ewbank, the Colts finished 9-3 and would go on to defeat the Giants, 31-16, for a second straight league championship.
In 1959, Unitas started all 12 contests for Baltimore and threw for a league-leading 2,899 yards. He threw more than twice as many touchdown passes (32) as interceptions (14). He also ran for two scores on his way to being named the NFL’s Most Outstanding Player (MVP) that season.
In the 15-point win over the Giants for the title, Unitas hit on 18-of-29 throws for 264 yards and two scores plus ran for a touchdown as the Colts repeated as NFL champions.
9. Tom Brady, Patriots (2007)
He would set a new NFL record for touchdown passes in a season. His team would score an unprecedented number of points (589) on the way to not losing a regular-season contest in 16 attempts. The club would enter Super Bowl XLII riding an 18-game overall winning streak.
So why isn’t New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s MVP season of 2007 not higher on this list? First, matters like these are always very subjective, to begin with. Perhaps his less-than-stellar play in the AFC title game vs. the Chargers as well as the upset loss to the New York Giants takes a little shine off the impressive campaign.
Of course, it’s not this then-record setting showing is being buried. That offseason, Bill Belichick went out and dealt for wide receiver Randy Moss. Brady would throw for 4,806 yards and an incredible 50 scores, with only eight interceptions. All told, 23 of those touchdown tosses went to Moss, still a single-season NFL record.
After hitting on 26-of-28 passes for 286 yards and three TDs in a 31-20 win over Jacksonville in the divisional playoffs, Brady threw for two scores and was picked off three times despite beating the Chargers for the AFC Championship. The team scored a season-low 14 points in the Super Bowl loss to the Giants as Brady was sacked five times and lost a crucial fumble in the first half.
8. Peyton Manning, Broncos (2013)
Just as was the case six years earlier for Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, an NFL quarterback set new records during the regular season only to be humbled on the NFL’s biggest stage.
In the case of Peyton Manning, it was a bit different considering his career was in jeopardy after missing the 2011 season with the Colts due to numerous neck surgeries. Indianapolis parted ways with their beloved quarterback and he signed with the Broncos in 2012. He led that club to the playoffs, but the Broncos were upset at home in the divisional round by the eventual Super Bowl champion Ravens.
In the 2013 season opener at Denver, Manning threw seven touchdown passes in besting Baltimore. He was just getting warmed up and by year’s end, he set new NFL records for passing yards (5,477) and TD tosses (55) in a single season on the way to winning NFL MVP honors for the fifth time. The Broncos scored an astounding 606 points during their 13-3 campaign.
John Fox’s club scratched out playoff wins over the Chargers and Patriots to reach Super Bowl XLVIII. However, the Broncos were in over their heads (literally) in a 43-8 loss to the Seahawks in which Manning turned over the ball three times. Ouch!
7. Terry Bradshaw, Steelers (1978)
Terry Bradshaw was the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a franchise that had been to one playoff game in its first 39 years of existence.
The former Louisiana Tech product struggled through a miserable rookie campaign and was in and out of the starting lineup as late as 1974. But later that year, he and the Steelers got hot down the stretch and the team won the first of back-to-back championships.
Those Pittsburgh teams relied on a running game as well as one of the great defensive units of any era. However, the league was beginning to transition to opening up the offenses and in particular the passing game.
Head coach Chuck Noll and the strong-armed Bradshaw were in an ideal situation. Wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were beginning their fifth seasons, and both were entering their primes. The Steelers used their passing attack to make life easier for Harris and the running game.
In his ninth year in the league, Bradshaw led the NFL with a career-best 28 TD passes with 20 interceptions. The team finished 14-2 and marched into the playoffs. They made easy work of the defending AFC champion Broncos (33-10) and out splashed the Oilers (34-5) in the conference championship game.
Then came Super Bowl XIII against the defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys. Amazingly, Bradshaw came up with his first career 300-yard passing game (318). The 1978 NFL MVP was also this game’s Most Valuable Player as Pittsburgh prevailed, 35-31.
6. Joe Montana, 49ers (1984)
The 1984 San Francisco 49ers became the first NFL team to win 15 games during the regular season. Of course, that was finally made possible after the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Bill Walsh’s club won its first six outings, stumbled at home against the Steelers, and ran the table from there. That includes playoff wins over the Giants, Bears, and Dolphins, the last contest a convincing 38-16 victory in Super Bowl XIX.
Quarterback Joe Montana was at the controls for all but one of those 19 contests. During the regular season, he threw for 28 scores, ran for two others, and served up only 10 interceptions. It was a somewhat different story in the postseason wins over New York and Chicago. Both of those clubs featured physical defenses and both teams were on the verge of Super Bowl titles themselves. Montana threw a combined five interceptions in the wins over the Giants (3) and Bears (2) but did combine for four aerial scores.
The rout of Miami at Palo Alto was a different story. He threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns. Just as importantly, he ran five times for 59 yards and one score as he frustrated the Dolphins with his quick decision-making.
5. Kurt Warner, Rams (1999)
It remains one of the great stories in NFL annals and the main participant wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kurt Warner began his NFL career in the training camp of the Green Bay Packers in 1994. The undrafted free agent wound up playing in NFL Europe and the Arena Football League. He played in one game for the then-St. Louis Rams in 1998 but things would change a year later.
During the 1999 preseason, head coach Dick Vermeil saw starter Trent Green go down for the season with a knee injury. In stepped Warner and as Vermeil predicted, he would “play good football.” The University of Northern Iowa product connected on an impressive 65.1 percent of his throws for 4,353 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just 13 interceptions.
The postseason was a bit of a rollercoaster for Warner. It began with a five-touchdown performance in a win over Minnesota. The Rams squeezed out an 11-6 victory over the Buccaneers in the NFC title game, but he was picked off three times. However, the 1999 NFL MVP threw for 414 yards and a pair of scores in a thrilling 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, earning game MVP honors in the process.
4. Steve Young, 49ers (1994)
Call it “the monkey off my back” season for the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback. When the San Francisco 49ers traded for former USFL standout (Los Angeles Express) and former Buccaneers signal-caller Steve Young in 1987, there were certainly some eyebrows raised, and perhaps one pair in particular. That’s because head coach Bill Walsh still had quarterback Joe Montana at his disposal at the time.
Fast forward to 1994. Young was now firmly entrenched as the Niners’ starter and Montana was in his second season in Kansas City. After George Seifert’s club came up short in the NFC title games in both 1992 and 1993, the organization took full advantage of free agency in ‘94 and the club was loaded on both sides of the ball.
Still, there would be questions about Young. The team went to Arrowhead Stadium in Week 2 and lost to Montana and the Chiefs. A few weeks later, San Francisco was rolled at home by the Eagles, 40-8. There was a frustrated Young on the sidelines.
However, all’s well that ends well. Young’s 16-game totals saw him throw for 3,969 yards and 35 scores with only 10 interceptions. He connected on 70.3 of his passes. He ran for 293 yards and seven touchdowns.
San Francisco was electric during the postseason, scoring a combined 131 points in a three-game sweep of the Bears, Cowboys, and Chargers. Young threw a Super Bowl record six TD passes vs. the Bolts (XXIX), completing a postseason that saw him throw for a combined 752 yards and 10 scores without an interception.
3. Dan Marino, Dolphins (1984)
He was surprisingly the sixth quarterback taken in the 1983 NFL Draft. University of Pittsburgh standout Dan Marino had an abundance of talent but was coming off a disappointing senior year with the Panthers. He wound up slipping all the way to the 27th overall spot in the first round and the defending AFC champion Miami Dolphins were happy to scoop him up.
He would turn the NFL upside down in his second season in the league, his first as a full-time starter. A year earlier during his rookie campaign, he made his first start in Week 6 and helped Don Shula’s team get into the playoffs. In 1984, he embarked on a 16-game campaign that the league had not seen to date.
It began against reigning NFC champion Washington in Week 1. He threw for 311 yards and five scores in a 35-17 victory. It ended with four straight games in which he threw for exactly four scores in each contest. It added up to 5,084 yards and 48 TD passes compared to 17 interceptions and a completion percentage of 64.2.
Marino threw a combined seven TD passes (3 interceptions) in playoff wins over the Seahawks and Steelers. However, the 15-1 49ers humbled the second-year quarterback and Don Shula’s team, 38-16, in Super Bowl XIX.
2. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs (2022)
Is it recency bias? Not really when you consider all that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes did in 2022. He rebounded from a turnover-plagued 2021 season in which the team reached the AFC title game but squandered an 18-point lead at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Last offseason, the organization dealt perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins and saw Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson leave via free agency as well. In essence, it was supposed to be a transitional year for Andy Reid’s offense.
Obviously, Mahomes didn’t get the memo, per se. He would connect on 67.1 percent of his passes for an imposing 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns, as opposed to just 12 interceptions. He finished second on the team in rushing with 358 yards and four scores. Mahomes did not lose a fumble during the regular season.
In the postseason, the Chiefs knocked off the Jaguars, Chiefs, and Eagles, the latter in Super Bowl LVII. Each game was decided by double digits. Mahomes hit on 72-of-100 throws (do the math) and threw for a combined 703 yards and seven scores without an interception. Bad ankle and all, his 26-yard run in the fourth quarter vs. Philadelphia was huge. He and the team’s lone turnover of the 2022 postseason was a lost fumble in the AFC title game win over Cincinnati.
1. Joe Montana, 49ers (1989)
You could make a case that the 1989 San Francisco 49ers were the greatest single-season team in NFL annals. They are certainly in the conversation when it comes to the 57-year Super Bowl Era. In George Seifert’s first season as head coach, the club finished 14-2 during the regular season. They suffered a one-point loss to the Rams and a four-point setback to the Packers, both defeats at home.
The team was literally unstoppable in the postseason and made easy work of the Minnesota Vikings (41-13), Rams (30-3), and Denver Broncos (55-10) by a 126-26 count. It adds up to a combined point differential of plus-100.
That season, quarterback Joe Montana would play and start in only 13 regular-season contests. When he was on the field, he was nothing short of spectacular. The Pro Football Hall of Fame completed 70.2 percent of his throw for 3,521 yards and a modest 26 scores with only eight interceptions. He escaped the pocket 49 times for 227 yards and three touchdowns.
Montana was nothing short of amazing during the aforementioned 1989 playoffs. He connected on a blistering 78.3 percent of his passes. He threw for a combined 800 yards, 11 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. In fact, the 49ers did not commit a turnover in the three-game postseason sweep. Talk about coming up big when it counted most!