Super Bowl QB ratings
Still can’t let go of football just yet… so I was playing around with QB ratings for all the Super Bowl QBs. More specifically, it’s a passer rating, as it doesn’t account for rushing statistics, fumbles, etc - but I still find the stat interesting for comparison purposes. I looked at all the starting QBs, and then a few that had substantial relief appearances (Grogan for Eason, Reich for Kelly, Morrall and Unitas for each other). I previously discussed the *actual* “worst ever” (and it’s not Rex Grossman, as much as lazy columnists and uninformed fans want to believe it is cuz… you know… he’s the most recent one).
But let’s take a look at some “best ever” lists. First, the top-5 passer ratings for individual games (note that a rating of 158.3 is the highest attainable passer rating):
| SB |
starting QB |
team |
W/L |
att |
comp |
comp% |
yds |
ypa |
td |
int |
QB rating |
| 21 | Simms | NYG | w | 25 | 22 | 88.0% | 268 | 10.7 | 3 | 0 | 150.9 |
| 24 | Montana | SF | w | 29 | 22 | 75.9% | 297 | 10.2 | 5 | 0 | 147.6 |
| 15 | Plunkett | Oak | w | 21 | 13 | 61.9% | 261 | 12.4 | 3 | 0 | 145.0 |
| 27 | Aikman | Dal | w | 30 | 22 | 73.3% | 273 | 9.1 | 4 | 0 | 140.7 |
| 29 | Young | SF | w | 36 | 24 | 66.7% | 325 | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 134.8 |
Everyone remembers Simms’ tremendous day, and Montana, Aikman, and Young can’t be too surprising… but Plunkett? Seriously, how many guesses would it take for you to come up with “Jim Plunkett”, if you were asked to name the top 5 of all-time?
How about the top-5 individual game passer ratings for “losing” QBs:
| SB |
starting QB |
team |
W/L |
att |
comp |
comp% |
yds |
ypa |
td |
int |
QB rating |
| 38 | Delhomme | Car | l | 33 | 16 | 48.5% | 323 | 9.8 | 3 | 0 | 113.6 |
| 13 | Staubach | Dal | l | 30 | 17 | 56.7% | 228 | 7.6 | 3 | 1 | 100.4 |
| 16 | Anderson | Cin | l | 34 | 25 | 73.5% | 300 | 8.8 | 2 | 2 | 95.2 |
| 32 | Favre | GB | l | 42 | 25 | 59.5% | 256 | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 91.0 |
| 21 | Elway | Den | l | 37 | 22 | 59.5% | 304 | 8.2 | 1 | 1 | 83.6 |
Delhomme actually had a better passer rating in SB 38 than MVP Tom Brady (his entire stat line from that game):
| SB |
starting QB |
team |
W/L |
att |
comp |
comp% |
yds |
ypa |
td |
int |
QB rating |
| 38 | Brady | NE | w | 48 | 32 | 66.7% | 354 | 7.4 | 3 | 1 | 100.5 |
Interested in the top-5 career SB passer ratings?
| starting QB |
team |
W/L |
att |
cmp |
comp% |
yds |
ypa |
td |
int |
QB rating |
| Simms | NYG | 1-0 | 25 | 22 | 88.0% | 268 | 10.7 | 3 | 0 | 150.9 |
| Young | SF | 1-0 | 36 | 24 | 66.7% | 325 | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 134.8 |
| Williams | Wash | 1-0 | 29 | 18 | 62.1% | 340 | 11.7 | 4 | 1 | 127.9 |
| Montana | SF | 4-0 | 122 | 83 | 68.0% | 1142 | 9.4 | 11 | 0 | 127.8 |
| Plunkett | Oak/LA | 2-0 | 46 | 29 | 63.0% | 433 | 9.4 | 4 | 0 | 122.8 |
Who had Doug Williams at #3 all-time on the career SB passer rating list? Yeah… me neither. (Btw, will anyone ever be able to come up with a dumber SB question than the one Williams was posed, “So… how long have you been a black QB?”. Ugh.) Btw, Delhomme is #6 with his “losing” rating of 113.6.
Okay, okay… maybe some guys can get lucky in one game. How about the guys to appear in two or more Super Bowls?
| starting QB |
team |
W/L |
att |
cmp |
comp% |
yds |
ypa |
td |
int |
QB rating |
| Montana | SF | 4-0 | 122 | 83 | 68.0% | 1142 | 9.4 | 11 | 0 | 127.8 |
| Plunkett | Oak/LA | 2-0 | 46 | 29 | 63.0% | 433 | 9.4 | 4 | 0 | 122.8 |
| Bradshaw | Pitt | 4-0 | 84 | 49 | 58.3% | 932 | 11.1 | 9 | 4 | 112.8 |
| Aikman | Dal | 3-0 | 80 | 56 | 70.0% | 689 | 8.6 | 5 | 1 | 111.9 |
| Starr | GB | 2-0 | 47 | 29 | 61.7% | 452 | 9.6 | 3 | 1 | 106.0 |
Tom Brady sits at #6 at 99.9, just ahead of Favre (97.6) and Staubach (95.4). As above, you can’t be surprised to see names like Montana, Bradshaw, Aikman, and Starr. But Plunkett at #2…. really? Yup. Really.
Did you know: Of the 18 QBs (counting both Morrall and Unitas) to play in at least two Super Bowls, only 3 didn’t get at least one ring: Craig Morton, Fran Tarkenton, and Jim Kelly.
Anyhow, there’s a ton of different ways to look at these numbers - but this will do for now. It’s important to note that the passer rating stat is not a perfect barometer for a quarterback - so that while it’s fair to say that it appears as though Jim Plunkett performed better in his two SBs than Bart Starr did in his two… it would be a mistake to take the leap and suggest that Plunkett is therefore a better QB overall (for example).
Still… interesting info to look at.
I really wanted to stay positive with this piece, but I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the stats of the two Baltimore Colt QBs to appear in Super Bowls. Now those Baltimore Colts went 1-1 with Unitas and Morrall at the helm - but after looking at these numbers, one might ask, “How’d they ever win one?”
| starting QB |
team |
W/L |
att |
comp |
comp% |
yds |
ypa |
td |
int |
QB rating |
| Unitas | Baltimore | 1-1 | 33 | 14 | 42.4% | 198 | 6.0 | 1 | 3 | 34.7 |
| Morrall | Baltimore | 1-1 | 32 | 13 | 40.6% | 218 | 6.8 | 0 | 4 | 24.7 |
The only guy to appear in two or more Super Bowls and do worse was Craig Morton - he of the 20.0 career SB passer rating. Ouch. When he gets to the “Super Bowl” section of his resume, he should stop at “only QB to start for two different franchises in a Super Bowl”… cuz it’s all downhill from there.
Okay, I’m done now.