The 20 best games ever by a quarterback
Twenty single games from the Super Bowl era, judged on production, opponent, stakes and whether the quarterback decided it.
This is a let's-have-an-argument list. Twenty single games by a quarterback, ranked on four things: what he produced, who it came against, what was at stake and whether he decided the result. Only the Super Bowl era counts, from the 1966 season on. Playoff and regular-season games are both eligible, though the stakes rule means only one regular-season game made it. Some quarterbacks appear more than once. If your favorite game is missing, or ranked below one you think it beat, say so. Every case below is there to be argued with.
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1
Joe Montana, Super Bowl XXIV
Jan. 28, 1990: 22 of 29, 297 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT; 49ers 55, Broncos 10
The most complete game a quarterback has played on the biggest stage. Joe Montana completed 22 of 29 passes for 297 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions, and San Francisco beat Denver 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV. The five touchdown passes were a Super Bowl record at the time, and the 45-point margin is still the widest in any Super Bowl. Seven incompletions all day, five touchdowns, nothing thrown to the other team. It finished a postseason in which he threw 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions in three games, and it brought his third Super Bowl MVP. The case against is that Denver was never in it, so there was no late drive and no moment to survive. That's the cost of being this good from the start. A quarterback who leaves nothing to decide has still decided it.
Sources: CBS San Francisco · StatMuse · 49ers.com · Wikipedia: Super Bowl XXIV · NFL.com: Montana's 1989 playoffs.
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2
Tom Brady, Super Bowl LI
Feb. 5, 2017: 43 of 62, 466 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; Patriots 34, Falcons 28 (OT)
New England trailed Atlanta 28-3 with 8:36 left in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI, and the Falcons had led the league in scoring. Tom Brady won anyway, 34-28, in the first overtime in Super Bowl history, and New England scored the last 31 points of the game. He completed 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns. The completions and attempts are still Super Bowl records, and the yardage was one at the time. He was named MVP. The counterargument is in the same box score. One of his throws became Robert Alford's 82-yard interception return, which helped dig the hole he spent the second half climbing out of. Without it, this is a great game. With it, it's a great game with a flaw, and it still ranks second, because the hole was 25 points and he filled all of it.
Sources: Wikipedia: Super Bowl LI · Patriots.com: Super Bowl LI · NFL.com · CBS Boston · AtlantaFalcons.com.
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3
Steve Young, Super Bowl XXIX
Jan. 29, 1995: 24 of 36, 325 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT; 49ers 49, Chargers 26
Six touchdown passes in a Super Bowl, and nobody has thrown more before or since. Steve Young completed 24 of 36 for 325 yards with no interceptions as San Francisco beat San Diego 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX, and he was also the game's leading rusher, with 49 yards on five carries. He was the MVP. The zero matters as much as the six: 36 attempts, and not one caught by a Charger. The counterargument is the lack of drama. San Francisco won by 23, so the record came without a moment that decided anything. It ranks third because a record that has stood for three decades is its own kind of pressure.
Sources: 49ers.com · Pro Football Hall of Fame · Wikipedia: Super Bowl XXIX.
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4
Doug Williams, Super Bowl XXII
Jan. 31, 1988: 18 of 29, 340 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT; Washington 42, Broncos 10
Washington trailed Denver 10-0 after one quarter of Super Bowl XXII. Then Doug Williams completed 9 of 11 passes for 228 yards and four touchdowns in the second quarter alone, and Washington scored 35 points in it, still the most in any quarter of a Super Bowl. He finished 18 of 29 for 340 yards, a Super Bowl record at the time, and Washington won 42-10. He was the MVP and the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl. The counterargument is that the game was over by halftime, so the second half added nothing to his case. That's true, and it's also the point. The record for points in a quarter says nobody has put a Super Bowl away faster.
Sources: Wikipedia: Super Bowl XXII · Sports Illustrated · CBS Sports · Commanders.com.
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5
Patrick Mahomes, 2021 AFC divisional round vs. Buffalo
Jan. 23, 2022: 33 of 44, 378 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, plus 69 rushing yards and a TD; Chiefs 42, Bills 36 (OT)
Thirteen seconds. That's what Buffalo left on the clock after Josh Allen's touchdown pass to Gabe Davis put the Bills ahead 36-33, and it was enough. Patrick Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill for 19 yards and Travis Kelce for 25, Harrison Butker kicked a 49-yard field goal to force overtime, and after Kansas City won the coin toss, Mahomes ended it with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Kelce. Buffalo never got the ball back. He finished 33 of 44 for 378 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and ran for 69 yards and another score. Between them, the two quarterbacks threw seven touchdown passes and no interceptions. The counterargument is on the other sideline. Allen threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 68. This is the one game on the list where the losing quarterback was nearly as good.
Sources: Pro Football Reference box score · Wikipedia: 2021-22 NFL playoffs · CBS Texas · NBC Sports · Fox News.
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6
Kurt Warner, Super Bowl XXXIV
Jan. 30, 2000: 24 of 45, 414 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; Rams 23, Titans 16
Kurt Warner threw for 414 yards in Super Bowl XXXIV, breaking Joe Montana's Super Bowl record of 357, and the last 73 won it. St. Louis had led 16-0 before Tennessee scored 16 straight points to tie the game near the end of regulation. Warner answered with a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce with 1:54 left, and the Rams won 23-16. He was 24 of 45 with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he was the MVP. The counterargument is that the defense finished it: the game ended with Mike Jones tackling Kevin Dyson a yard short of the goal line. Fair enough. But Warner's throw is the reason one yard was all Tennessee had left to find.
Sources: The Gazette (AP) · Wikipedia: Super Bowl XXXIV · Yahoo Sports · UNI Athletics.
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7
Joe Montana, Super Bowl XXIII
Jan. 22, 1989: 23 of 36, 357 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 49ers 20, Bengals 16
The standard for a winning drive. San Francisco trailed Cincinnati 16-13 late in Super Bowl XXIII and started at its own 8. Joe Montana took the 49ers 92 yards in 11 plays and threw the winning 10-yard touchdown to John Taylor with 34 seconds left. He finished 23 of 36 for 357 yards, a Super Bowl record at the time, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The counterargument is that he wasn't the MVP. Jerry Rice was, with 11 catches for 215 yards. But Rice needed someone to throw it to him, and the drive that decided the game is still the one every late drive gets compared to.
Sources: Wikipedia: Super Bowl XXIII · 49ers.com · Fanbuzz · StatMuse.
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8
Peyton Manning, 2003 AFC wild-card round vs. Denver
Jan. 4, 2004: 22 of 26, 377 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT, 158.3 rating; Colts 41, Broncos 10
A perfect passer rating in a playoff game. Peyton Manning completed 22 of 26 passes for 377 yards and five touchdowns without an interception, a rating of 158.3, and Indianapolis beat Denver 41-10 in the AFC wild-card round. It was his first playoff win. Four incompletions all day, and more than 14 yards for every pass he threw. The counterargument is the round and the result. A wild-card game won by 31 carries less weight than the Super Bowls around it, and nothing about the finish was in doubt. That keeps it out of the top five. It doesn't change what the numbers say.
Sources: Pro Football Reference box score · Sports Illustrated · Wikipedia: Peyton Manning · StatMuse.
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9
Kurt Warner, 2009 NFC wild-card round vs. Green Bay
Jan. 10, 2010: 29 of 33, 379 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT; Cardinals 51, Packers 45 (OT)
Kurt Warner threw more touchdown passes than incompletions in a playoff game: five of one, four of the other. He completed 29 of 33 for 379 yards with no interceptions, and Arizona beat Green Bay 51-45 in overtime in the NFC wild-card round. The catch, and it's a real one, is how it ended. Warner didn't win it in overtime. Karlos Dansby did, returning a fumble 17 yards for the touchdown, and the Arizona defense had given up 45 points before that. But in a game where both offenses were close to unstoppable, Warner was the one who almost never missed. Four misses in a playoff shootout is as near to flawless as that kind of game gets.
Sources: Packers.com (AP) · Pro Football Reference box score · Wikipedia: 2009-10 NFL playoffs.
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10
Tom Brady, Super Bowl XLIX
Feb. 1, 2015: 37 of 50, 328 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT; Patriots 28, Seahawks 24
Seattle had the best defense in the league, first in both points and yards allowed, and a 24-14 lead going into the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX. Tom Brady beat it anyway. New England scored the game's last 14 points and won 28-24. He completed 37 of 50 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns, and the 37 completions were a Super Bowl record at the time. He was the MVP. The counterargument is the two interceptions, which helped put the Patriots behind, and Malcolm Butler's interception at the goal line in the final minute, which saved them. Without Butler, this game is remembered as a Seattle win. With him, it's a great quarterback beating the best defense in football when it counted.
Sources: Sports Illustrated · Seahawks.com · Wikipedia: Super Bowl XLIX · Sports Illustrated: Butler · NFL.com.
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11
Dan Fouts, 1981 AFC divisional round at Miami
Jan. 2, 1982: 33 of 53, 433 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; Chargers 41, Dolphins 38 (OT)
San Diego led Miami 24-0 after one quarter and still needed overtime, which tells you how the Epic in Miami went. Dan Fouts threw 53 passes and completed 33 for 433 yards and three touchdowns, and San Diego won 41-38 in the AFC divisional round. That's the case: a quarterback carrying an offense through a road playoff game his defense couldn't close, for more than 60 minutes. The counterargument is that he wasn't the most famous player on his own team that night. Kellen Winslow caught 13 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown and blocked a field goal at the end of regulation to keep the game alive. Fouts needed Winslow. Winslow needed a quarterback who could throw 53 times and keep an offense going for five quarters, and he had one.
Sources: StatMuse box score · Wikipedia: Epic in Miami · UPI · Chargers.com.
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12
Aaron Rodgers, 2010 NFC divisional round at Atlanta
Jan. 15, 2011: 31 of 36, 366 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, plus a rushing TD; Packers 48, Falcons 21
Atlanta was 13-3, the NFC's top seed and at home. Aaron Rodgers took the game apart. He completed 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, ran for another score, and Green Bay won 48-21 in the NFC divisional round. On the road, against the best team in the conference by record, he missed five throws all night. The counterargument is the round and the margin. It wasn't a title game, and the result was settled long before the end. But a 27-point road playoff win over a top seed is about as dominant as the postseason gets.
Sources: Wikipedia: 2010-11 NFL playoffs · Packers.com (AP) · Wikipedia: 2010 Falcons season · StatMuse box score.
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13
Tom Brady, 2007 AFC divisional round vs. Jacksonville
Jan. 12, 2008: 26 of 28, 262 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; Patriots 31, Jaguars 20
Twenty-six of 28. Tom Brady's 92.9 percent completion rate against Jacksonville was, at the time, the best in any NFL game with at least 20 attempts, and it's still the postseason record. He threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in a 31-20 divisional-round win, the 17th of 18 straight victories for a team that finished 18-1. He missed two throws all night, in a season in which he'd already thrown a then-record 50 touchdown passes. The counterargument is volume and stakes. Two hundred sixty-two yards is modest by this list's standards, and it wasn't a title game. It's here because near-perfect execution in a playoff game is rarer than big numbers.
Sources: Fox News (AP) · Patriots.com · Wikipedia: 2007 Patriots season.
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14
Nick Foles, Super Bowl LII
Feb. 4, 2018: 28 of 43, 373 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, plus a TD catch; Eagles 41, Patriots 33
A backup quarterback beat Tom Brady in a Super Bowl shootout. Nick Foles started because Carson Wentz had torn his ACL, then completed 28 of 43 for 373 yards and three touchdowns in Super Bowl LII. On fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 38 seconds left in the first half, he ran the Philly Special and caught the touchdown himself, the first player to throw and catch a touchdown in the same Super Bowl. Philadelphia won 41-33, and he was the MVP. The counterargument is Brady, who threw for a Super Bowl-record 505 yards in the loss, and one Foles interception. But the team that needed its backup to outscore Brady got exactly that.
Sources: Patriots.com: Super Bowl LII · NFL.com · Wikipedia: Super Bowl LII · NFL.com: Wentz injury · PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
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15
John Elway, 1986 AFC Championship at Cleveland
Jan. 11, 1987: 22 of 38, 244 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, plus 56 rushing yards; Broncos 23, Browns 20 (OT)
The box score doesn't explain why this is here. The drive does. Trailing 20-13 at Cleveland in the AFC Championship, Denver started at its own 2, and John Elway took it 98 yards in 15 plays, finishing with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson with 37 seconds left. Denver won 23-20 in overtime. For the day, Elway was 22 of 38 for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and he ran for 56 more. The counterargument is exactly those numbers: most of the game was ordinary, and a list of best games should reward more than one drive. But that drive sent Denver to the Super Bowl, on the road, and nobody needs to ask which drive "The Drive" means.
Sources: StatMuse box score · FootballDB box score · Wikipedia: The Drive · DenverBroncos.com.
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16
Phil Simms, Super Bowl XXI
Jan. 25, 1987: 22 of 25, 268 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; Giants 39, Broncos 20
Phil Simms missed three passes in Super Bowl XXI. He completed 22 of 25, and his 88 percent completion rate is still the Super Bowl record. He threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, completed 10 straight at one stretch, a Super Bowl record at the time, and the Giants beat Denver 39-20. He was named MVP. The counterargument is the workload. Twenty-five attempts is light next to most of the games on this list, and a quarterback can only be as accurate as the chances he gets. But accuracy on that stage is the job, and nobody has done it better in a Super Bowl since.
Sources: Sports Illustrated (AP) · CBS Sports · Wikipedia: Super Bowl XXI.
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17
Eli Manning, Super Bowl XLII
Feb. 3, 2008: 19 of 34, 255 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; Giants 17, Patriots 14
The numbers are ordinary: 19 of 34 for 255 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The stakes weren't. New England was 18-0, and Super Bowl XLII was all that stood between it and a perfect season. On the winning drive, Eli Manning slipped out of the grasp of Richard Seymour and Jarvis Green and threw 32 yards to David Tyree, who pinned the ball against his helmet. Plaxico Burress then caught the winning touchdown with 35 seconds left, and the Giants won 17-14. Manning was the MVP. The counterargument is that the Giants' defense won this game and Tyree made the play. Both are true. Somebody still had to escape that pocket and make the throw.
Sources: Patriots.com: Super Bowl XLII · Wikipedia: Super Bowl XLII · Giants.com.
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18
Peyton Manning, 2013 season opener vs. Baltimore
Sept. 5, 2013: 27 of 42, 462 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT; Broncos 49, Ravens 27
The only regular-season game on the list, and it earns the spot. Peyton Manning threw seven touchdown passes against Baltimore, the defending Super Bowl champion, in the 2013 season opener, tying the NFL record. He completed 27 of 42 for 462 yards without an interception, and Denver won 49-27. It opened a season in which he threw a record 55 touchdown passes and the Broncos scored a record 606 points. The counterargument is obvious: it was September, and nothing was decided that night. That's why it's 18th and not higher. But seven touchdowns against the champions is hard to leave off any list.
Sources: DenverBroncos.com · Fox News (AP) · Wikipedia: seven-TD games · NFL.com: Manning's records · ESPN: 606 points.
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19
Drew Brees, Super Bowl XLIV
Feb. 7, 2010: 32 of 39, 288 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; Saints 31, Colts 17
Drew Brees completed 32 of 39 passes in Super Bowl XLIV, tying Tom Brady's Super Bowl record for completions, for 288 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. New Orleans beat Indianapolis 31-17 for the first championship in franchise history, and Brees was the MVP. Seven incompletions on 39 throws against Peyton Manning's team, with the title on the line. Of the Super Bowl quarterbacks on this list, only Brady completed more passes in a game that didn't go to overtime, 37 in Super Bowl XLIX. The counterargument is that the game has no signature throw and no winning drive to point to. It's here for precision at volume, which is harder than it looks and easy to underrate.
Sources: NFL.com · Wikipedia: Super Bowl XLIV.
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20
Joe Namath, Super Bowl III
Jan. 12, 1969: 17 of 28, 206 yards, 0 TD; Jets 16, Colts 7
No touchdown passes, 206 yards, and the most consequential quarterback game on the list. Three days before Super Bowl III, Joe Namath guaranteed that the Jets would beat Baltimore, an 18-point favorite. Then he completed 17 of 28 passes, New York won 16-7, and he was the MVP of the AFL's first Super Bowl win. The counterargument is the whole premise of this list: by the numbers, it's the weakest game here, and the Jets' defense did as much to win it as he did. It's 20th because stakes count too, and nobody else on the list put this much on the line before kickoff and then backed it up.
Sources: History.com · CBS Sports · Wikipedia: Super Bowl III.
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