NFL Quarterbacks Ranked All-Time By Their Primes (Greatest Five-Year Stretches)

Every Prime Has Been Ranked By Unique Statistical Formula

Brett Favre by Paul Cutler / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) Image Cropped

When Team Success Is Taken Away:

This page is for all the people that continually shout, “wins aren’t a quarterback stat!” Which we understand, truly. However we also think it’s not such a black and white issue like many believe. There is a shade of grey when it comes to quarterbacks and winning. However we won’t dive into that at the moment.

Here we look at how these quarterbacks’ primes are ranked with all wins, championships and team-related statistics and accomplishments stripped away. So all that’s left is a quarterback’s prime point total using strictly their individual statistics, awards and accomplishments. You could even call these the top statistical quarterback primes in NFL history.

Either way be warned that these lists are a hell of a lot different and perhaps even more interesting.

Top 45 Individual Quarterback Primes in NFL History:

The best of the best primes without factoring in team success:

45. Brian Sipe, CLE (1977-81): 21.75 Points
44. Phil Simms, NYG (1986-90): 21.75 Points
43. Donovan McNabb, PHI (2002-06): 22 Points
42. Norm Van Brocklin, LAR/PHI (1956-60): 28 Points
41. Russell Wilson, SEA (2013-17): 28 Points

40. Johnny Lujack, CHI (1948-51): 28.5 Points
39. Frank Ryan, CLE (1963-67): 30.75 Points
38. Troy Aikman, DAL (1991-95): 33 Points
37. Tobin Rote, GB (1952-56): 33.5 Points
36. Earl Morrall, BAL/MIA (1968-72): 34.5 Points

35. Philip Rivers, SD (2008-12): 34.5 Points
34. Daunte Culpepper, MIN (2000-04): 36 Points
33. Cam Newton, CAR (2013-17): 36 Points
32. John Brodie, SF (1966-71): 36.5 Points
31. Bert Jones, BAL (1973-77): 36.75 Points

30. Warren Moon, HOU (1988-92): 38.5 Points
29. Boomer Esiason, CIN (1985-89): 38.75 Points
28. Sonny Jurgensen, WAS (1966-70): 40.25 Points
27. Roman Gabriel, LAR (1966-70): 40.75 Points
26. Roger Staubach, DAL (1975-79): 41.75 Points

25. Bob Waterfield, LAR (1945-49): 42 Points
24. Fran Tarkenton, MIN (1973-77): 42.5 Points
23. Joe Theismann, WAS (1979-83): 43.5 Points
22. Ken Anderson, CIN (1979-83): 45 Points
21. Y.A. Tittle, SF/NYG (1959-63): 45.75 Points

20. Matt Ryan, ATL (2012-16): 48.25 Points
19. Sammy Baugh, WAS (1939-43): 48.75 Points
18. Cecil Isbell, GB (1938-42): 51 Points
17. Terry Bradshaw, PIT (1975-79): 57.5 Points
16. Arnie Herber, GB (1932-36): 58.5 Points

15. Ken Stabler, OAK (1973-77): 60.25 Points
14. Dan Fouts, SD (1978-82): 60.75 Points
13. Bart Starr, GB (1965-69): 62 Points
12. Sid Luckman, CHI (1941-45): 66.75 Points
11. Drew Brees, NO (2008-12): 74 Points

10. Tom Brady, NE (2014-18): 75.25 Points
9. Johnny Unitas, BAL (1957-62): 81 Points
8. Aaron Rodgers, GB (2010-14): 81.75 points
7. Kurt Warner, STL (1999-03): 84.25 Points
6. Dan Marino, MIA (1984-88): 86.25 Points

5. Joe Montana, SF (1986-90): 87 Points
4. Peyton Manning, IND (2003-07): 98.75 Points
3. Brett Favre, GB (1994-98): 107.25 Points
2. Otto Graham, CLE (1951-55): 112.75 Points
1. Steve Young, SF (1992-96): 114 Points

The Best Quarterback Play We’ve Ever Seen.

You could easily make the argument that these are the 45 greatest stretches of pure, unadulterated quarterback play in NFL history. Steve Young, wow. Is it possible that he’s somehow an underrated, incredibly famous First Ballot Hall of Fame quarterback?

These are the primes of careers that will forever live-on as the greatest quarterback play the world has ever seen. Team accolades have been taken back and the straight-up talent of these supreme passers take center stage. Not only did they reach such heights, but they stayed at the top for a five-year stretch of historic play.

Interesting to note that when team success is stripped away, Tom Brady is just barely one of the Top 10 quarterbacks of all-time in terms of best primes or consecutive five-year stretches. Still an amazing place to be, but noteworthy nonetheless. We have a feeling that Patrick Mahomes is going to knock him out of Top 10 all-time when it comes to primes by the end of the 2022 season. But time will tell.

The guys in slots 11-15 are some of the most legendary passers the game of football has ever seen. Drew Brees bumping shoulders with Luckman and Starr is just incredibly fun to see. Each one of those guys were right near the top of their era when it comes to quarterback play.

Looking at Green Bay:

The Packers have five quarterbacks in the Top 18 all-time in terms of quarterback prime play. That’s 25% of the Top 20, or best, “primes” by quarterbacks in NFL history from one franchise as of 2020. Again, no other franchise has more than two in the Top 20. The first 100 years of NFL football were very kind to the Packers at the quarterback position. Incredibly kind, actually. It’s an undeniable part of the culture in Green Bay.

And you can claim bias, and I get it. But trust me, this is just how the numbers came out. I’ve been working on a “Top Running Backs of all-time” piece (out probably in 2021) and the Packers aren’t owning that list at all. It’s just when it comes to quarterbacks the Packers have been blessed. It’s just the truth.

Just Missed the Cut:

Bobby Layne, DET (1950-54): 21 Points
Jim Kelly, BUF (1990-94): 20.75 Points
Eli Manning, NYG (2007-11): 20.75 Points
Steve McNair, TEN (2002-06): 20.5 Points
John Elway, DEN (1994-98): 19.75 Points
Bob Griese, MIA (1970-74): 19 Points
Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (2005-09): 17.75 Points

AFL Honorable Mentions:

Len Dawson, KC (1965-69): 59.50 Points

Dawson would have landed 16th all-time in history with his individual prime score, just behind Ken Stabler. He truly was one of the greatest passers the game has ever seen, but we just don’t know how his career would have gone had he spent the entire time in the NFL.

John Hadl, SD (1964-68): 29.25 Points

That score would have landed Hadl 40th all-time, so he certainly was a hell of a passer. His other “prime” from 1969-1973 was notable, too, but not as high of a score as the one listed here.

Hitting the 70 Point Plateau:

In the individual version of this formula it appears that crossing the 70 point barrier is where true “GOAT” quarterbacks, when it comes to individual accomplishments in their prime, are hanging out. You could make the argument for the 60 point plateau, but I’d say 70 is a stronger cut-off.

And the greatest primes of modern quarterbacks are as follows.

Top 30 Individual Quarterback Primes of the Super Bowl Era:

The best of the best prime stretches of the modern day greats:

30. Russell Wilson, SEA (2013-17): 28 Points
29. Troy Aikman, DAL (1991-95): 33 Points
28. Earl Morrall, BAL/MIA (1968-72): 34.5 Points
27. Philip Rivers, SD (2008-12): 34.5 Points
26. Daunte Culpepper, MIN (2000-04): 36 Points

25. Cam Newton, CAR (2013-17): 36 Points
24. John Brodie, SF (1966-71): 36.5 Points
23. Bert Jones, BAL (1973-77): 36.75 Points
22. Warren Moon, HOU (1988-92): 38.5 Points
21. Boomer Esiason, CIN (1985-89): 38.75 Points

20. Sonny Jurgensen, WAS (1966-70): 40.25 Points
19. Roman Gabriel, LAR (1966-70): 40.75 Points
18. Roger Staubach, DAL (1975-79): 41.75 Points
17. Fran Tarkenton, MIN (1973-77): 42.5 Points
16. Joe Theismann, WAS (1979-83): 43.5 Points

15. Ken Anderson, CIN (1979-83): 45 Points
14. Matt Ryan, ATL (2012-16): 48.25 Points
13. Terry Bradshaw, PIT (1975-79): 57.5 Points
12. Ken Stabler, OAK (1973-77): 60.25 Points
11. Dan Fouts, SD (1978-82): 60.75 Points

10. Bart Starr, GB (1965-69): 62 Points*
9. Drew Brees, NO (2008-12): 74 Points
8. Tom Brady, NE (2014-18): 75.25 Points
7. Aaron Rodgers, GB (2010-14): 81.75 points
6. Kurt Warner, STL (1999-03): 84.25 Points

5. Dan Marino, MIA (1984-88): 86.25 Points
4. Joe Montana, SF (1986-90): 87 Points
3. Peyton Manning, IND (2003-07): 98.75 Points
2. Brett Favre, GB (1994-98): 107.25 Points
1. Steve Young, SF(1992-96): 114 Points

Packers-Niners in the 1990s.

Here you can see that in the mid-1990s we were witnessing the greatest collision of quarterback primes in the Super Bowl Era and perhaps NFL history. Young leads this monumental list with Favre just behind him. Their battles in the ’90s seem even more legendary now given their placement on these iconic lists. We truly were witnessing history as they battled in four consecutive postseasons. They’re the only men to cross the 100 point mark in this formula in the Super Bowl Era.

What’s amazing is that if you ask a 49ers or Packers fan who the best quarterback in their franchise’s history you will often times get Joe Montana, Bart Starr or Aaron Rodgers as an answer. However, it’s Young and Favre that had the best individual (and total) primes of the five iconic quarterbacks. And they went head to head for NFC supremacy throughout the ’90s. What a time to be a fan of these two organizations. Oh, and those John Brodie, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell guys weren’t too bad themselves were they?

It’s worth noting that Young had Jerry Rice to throw to for the entirety of his tenure and all of his defined “prime,” whereas Favre only had Sterling Sharpe (a close to equally-dominant receiver in our opinion) for three seasons and just one season of his “prime.” Take that information however you’d like in terms of their respective spots on these all-time lists.

Just missed the cut:

Donovan McNabb, PHI (2002-06): 22 Points
Phil Simms, NYG (1986-90): 21.75 Points
Brian Sipe, CLE (1977-81): 21.75 Points
Jim Kelly, BUF (1990-94): 20.75 Points
Eli Manning, NYG (2007-11): 20.75 Points
Steve McNair, TEN (2002-06): 20.5 Points
John Elway, DEN (1994-98): 19.75 Points
Bob Griese, MIA (1970-74): 19 Points
Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (2005-09): 17.75 Points

These nine guys are a mixed bag. Interestingly, all four of Manning, Elway, Griese and Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls during their best “prime” stretch and all three missed the Top 25 all-time cut for individual primes.

It seems as though their multiple championships elevated all of their legends significantly. Kelly is infamously the most “what if” quarterback on this list. Sipe is a random inclusion, but a deserved one based on the numbers. McNair’s legacy is elevated a bit higher than it probably deserves to be and Phil Simms, well, his score sounds about right to us. McNabb probably isn’t as high as many people would have thought. So it goes.

“Are you Cherry Picking 5-Year Stretches?”

Good question! But no. And here are a few examples to prove that. However we appreciate your skepticism greatly; we’d all be better off with not believing exactly what we’re told at face value. These are some great quarterback’s second highest grossing five-year stretches.

And yes, injuries derailed the consecutive season primes of a few great quarterbacks, but injuries are a part of the game.

Remember, these are Individual Prime Scores of the Super Bowl Era. All of these guys have stronger scores listed above.

Aaron Rodgers, GB (2011-15): 72 Points

This would be Rodgers’ second best five-year individual prime stretch. Yes, this is only one year removed from his original prime listed above, but this five-year span doesn’t include the year the Packers won the Super Bowl. We do mention Rodgers’ 2015-2019 below, too.

Drew Brees, NO (2006-10): 65.75 Points

This is Drew Brees’ score when team accolades are taken away from his best ever prime stretch. We swapped this five-year stretch for his 2008-2012 run for the “Top Individual Primes of the Super Bowl Era” list above. That was truly his best prime.

Peyton Manning, IND (2006-10): 65 Points

Oddly, Manning’s second best five-year span also came out to 81 points. This is lower than the prime that we used (his highest grossing prime) so there isn’t much to say here. Still an impressive score nonetheless.

Tom Brady, NE (2003-07): 64 Points

This is Brady’s other best five year-stretch, or prime when it comes to consecutive seasons played. As you can tell, it’s beneath his best prime which landed his prime ninth all-time in the Super Bowl Era.

Bart Starr, GB (1966-70): 62 Points*

If you want to get really nit-picky about Starr’s “prime” of 1965-1969 including 1965 (the year before the Super Bowl Era began) you can keep crying because his stretch of individual prime from 1966-1970 also netted him a score of exactly 62 points. So literally nothing changes.

Tom Brady, NE (2009-13): 53.25 Points

We did another stretch of Tom’s career just to drive the point home.

John Elway, DEN (1985-89): 20.25 Points

This is slightly higher score than his individual prime mentioned above, but still not good enough to land him in the Top 30 of the Super Bowl Era. Isn’t that insane? But it’s true.

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (2014-18): 16 Points

This is Big Ben’s other top individual stretch of “prime” but as you can see it doesn’t move the needle for him.

I could list more guys, but I think you get the gist of the explanation here.

Observations:

These lists as they’re currently comprised will forever serve as a time capsule for prime quarterback play for the history of the first 100 years of NFL football. These, in that regard, will remain unchanged. When it comes to the complete history of the NFL obviously we’ll see these lists changed in the coming years and decades.

How freaking good was Kurt Warner when he was at his best? Truly amazing to see him nestled amongst these all-time greats. The quarterback of the “Greatest Show on Turf” deserved the hype.

Warner over Rodgers will make some people angry, as Rodgers has had the stronger total career, but when Warner was at his absolute best he was a historic force.

Seeing Dan Marino in the Top 5 just feels right, too, doesn’t it? But to see Joe Montana just edge him out is impressive. Joe Cool was clearly more than just a winner like how some remember him. In fact, as an individual quarterback he far beat out Tom Brady, the other all-time great known more so as a “winner” than thrower.

For those of you beating the drum that Tom Brady is overrated because of his team’s success, well, here’s some ammunition. Our formula ranks his individual prime as the eighth best in the NFL since the mid 1960s (Super Bowl Era). That’s still an impressive ranking, but it does show that other quarterbacks have been more dominant on an individual level when it comes to their primes (seven, to be exact). That list includes Aaron Rodgers. Just sayin’.

It really makes you reevaluate things a bit to see how this specific, individual Top 10 shook out.

To us, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees both slot in right about where you’d expect on the all-time list, too.

Dan Fouts really did have an all-time great prime. When you hear people talk about his best years, they aren’t exaggerating. The same goes for Ken Stabler. They aren’t as beloved as Roger Staubach in that era, but their primes were simply better.

Joe Theismann is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His entire career didn’t blow away the committee, but for a five-year stretch he was an amazing player. His prime ranks among the all-time greats, as you can see here. His prime, incredibly, ranks with guys like Fouts and Tarkenton.

The curious case of Russell Wilson. The guy is an amazing, amazing quarterback. However he’s hardly ever led the NFL in a statistical category and has never been named First Team All-Pro. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. This lack of dominating his peers in those categories has hurt him on these all-time lists. Maybe his next five years will be his actual prime in these rankings. It’s just strange, but man, he’s not been as dominant as you’d think.

We’ll see where Lamar Jackson ends up in a few years as he has the skills to climb high on these lists, but it seems almost certain that Patrick Mahomes is gunning for everyone on these lists. There’s a chance DeShaun Watson and Carson Wentz will have something to say about this ranking, too. And of course, there’s always someone else that’ll come along and make their mark as an all-timer.

Where’s John Elway on the list you ask? Well, if you take away Elway’s team accomplishments then his individual prime score comes out to just 19.75 Points. He’s, without doubt, the most overrated quarterback in NFL history. A legend? Sure, okay. But a “GOAT” candidate? Absolutely not.

Look how far Eli Manning fell from his prime score to his individual prime score. Insane, but also predictable. His legacy is completely propped up on those two runs to the Super Bowl. And hey, he deserves some credit for those runs.

And for anyone trying to push the narrative that Matthew Stafford is actually an elite statistical quarterback just cursed to play for a terrible franchise… it’s actually not true. His prime of 2011-2015 netted him just 11.25 Points. Did someone say Kirk Cousins? You shouldn’t have. His “prime” of 2015-2019 got him 16.75 Points. Neither score is going to impress anyone, unfortunately for them.

Non-Packer Backing NFC North fans will love this: Aaron Rodgers‘ 2015-2019 stretch, when he’s “declined” saw him get 31 Points in the individual prime formula, which would land him above Russell Wilson for 30th best quarterback prime of the Super Bowl Era. Take that information however you’d like.

Staying in the NFC North, the Bears have exactly two quarterbacks on the all-time top 45 individual quarterback primes list: Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack. The Lions have no quarterbacks on the all-time list (Bobby Layne just barely missed the cut, literally 46th all-time). The Vikings, like Chicago, have two quarterbacks on the all-time list. Fran Tarkenton and a more modern quarterback. Tarkenton came in with the 24th greatest prime ever and the more modern passer is Daunte Culpepper.

That is a name that we’re sure many haven’t thought of in quite some time, but he deserves mention here. Despite the fact that Culpepper’s career as a whole left a lot to be desired, his prime was obviously pretty damn impressive. In fact, he had the third best quarterbacking prime in the NFC North in the last 40 years. Yes, throwing the Randy Moss and Cris Carter certainly helps.

Other QBs With Not Enough Points to be Ranked:

A few other notable quarterbacks whose individual prime scores were 16 points or less are Andrew Luck, Randall Cunningham, Dave Krieg, Tony Romo, Michael Vick, Jim Plunkett, Lynn Dickey, Craig Morton and Colin Kaepernick. Sure, there are dozens of other quarterbacks you could include with this group, but eh, what’s the point?

However we felt these guys’ primes deserved to be, at the very least, mentioned for one reason or another.

Which Franchises Have the Most to Brag About?

The top franchises in NFL history for excellent quarterback primes are, without a doubt, the Packers, 49ers and the Colts.

In the next tier are the Cowboys, Rams, Bengals, Chargers and Washington. After that, it’s a lot of mediocrity or franchises that have had one truly great quarterback.

Green Bay has five quarterbacks in the Top 18, with three in the Top 13 and two in the Top Eight. Amazingly, no other franchise has more than two in the Top 20.

The Niners are right there with Green Bay though. They possess two quarterbacks in the Top Five and three in the Top 32. And we’d like to point out that most of Y.A. Tittle’s success came with the New York Giants and not the Niners. But still, he was a Niner for a time in his prime.

The Indianapolis Colts boast some obvious success with two quarterbacks in the Top Nine all-time, when it comes to prime quarterback play. Interestingly, they have four quarterbacks in the Top 36, too.

After that, the Rams have one quarterback in the Top 10 and three in the Top 27 and four in the Top 42. Closely following them is Washington, which boasts three quarterbacks in the Top 28. The Bengals have two quarterbacks in the Top 29 and the Chargers have two in the Top 35. Lastly, the Cowboys have two quarterbacks in the Top 38.

All other franchises, although they might have a greater single quarterback, fall beneath these organizations in prime quarterback play all-time.

So Who Are The “QB Prime GOATS?”

The list of men who have legitimate “greatest of all-time claims” when it comes to primes, or five-year stretches of NFL play, is incredibly short. And this is factoring in both primes with team success and primes with team success stripped away.

We’d cap the discussion at Otto Graham, Brett Favre and Steve Young.

Your debate is clearly between those three gentlemen. They’re the top three in both primes including team success and in individual primes. Most other quarterback’s two different prime scores vary greatly depending on if their team success is included or not — this is not the case for these guys.

They’re the only names that are in the elite of the elite conversation when it comes to greatest compact stretches of quarterback play in NFL history according to our formula. Let their names sink in; they’re without doubt tier one in professional football history. Quarterbacks have had better careers and quarterbacks have had better single-seasons, but no quarterbacks have ever had better primes than those three.

Now take a moment to look at their Pro Football Reference pages and their respective five-year stretches; it’ll all start to make sense. When they were at the height of their powers, they were downright historic forces throwing the ball.

Of course Peyton Manning and Joe Montana are right there in the next tier, a close tier two. If we factor in team success then Tom Brady and Johnny Unitas are in that impressive tier as well. Rounding out the best of the best, call it tier three, you’ll find Dan Marino, Kurt Warner and Aaron Rodgers.

And here’s tier four; why the hell not? Drew Brees, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Sid Luckman, Dan Fouts and Ken Stabler. These 16 men listed here had the best quarterbacking primes of all-time. Surely we’ll see Patrick Mahomes join them soon and inevitably more quarterbacks down the road.

However it’s going to take a heck of a five-year stretch to even sniff the level of Graham, Favre and Young.

Have these lists changed the way you view any of these legendary quarterbacks or NFL history as a whole?

It’s important for us all to be okay with letting go of our preconceived notions, whether it’s a silly article about football or something far more serious. Sometimes what we think just isn’t actually the way that it is. And that’s okay.

There’s nothing wrong with being wrong, the trouble comes when you make the concious decision to stay wrong.

But one thing is certain, to you Packer Backers specifically, Brett Favre’s prime was as good as it gets in the Super Bowl era of NFL football. He was that amazing. It’s nice to see the hard, objective numbers back up something most of us believed to be so obviously true.

Will Packers fans ever see a five-year stretch as dominant as the quarterback position again? Probably not, but hey, at least we got it with Brett. For a time, it was his world. Just as it was Sid Luckman’s, Otto Graham’s, Johnny Unitas’, Dan Marino’s, Joe Montana’s and Steve Young’s world before him. Favre is a crucial link in that chain.

When it comes to the best primes in NFL history, Favre belongs in, and in some ways atop, that elite lineage.

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