As football’s biggest game of the year continues to grow, more eyes are on the team’s most important position: Quarterback. These five QBs (plus a bonus pick) played the best under the brightest lights. Here is our top five Super Bowl Performances from the QB position.
5. Doug Williams in Super Bowl XXII
Probably the most improbable performance in Super Bowl history came from Grambling State product Doug Williams. After starting QB Jay Schroeder got hurt, Williams took over and led the Redskins to playoff wins over and to reach Super Bowl XXII. History was made as he became the first Black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl. However more history would be made.
In Super Bowl XXII against John Elway and the Denver Broncos, Williams had a game. I mean HAD A GAME! He went 18 for 29 and passed for a then Super Bowl record 340 yards and four TDs in a 42-10 win. Williams, now the first Black QB to start AND win the Super Bowl, also took home Super Bowl XXII MVP honors.
4. Kurt Warner In Super Bowl XXXIV
The quick rise of Kurt Warner in the 1999 season was nothing short of extraordinary. What he proved is all you need is a shot and when he got it he made the most of it. So much so he now has a bust in Canton. But his first season as starter was something out of a movie. From backup to regular season MVP to Super Bowl MVP.
In Super Bowl XXXIV, Warner and the St. Louis Rams and the Tennessee Titans battled to the end. The Rams won the game on a last second defensive stop at the one-yard line. The score was 23-16 and Warner etched his name in history, going 24/45 for a then Super Bowl record 414 yards and two TDs. The Super Bowl win was the first in Rams’ franchise history.
3. Steve Young in Super Bowl XXIX
A Super Bowl berth was a long time coming for Hall of Fame QB Steve Young. Sitting behind the great Joe Montana for years while he was winning Super Bowls, Young was the man who the 49ers chose to replace the four-time champion. With that came immense pressure. In 1994, the 49ers put it all together and defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game, a team that beat them the previous two years.
In Super Bowl XXIX, the 49ers steamrolled the San Diego Chargers 49-26. Young seem to take out years of frustration on the overmatched Chargers. He finished 24/36 with 325 yards and set a new Super Bowl record with 6 TD passes. Young, who took home the Super Bowl MVP, finally got the validating win he needed!
BONUS: Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII
There wasn’t a bigger mismatch at the QB position in a Super Bowl than in Super Bowl LII between Tom Brady and Nick Foles. However the Philadelphia Eagles’ backup QB came into the game very confident and his teammates believed in him. They didn’t need him to outplay the legend who just had the most legendary performance in the prior season’s Super Bowl. But if you ask Foles, he would’ve probably had said he felt he could play with the best. He didn’t disappoint.
Foles outdueled the great Tom Brady in one of the highest scoring games in Super Bowl history. Foles delivered for the Eagles, going 28/43 for 373 yards and 3 TDs. The Eagles captured their first Super Bowl in franchise history with a 41-33 win. Foles, the man who was only asked to not derail the the Eagles machine when starter Carson Wentz got hurt, ended up winning Super Bowl LII MVP.
2. Joe Montana in Super Bowl XXIV
The last one turned out to be the sweetest for Joe Montana. The three-time Super Bowl champion was looking for his second straight title and fourth of the 1980s when the San Francisco 49ers played the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV.
The misery of John Elway in the Super Bowl continued as this game would be his biggest loss, even worse than the 42-10 disaster of Super Bowl XXII. The Broncos had no shot as the 49ers demolished them 55-10. It is still the largest blowout in Super Bowl history. Montana won Super Bowl XXIV MVP honors as he went 22/29 for 297 yards and 5 TDs. He ended his legendary career with a sparkling 4-0 record in Super Bowls and 3 Super Bowl MVPs.
1. Tom Brady in Super Bowl LI
Of course, the top spot could only be occupied by the man who engineered the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. In Super Bowl LI, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots fell behind Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 (this score is referenced everywhere, especially on March 28th) in the 3rd quarter.
The Falcons, up by four TDs, kicked off to the Patriots after their latest, and last score. Who would’ve known that kickoff would be the beginning of the end of the Falcons’ dream.
The Patriots received the ball and promptly marched down the field and scored on a James White 5 yard TD rec (missed extra point kick). After another Falcons punt, Brady drove the Patriots to another score, this time a FG. Patriots would recover a fumble on strip sack deep in Falcons territory on the next possession. The Patriots capitalized on the turnover with a Danny Amendola TD rec. With the two point try succeeding, Patriots pulled within a one score game 28-20, the 17-0 blitz by the Patriots turned the game completely around and the confidence that permeated throughout the Falcons’ faithful had disappeared.
The Falcons late in the 4th drove into field goal range but a combination of bad play calling, sack and a penalty forced them to punt the ball yet again. The Patriots offense continued its onslaught, driving in the waning seconds to tie the game at 28-28 on a White 1 yard TD run and a crucial two pt. conversion.
The game headed into OT and fans and teams from both sides were stunned at what just happened. When the Patriots won the toss and elected to receive, no one thought the Falcons had a chance. With the defense gassed and the Patriots offense in hyper mode, they drove down the field on their first drive. White capped off the drive with a two yard TD run, completing an incredible 34-28 Super Bowl win. Brady, who earned Super Bowl MVP honors, went 43/62 for 466 yards and 2 TDs in a Super Bowl comeback win for the ages!