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The Winning Quarterbacks
Name | Team | Opp. | Att. | Comp. | Comp. % | Yards | Y/A | TD | INT | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phil Simms | NYG | Den | 25 | 22 | 88.0% | 268 | 10.7 | 3 | 0 | 150.9 |
Joe Montana | SF | Den | 29 | 22 | 75.9% | 297 | 10.2 | 5 | 0 | 147.6 |
Jim Plunkett | Oak | Phi | 21 | 13 | 61.9% | 261 | 12.4 | 3 | 0 | 145.0 |
Troy Aikman | Dal | Buf | 30 | 22 | 73.3% | 273 | 9.1 | 4 | 0 | 140.7 |
Steve Young | SF | SD | 36 | 24 | 66.7% | 325 | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 134.8 |
Doug Williams | Wash | Den | 29 | 18 | 62.1% | 340 | 11.7 | 4 | 1 | 127.9 |
Joe Montana | SF | Mia | 35 | 24 | 68.6% | 331 | 9.5 | 3 | 0 | 127.2 |
Joe Flacco | Bal | SF | 33 | 22 | 66.7% | 287 | 8.7 | 3 | 0 | 124.2 |
Russell Wilson | Sea | Den | 25 | 18 | 72.0% | 206 | 8.2 | 2 | 0 | 123.1 |
Terry Bradshaw | Pit | Dal | 19 | 9 | 47.4% | 209 | 11.0 | 2 | 0 | 122.5 |
Terry Bradshaw | Pit | Dal | 30 | 17 | 56.7% | 318 | 11.6 | 4 | 1 | 119.2 |
Bart Starr | GB | KC | 23 | 16 | 69.6% | 250 | 10.9 | 2 | 1 | 116.2 |
Roger Staubach | Dal | Mia | 19 | 12 | 63.2% | 119 | 6.3 | 2 | 0 | 115.9 |
Joe Montana | SF | Cin | 36 | 23 | 63.9% | 357 | 9.9 | 2 | 0 | 115.2 |
Drew Brees | NO | Indy | 39 | 32 | 82.1% | 288 | 7.4 | 2 | 0 | 114.5 |
Ken Stabler | Oak | Min | 19 | 12 | 63.2% | 180 | 9.5 | 1 | 0 | 111.7 |
Aaron Rodgers | GB | Pit | 39 | 24 | 61.5% | 304 | 7.8 | 3 | 0 | 111.5 |
Tom Brady | NE | Phi | 33 | 23 | 69.7% | 236 | 7.2 | 2 | 0 | 110.2 |
Bob Griese | Mia | Min | 7 | 6 | 85.7% | 73 | 10.4 | 0 | 0 | 110.1 |
Troy Aikman | Dal | Pit | 23 | 15 | 65.2% | 209 | 9.1 | 1 | 0 | 108.8 |
Terry Bradshaw | Pit | Min | 14 | 9 | 64.3% | 96 | 8.9 | 1 | 0 | 108.0 |
Brett Favre | GB | NE | 27 | 14 | 51.9% | 246 | 9.1 | 2 | 0 | 107.9 |
Jim McMahon | Chi | NE | 20 | 12 | 60.0% | 256 | 12.8 | 0 | 0 | 104.2 |
Eli Manning | NYG | NE | 40 | 30 | 75.0% | 296 | 7.4 | 1 | 0 | 103.7 |
Roger Staubach | Dal | Den | 25 | 17 | 68.0% | 183 | 7.3 | 1 | 0 | 102.6 |
Terry Bradhsaw | Pit | Ram | 21 | 14 | 66.7% | 309 | 14.7 | 2 | 3 | 101.9 |
Tom Brady | NE | Car | 48 | 32 | 66.7% | 354 | 7.4 | 3 | 1 | 100.5 |
Joe Montana | SF | Cin | 22 | 14 | 63.6% | 157 | 7.1 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 |
Kurt Warner | St. L | Ten | 45 | 24 | 53.3% | 414 | 9.2 | 2 | 0 | 99.7 |
John Elway | Den | Atl | 29 | 18 | 62.1% | 336 | 11.6 | 1 | 1 | 99.2 |
Jim Plunkett | Rai | Wash | 25 | 16 | 64.0% | 172 | 6.9 | 1 | 0 | 97.4 |
Bart Starr | GB | Oak | 24 | 13 | 54.2% | 202 | 8.4 | 1 | 0 | 96.2 |
Jeff Hostetler | NYG | Buf | 32 | 20 | 62.5% | 222 | 6.9 | 1 | 0 | 93.5 |
Ben Roethlisberger | Pit | Ari | 30 | 21 | 70.0% | 256 | 8.5 | 1 | 1 | 93.2 |
Mark Rypien | Wash | Buf | 33 | 18 | 54.6% | 292 | 8.9 | 2 | 1 | 92.0 |
Len Dawson | Wash | Buf | 17 | 12 | 70.6% | 142 | 8.4 | 1 | 1 | 90.8 |
Bob Griese | Mia | Wash | 11 | 8 | 72.7% | 88 | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 88.4 |
Eli Manning | NYG | NE | 34 | 19 | 55.9% | 255 | 7.5 | 2 | 1 | 87.3 |
Tom Brady | NE | St. L | 27 | 16 | 59.3% | 145 | 5.4 | 1 | 0 | 86.2 |
Joe Namath | NYJ | Bal | 28 | 17 | 60.7% | 206 | 7.4 | 0 | 0 | 83.3 |
Peyton Manning | Indy | Chi | 38 | 25 | 65.8% | 247 | 6.5 | 1 | 1 | 81.8 |
Trent Dilfer | Bal | NYG | 25 | 12 | 48.0% | 153 | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 80.9 |
Brad Johnson | TB | Oak | 34 | 18 | 52.9% | 215 | 6.3 | 2 | 1 | 79.9 |
Troy Aikman | Dal | Buf | 27 | 19 | 70.4% | 207 | 7.7 | 0 | 1 | 77.2 |
Joe Theismann | Wash | Mia | 23 | 15 | 65.2% | 143 | 6.2 | 2 | 2 | 75.1 |
Johnny Unitas | Bal | Dal | 9 | 3 | 33.3% | 88 | 9.8 | 1 | 2 | 68.1 |
Earl Morrall | Bal | Dal | 15 | 7 | 46.7% | 147 | 9.8 | 0 | 1 | 54.0 |
John Elway | Den | GB | 22 | 12 | 54.6% | 123 | 5.6 | 0 | 1 | 51.9 |
Ben Roethlisberger | Pit | Sea | 21 | 9 | 42.9% | 123 | 5.9 | 0 | 2 | 22.6 |
*This table is sortable. Thanks to Topher Doll for taking the time not only to format the table, but to compile the stats as well!
Yes Broncos fans, take this time to bury your head in shame at the fact that the two best performances in Super Bowl history came against your Denver Broncos. I'm not going to count Russell Wilson's performance because his defense and special teams set him up all game.
Now that you're done weeping, take a look at the rest of the list. As you can see, from top to bottom, what it takes to win a Super Bowl varies by case.
Do you have to be a 300-yard passer?
No. In fact, out of the 48 winning performances, only 10 have eclipsed 300 yards passing.
Do you have to throw 3 or more TD passes?
No. Only 11 of 48 performances have featured a performance with 3 or more TD passes.
What about interceptions?
Well, here we see a larger correlation. Only Terry Bradshaw--you know the same Terry Bradshaw that trashed Peyton Manning's postseason record, has thrown 3 interceptions and won the game. This was also in a game where he threw for 309 yards on only 14 completions. Think Tim Tebow v. the Steelers.
30 Super Bowl winning quarterbacks or 62.5% of them did not throw an interception.
When you include QB's that threw only one pick, it accounts for 44/48 or a staggering 91.7% of the performances. Remember Peyton Manning's 2 INT's against Seattle? Only Joe Theismann, Ben Roethlisberger, and Johnny Unitas managed to win games when throwing 2 interceptions.
Other fun facts
- 62.5% of all winning QB's attempted less than 30 passes
- 77.2% of all winning QB's completed at least 60% of their passes
- 2 QB's have won Super Bowls when attempting less than 10 passes (Bob Griese, Johnny Unitas)
- 3 QB's have won Super Bowls when attempting more than 40 passes (Eli Manning, Kurt Warner, Tom Brady)
So what does it take?
Of course it varies by team, but if I had to craft a winning stat-line, it would look something like this:
19-29 (65.5%), 240 yards (8.3 YPA), 2 TD, 0 INT
The keys here are balance, effectiveness (higher yards per attempt) and most importantly no turnovers.
The Best of the Best
5. Jim Plunkett 13-21 (61.9%), 261 yards (12.4 YPA), 3 TD 0 INT, 145.0 Rating
4. Troy Aikman 22-30 (73.3%), 273 yards (9.1 YPA), 4 TD 0 INT, 140.7 Rating
3. Steve Young 24-36 (66.7%), 325 yards (9.0 YPA), 6 TD 0 INT, 134.8 Rating
2. Phil Simms 22-25 (88.0%), 268 yards (10.7 YPA), 3 TD 0 INT, 150.9 Rating
1. Joe Montana 22-29 (75.9%), 297 yards (10.2 YPA), 5 TD 0 INT, 147.6 Rating
It was a tough one deciding which Bronco slayer was topps, but you can't give me a better mastery performance than Joe Montana. Steve Young's Rating gets dinged by his lower completion percentage. Passer Rating puts a premium on higher percentages.
The Worst of the Worst
5.Tom Brady 16-27 (59.3%), 145 yards (5.4 YPA), 1 TD 0 INT, 86.2 Rating
4. Trent Dilfer 12-25 (48.0%), 153 yards (6.1 YPA), 1 TD 0 INT, 80.9 Rating
3. Johnny Unitas 3-9 (33.3%), 88 yards (9.8 YPA), 1 TD 2 INT, 68.1 Rating
2. John Elway 12-22 (54.6%), 123 yards (5.6 YPA), 0 TD 1 INT, 51.9 Rating
1. Ben Roethlisberger 9-21 (42.9%), 123 yards (5.9 YPA), 0 TD 2 INT, 22.6 Rating
Each of these games save for the Denver/GB featured some smashmouth, shutdown, defensive performances. But no one will remember that Elway played a sub-par game, they will remember "The Helicopter." No one will remember that Tom Brady was willed to the finish line by his defense and kicker, they will remember that he dinked and dunked his way downfield against prevent defense to set up the winning score.
To the victor belong the spoils...unless you're Trent Dilfer, Johnny Unitas, and Ben Roethlisberger.
Elway and Manning Wins
How did John and Peyton fare in their Super Bowl victories?
Player |
Game |
Opp |
Com |
Att |
% |
Yards |
YPA |
TD |
INT |
Rate |
Elway |
SB 32 |
GB |
12 |
22 |
54.5 |
123 |
5.6 |
0 |
1 |
51.9 |
Elway |
SB 33 |
ATL |
19 |
29 |
62.1 |
336 |
10.7 |
1 |
1 |
99.2 |
Manning |
SB 41 |
CHI |
25 |
38 |
65.8 |
247 |
6.5 |
1 |
1 |
81.8 |
Totals |
--- |
--- |
56 |
89 |
62.9 |
706 |
7.9 |
2 |
3 |
81.0 |
Nothing really flashy. In SB 32 the workhorse was Terrell Davis. John's only interception was with a 7-point lead the play after GB had turned the ball over. Like I said, people only remember the helicopter from that game.
The 2nd time around, his numbers do not do him justice. His lone interception was a deflection off the hands of Shannon Sharpe.
Manning on the other hand was efficient and moved the ball against the NFL's top rated defense. For all the talk about his deficiencies in the elements, no one ever mentions the fact that he won this game in a torrential downpour.
Elway and Manning Losses
Player |
Game |
Opp |
Com |
Att |
% |
Yards |
YPA |
TD |
INT |
Rate |
Elway |
SB 21 |
NYG |
22 |
37 |
59.5 |
304 |
8.2 |
1 |
1 |
83.6 |
Elway |
SB 22 |
WAS |
14 |
38 |
36.8 |
257 |
6.7 |
1 |
3 |
36.8 |
Elway |
SB 24 |
SF |
10 |
26 |
38.5 |
108 |
4.2 |
0 |
2 |
19.4 |
Manning |
SB 44 |
HO |
31 |
45 |
68.9 |
333 |
7.4 |
1 |
1 |
88.5 |
Manning |
SB 48 |
SEA |
34 |
49 |
69.4 |
280 |
5.7 |
1 |
2 |
73.5 |
Totals |
--- |
--- |
111 |
195 |
56.9 |
1282 |
6.6 |
4 |
9 |
64.5 |
FOR THE LOVE OF FOOTBALL IT BURNS MY EYES.....IT BURNS!!!
What does this mean for Peyton?
First and foremost Peyton has to play mistake free ball. With him, it seems as if turnovers come in bunches. Can't have that.
You can count on him being efficient no matter the outcome, but if the offense isn't working the ball downfield with at least some success, you are going to see a lot of long drives where opportunities to fail abound.
The Perfect Manning game in my estimation will feature less than 35 attempts with no turnovers.
If we get into the position to play in the big game this year, we will revisit this post, until then...
GO BRONCOS!!!