Five Greatest Quarterbacks to Never Win a Super Bowl

February 7th, 2016 by Kyle Lutz | Filed under Football, General, NFL.

Some of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, whether it be Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Joe Montana, have held the precious Lombardi Trophy, however some haven’t been so lucky. Here are some of the best, who were great, but who never had the chance to win one in their career. Unfortunately for some, they never had great supporting casts around them, or, for other reasons, they didn’t make it far enough as they would’ve liked to in the playoffs.

05. Dan Fouts- Chargers

Although he only has 12 more career touchdown passes to interceptions, which doesn’t seem all that even for a good quarterback, Fouts was an underrated signal caller. He started out in 1973, behind some atrocious Chargers’ teams in the mid-’70s, before they finally made the conference championship game in 1980. He was a six-time Pro Bowler, led the league in passing yards four years in a row (1979-82), and set an NFL record, too, by becoming the first QB ever to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season three years in a row.

Back in the ’70s, NFL teams favored running games to passing, thus a quarterback who could accomplish that feat in that era was eye opening. Fouts was enshrined into Canton, into the Hall of Fame, in 1993, despite having only three career playoff wins.

04. Jim Kelly- Bills

Hall of Famer Jim Kelly holds the distinction — and not a very good one — of being the only quarterback in league history to lose four straight Super Bowls (1991-94). In those four games, Buffalo only averaged 18.3 points per game, despite fielding one of the best offenses in the league over that stretch (with 428, they ranked first in total points in 1990).

Kelly is arguably (see below) the worst postseason QB in NFL history, posting a TD-INT ratio of 21-28, a quarterback rating of 72.3, and was even worst in his Super Bowl starts (even though he only played in limited action in Super Bowl XXVII). In four Super Bowls, he had 5.7 yards per attempt, a touchdown/interception ratio of 2-7, and a quarterback rating of only 56.9. Despite having fellow future Hall of Famers around him, in wideouts Andre Reed, James Lofton, and all-time sacks leader, Bruce Smith, Kelly could never succeed beyond the regular season.

However, despite his poor postseason performances, he was solid throughout his regular-season career. He threw 237 career touchdown passes, had a passer rating of 84.4, and he ranks around the top 25 all-time in touchdowns, passing yards (35,467), and completions (2,874).

03. Warren Moon- Oilers/Vikings/Seahawks/Chiefs

Nine-time Pro Bowler Warren Moon had some great highs, and disappointing lows, throughout his 17-year career. Even though he had a lengthy career, he accomplished a tremendous amount within that span of time. All-time, he ranks eighth in touchdowns (291), seventh in both completions (3,988) and passing yards (49,325), and sixth in game-winning drives (37).

Moon played on some entertaining, uptempo Houston Oilers’ offenses throughout the early ’90s, which included the likes of Pro Bowlers Ernest Givens, Drew Hill and Haywood Jeffires- among others. He also threw for 33 touchdowns and made a Pro Bowl in ’95 with Minnesota. Unfortunately for him, he lost a lot of close playoff games (he had a career 3-7 playoff record), losing 6/7 games by eight points or less. Despite the postseason bad luck, he managed a respectable 84.9 passer rating, and a 64.3 completion percentage in those 10 games.

Moon, like the previous two did, went on to be enshrined into the Football Hall of Fame (in 2006).

02. Fran Tarkenton- Vikings/Giants

Tarkenton took the Vikings to three Super Bowls, and you can make a very strong case that he’s the worst postseason quarterback ever, even above fellow HOF Jim Kelly (see above). As bad as Kelly was in his four Super Bowl appearances, Tarkenton wasn’t any better in his three with Minnesota. In Super Bowl IX vs. Terry Bradshaw and Pittsburgh, he threw three picks and had an atrocious quarterback rating (of only 14.1). Combining his three Super Bowl losses, he had an overall passer rating of just 43.7, and averaged only 5.5 yards per attempt.

As for his accolades, he was a nine-time Pro Bowler, the 1975 NFL MVP (led the league in completions, completion percentage, and touchdowns), and is a Hall of Famer; he was inducted in 1986. Tarkenton ranks fourth all-time in approximate value (236), eighth in passing yards (47,003), sixth in passing touchdowns (342), and ninth in game-winning drives (34). He was also known as one of the beneficiaries in the early ’70s of the famous Vikings great defensive line, also known as the “Purple People Eaters.”

01. Dan Marino- Dolphins

Marino, one of the best quarterbacks in history, won rookie of the year honors in ’83, then followed that up with an MVP award the following season, as he — at the time (before Peyton Manning, then Tom Brady, then Peyton Manning again) — broke the single-season touchdown record. That season, 1984, he broke George Blanda’s 23-year-old record (who had 36 touchdown passes in 1961), and set the league ablaze. He not only broke Blanda’s record, but had 16 more TDs than any other QB that year (Seattle’s Dave Krieg had 32). Perhaps just as insane, he won the passing yards title by 470 yards, and also had a passer rating of 108.9- the fifth best all-time, at the time.

Unfortunately for him, Marino’s career came right around a decade after the Dolphins’ dynasty of the early-mid ’70s had ended, when they completed the only perfect NFL season to date in 1972 (14-0), and won two Super Bowls. However, things were looking bright for him, despite the bad timing, as he took the team to the Super Bowl in just his second year. In Super Bowl XIX that year vs. Joe Montana and the 49ers, Miami threw the ball 50 times, was 1-10 on third-down conversions, and lost Marino’s first (and only) Super Bowl appearance, 38-16.

Despite ranking fifth all-time in touchdowns (420), fourth in completions (4,967) and making the Hall of Fame class in 2005, Marino not only never won a title, but never made it back after his rookie year. After the ’85 Super Bowl, he’d go on to lose two conference championship games, eight out of his next 14 postseason games, yet he still had five 3+ touchdown games in the postseason.

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