50 Fun Facts About NFL Quarterbacks

Which quarterback plays himself and gets kidnapped in the Jim Carrey comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective?

Dan Marino was still the Miami Dolphins' starter when he filmed it, and for all his passing records he never played on a Super Bowl-winning team.

Which quarterback, taken 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, went on to win seven Super Bowls?

Tom Brady was the seventh quarterback chosen that year, with a compensatory pick New England received for losing a punter.

Which Green Bay Packers quarterback caught his own deflected pass on his first regular-season play for the team?

Brett Favre lost seven yards on that catch, then started 297 regular-season games in a row, the longest streak by any NFL player.

Which 49ers quarterback calmed his Super Bowl XXIII huddle by pointing out actor John Candy in the crowd?

Joe Montana then drove San Francisco 92 yards and threw the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left to beat the Cincinnati Bengals.

Which quarterback stocked shelves in an Iowa grocery store before winning a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams?

Kurt Warner earned $5.50 an hour on the night shift at Hy-Vee, and is the only undrafted player ever named both NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP.

Which Eagles backup quarterback caught a touchdown pass on the 'Philly Special' trick play in Super Bowl LII?

Nick Foles became the first player to both throw and catch a touchdown in a Super Bowl, and was named the game's MVP as Philadelphia beat New England.

Which 49ers quarterback began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality?

Colin Kaepernick had led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII four seasons earlier. After 2016 he became a free agent and no team signed him.

Which New York Jets quarterback guaranteed a win over the heavily favored Colts before Super Bowl III?

Joe Namath made the promise at the Miami Touchdown Club three days before kickoff, and the 18-point underdog Jets won 16–7.

Which quarterback, son of a Major League Baseball pitcher, threw 50 touchdown passes in his first year as a starter?

Patrick Mahomes did it for Kansas City in 2018 and was named NFL MVP. His godfather, LaTroy Hawkins, also pitched in the majors.

Which Oklahoma quarterback became the first player drafted in the first round of both the NFL and MLB drafts?

Kyler Murray was picked ninth by baseball's Oakland Athletics in 2018, won the Heisman Trophy that December, then went first overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

Which quarterback's shouted 'Omaha' audible became so well known that he named his production company after it?

Peyton Manning co-founded Omaha Productions in 2020. He had retired as the first quarterback to lead two different franchises to Super Bowl wins.

Which quarterback refused to join the Baltimore Colts in 1983, threatening to play baseball for the Yankees instead?

John Elway was traded to the Denver Broncos instead, and retired in 1999 only months after winning his second straight Super Bowl.

Which quarterback played semi-pro football for $6 a game after the Steelers cut him, then starred for the Colts?

Johnny Unitas played weekends for the Bloomfield Rams in 1955, then threw a touchdown pass in 47 straight NFL games, a record that lasted 52 years.

Which Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback threw the 'Immaculate Reception' pass and later won four Super Bowls?

Terry Bradshaw's 1972 throw ended up with Franco Harris, who scored to beat the Raiders. He became the first quarterback to win a third and a fourth Super Bowl.

Which Dallas Cowboys quarterback served in Vietnam with the Navy before popularizing the term 'Hail Mary' pass?

Roger Staubach won the 1963 Heisman Trophy but was a 27-year-old rookie after four years of military service. He said a Hail Mary as he threw to beat Minnesota in 1975.

Which Green Bay Packers quarterback, a 17th-round draft pick, was named MVP of each of the first two Super Bowls?

Bart Starr was taken 200th overall in 1956. He also won the frozen 1967 'Ice Bowl' title game against Dallas with a late quarterback sneak.

Which left-handed 49ers quarterback threw six touchdown passes against the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX?

Steve Young is a great-great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, the church leader whose name is on BYU, where he played in college.

Which Dallas Cowboys quarterback went 0–11 as a rookie starter in 1989, then won three Super Bowls in four seasons?

Troy Aikman was the first overall pick of the 1989 draft and threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns in that debut year, 18 to 9.

Which quarterback joined the New Orleans Saints after Hurricane Katrina and was MVP of their first Super Bowl win?

Drew Brees arrived in 2006 fresh from surgery on a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, an injury that led Miami's doctors to advise against signing him.

Which quarterback slid to the 24th pick of the 2005 NFL Draft, then spent three seasons as a Green Bay backup?

Aaron Rodgers had expected to go first overall to the 49ers, the team he supported as a boy. He later won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers and was the game's MVP.

Which Steelers quarterback threw the late touchdown to Santonio Holmes that won Super Bowl XLIII?

Ben Roethlisberger found Holmes on his toes in the back corner of the end zone. Three years earlier, at 23, he had become the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

Which quarterback, a Colorado Rockies baseball draftee, led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl title?

Russell Wilson was only a third-round NFL pick, 75th overall. A year after that title he lost Super Bowl XLIX on an interception at the goal line.

Which Auburn quarterback won the Heisman Trophy and a national title before the Panthers drafted him first overall?

Cam Newton was named NFL MVP in 2015, the year Carolina went a franchise-best 15–1 and reached Super Bowl 50.

Which Ravens quarterback, the last pick of the 2018 first round, was a unanimous NFL MVP the following season?

Lamar Jackson led the league in touchdown passes in 2019 while also running for more yards than any quarterback had managed in a single season.

Which Buffalo Bills quarterback grew up on a California cotton farm and received no Division I scholarship offers?

Josh Allen started at Reedley, a junior college, before moving on to Wyoming, and Buffalo made him the seventh overall pick in 2018.

Which quarterback left Ohio State for LSU, won the Heisman Trophy, then went first overall to the Cincinnati Bengals?

Joe Burrow won the national title in that 2019 season. Two years later he gave Cincinnati its first playoff win since 1990 on the way to Super Bowl LVI.

Which quarterback was benched for Tua Tagovailoa during a national title game, then became MVP of Super Bowl LIX?

Jalen Hurts finished his college career at Oklahoma. Seven years after that benching at Alabama, his Eagles beat the Chiefs 40–22 for the title.

Which Chargers quarterback made his first NFL start after a team doctor accidentally punctured Tyrod Taylor's lung?

Justin Herbert threw for 311 yards that day in an overtime loss to Kansas City, kept the job, and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Which Dallas Cowboys rookie, a fourth-round pick, took over in 2016 when Tony Romo was injured in the preseason?

Dak Prescott led Dallas to the NFC's top seed and was Offensive Rookie of the Year, after the team had failed to trade up for two other quarterbacks.

Which San Francisco 49ers quarterback was 'Mr. Irrelevant', the very last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft?

Brock Purdy became the first 'Mr. Irrelevant' to throw a touchdown pass in a regular-season game, and a season later he started Super Bowl LVIII.

Which quarterback spent 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, then won the Super Bowl in his first year with the Rams?

Matthew Stafford had been the first overall pick in 2009. His title came in Super Bowl LVI, played in the Rams' own home, SoFi Stadium.

Which quarterback, once the Rams' first overall pick, led the Detroit Lions to their first playoff win since 1991?

Jared Goff won that game 24–23 against the Rams, the very team that had traded him away, and took Detroit on to the NFC Championship Game.

Which Denver Broncos quarterback's habit of dropping to one knee in prayer on the field was soon named after him?

Tim Tebow gave the world 'Tebowing' in 2011. That season he also threw an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime to win a playoff game 29–23.

Which Atlanta Falcons quarterback became the first at his position to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season?

Michael Vick did it in 2006, when running back Warrick Dunn also topped 1,000 yards for Atlanta. Vick had been the first overall pick of the 2001 draft.

Which quarterback won five straight Grey Cups in Canada before the Houston Oilers signed him in 1984?

Warren Moon had gone undrafted by the NFL, yet in 2006 he became the first African-American quarterback inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Which Buffalo Bills quarterback reached four consecutive Super Bowls in the early 1990s and lost every one of them?

Jim Kelly had first snubbed Buffalo for the Houston Gamblers of the rival USFL, and only joined the Bills when that league folded in 1986.

Which Minnesota Vikings quarterback, nicknamed 'the Scrambler', later co-hosted the TV show That's Incredible!?

Fran Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants in 1967, then traded back to Minnesota five seasons later for the last seven years of his career.

Which Indianapolis Colts quarterback, a former first overall pick, retired at 29 two weeks before opening day in 2019?

Andrew Luck blamed the toll of repeated injuries. He holds a degree in architectural design from Stanford, and later went back to the university.

Which quarterback was loudly booed by Philadelphia Eagles fans when the team drafted him second overall in 1999?

Donovan McNabb was jeered by fans who wanted running back Ricky Williams. He went on to lead the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games.

Which Washington quarterback led the NFL in pass completions, punting and defensive interceptions in 1943?

Sammy Baugh led the NFL in punting four years in a row, from 1940 to 1943, and in that last season he also picked off 11 passes while playing defense.

Which Cleveland Browns quarterback played in a league title game in each of his ten seasons, winning seven?

Otto Graham went to Northwestern on a basketball scholarship, then took the Browns to the championship game every year from 1946 to 1955.

Which quarterback and placekicker retired from the Oakland Raiders in 1976 as pro football's oldest player, at 48?

George Blanda played 26 seasons of professional football and, thanks to his kicking, had scored more points than anyone in history when he stopped.

Which Kansas City Chiefs quarterback was MVP of Super Bowl IV, when an AFL team took the field for the last time?

Len Dawson already had a second job by then: in 1966, while still playing, he became sports director of a Kansas City TV station. He later hosted HBO's Inside the NFL.

Which Chicago Bears quarterback ran the T-formation in the 73–0 rout of Washington in the 1940 NFL Championship Game?

Sid Luckman had been a single-wing tailback at Columbia. The Bears' owner and coach traveled to New York to watch him, convinced he could run the new scheme.

Which Harvard economics graduate started at quarterback for nine different NFL teams, from the Rams to Washington?

Ryan Fitzpatrick, a seventh-round pick whose hot streaks were dubbed 'Fitzmagic', is the only NFL player to throw a touchdown pass for eight different teams.

Which Chicago Bears quarterback wore a 'Rozelle' headband after the NFL commissioner fined him for an Adidas one?

Jim McMahon was fined $5,000 by Pete Rozelle, who later admitted the stunt was funny. McMahon also rapped 'I'm the punky QB' on 'The Super Bowl Shuffle'.

Which Ravens quarterback threw 11 postseason touchdowns without an interception on the way to winning Super Bowl XLVII?

Joe Flacco was that game's MVP. In 2023 he joined Cleveland in midseason, led the Browns to the playoffs and won Comeback Player of the Year.

Which Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, an All-American punter in college, once hit a 91-yard punt against the Giants?

Randall Cunningham was more famous for his legs in another way: his 942 rushing yards in 1990 fell only 26 short of the record for a quarterback.

Which New York Giants quarterback is credited as the first to say 'I'm going to Disney World!' after a title win?

Phil Simms earned the ad spot by completing 22 of 25 passes in Super Bowl XXI, an 88 percent accuracy mark that set a record for the game.

Which former Bears and Colts quarterback later coached Michigan to a college football national championship?

Jim Harbaugh won that title in the 2023 season. Earlier he coached the 49ers into Super Bowl XLVII, where the opposing head coach was his older brother.