Name All These NFL Quarterbacks Or Quit Watching Football
- by Robert Marvi
- – on
- in Sports
For many years the National Football League has been the most popular sports league in the United States. While baseball might be our national pastime, football is our national passion. Every Sunday (or Monday, or Thursday, or Saturday during the playoffs) millions of men and women brave the elements to paint their faces in their favorite team's colors and logos as they cheer on their heroes in helmets on the field.
The NFL may not be as superstar-driven as the NBA or even Major League Baseball, but if you don't have a great, or at least a good quarterback, you're probably going nowhere fast as a team. Although it is kinda the epitome of a team sport (especially compared to the NBA), in the game of football quarterbacks are the guys who get most of the credit and fame when their team wins. It's a wonder that offensive linemen protect the quarterback from harm, yet they get almost no credit whatsoever.
Take this quiz and name these current (and former) NFL star quarterbacks. Most should be fairly easy for most fans to name, but a few may stump quite a few people. Those who can't name these men might as well watch soccer instead.
Who is the starting QB for the L.A. Rams?
He grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and was (ironically) a huge fan of San Francisco 49ers. He starred at Cal-Berkeley and was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams just after they had moved back to Southern California from St. Louis. For the first half of his rookie season he was a backup behind Case Keenum, but he became a starter in mid November. His rookie season was absolutely nothing to write home about, but his second season was solid, and his third season arguably put him in the upper echelon of quarterbacks.
Who is this QB for the Philadelphia Eagles?
He played three years at the University of Arizona, steadily improving his production each season. After a quiet and mediocre first several seasons, he went to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017 where he was a backup to Carson Wentz. With the Eagles riding high, Wentz hurt his ACL in Week 14, and this QB became the starter. He continued where Wentz left off, leading them to the Super Bowl, where they beat the mighty New England Patriots in a squeaker to win the franchise's first world championship since the early 80s, and only the city's second world championship in any sport since 1983.
Who is this former QB who played for the Colts and Broncos?
This man is a pretty recognizable figure in and out of the world of football. He was the number one overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft after leading his University of Tennessee Volunteers to the SEC Championship in 1997. His arrival ushered in a new era that culminated with a win in Super Bowl XLI. He moved on to the Denver Broncos for the 2012 season, and not too long after that he led them to a win in Super Bowl L over the Carolina Panthers. He rode off into the sunset after that, as it was his last NFL game. Now THAT's how you retire!
Who is this starting QB for the Los Angeles Chargers?
He came into the National Football League in 2004 when he was drafted with the fourth overall pick in that year's draft by the new York Giants. The Giants then traded him to the then-San Diego Chargers for the answer to question 15, who the Chargers picked number one overall in the same draft. In 2006 he became the team's starter and led them to a 14-2 record. The next year he took them to the NFC Championship Game. Today, at age 37 he is playing about as well as ever, and is considered by many to be one of the premier quarterbacks in the game.
Who is this recently retired QB who played for the Dallas Cowboys?
At Eastern Illinois University he was named the recipient of the Walter Payton Award in 2002. The previous year he led the school to an Ohio Valley Conference championship. Even though he went undrafted, the Dallas Cowboys took a chance on him, and three years later he became the team's starting quarterback. He is the franchise's all time leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, most games with at least 300 passing yards and games with three or more touchdown passes (Wikipedia). After retiring following the 2016 season, he became a color commentator for Fox Sports alongside play by play man Jim Nantz.
Who is this starting QB for the Miami Dolphins?
In his sophomore year in high school in Texas, he started out as a defensive back, then switched to quarterback and found that he was pretty good at his new position. He moved on to Texas A&M, where he was a wide receiver in his sophomore season (he was a redshirt during his freshman year), then became a starting quarterback in his junior year. He has been the starting QB for the Miami Dolphins since they drafted him in 2012, and established rookie franchise records for most pass attempts, completed passes, passing yards and longest rush by a quarterback (Wikipedia).
Who is this starting QB for the New England Patriots?
EVERYONE should get this one. He is a true household name, on and off the field. His pro tenure started off very humbly and quietly, as he was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft with the 199th pick. He began as a backup to Drew Bledsoe, then took over as the starter in his second season when Bledsoe got hurt. He didn't do too badly, leading the Patriots to an upset in the Super Bowl over the heavily favored Rams that year. He has added four more world championships since and is considered arguably the greatest ever to play the game.
Who is this starting QB for the San Francisco 49ers?
This man started out backing up the answer to the previous question, as he was drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. In the first four games of the 2016 season he filled in for the incumbent starter and led New England to wins in each game. After winning two Super Bowls there as a backup, it was time for him to become a starter elsewhere, and in late October 2017 he was traded to the star-starved San Francisco 49ers. He led his new team to wins in each of his first five games with them.
Who is this starting QB for the Cleveland Browns?
The Browns have been a bad team for quite some time now, but that may not last that much longer thanks to this rookie sensation of the 2018 season. In college he was a walk-on for the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Wikipedia), and as a senior he won the Heisman Award and was unanimously named to the All-America team. The Browns drafted him with the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and in 13 starts he posted 27 touchdown passes, 3,725 passing yards, a 63.8 percent completion rate and a 93.7 QB rating. If the New York Giants' Saquon Barkley does not win Rookie of the Year, this man definitely will.
Who is this former legendary QB who played for the 49ers?
He was a college football star at Bringham Young University, then started out in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When the answer to question 21 was hurt and unable to play, this man was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in the spring of 1987, where he won back to back Super Bowls in 1988 and 1989, where he played backup QB once the answer to question 21 returned to the lineup. He became the starter in 1993, and he finally broke out of the shadows by leading the 49ers to a Super Bowl world championship in 1994.
Who is this starting QB for the Seattle Seahawks?
He is one of a new breed of NFL quarterbacks who is not only a threat with his arm, but also with his legs and ability to run and gain yardage with his mobility. He was one of the league's top rookies in 2012, and just one year later he led the Seattle Seahawks to a 13-3 record and a win in the Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos, who were led by a legendary quarterback who is the answer to question 3. He has tallied a record for the most regular season wins by a quarterback in his first seven seasons (Wikipedia).
Who is this former starting QB for the Washington Redskins?
He attended Copperas Cove High School in Texas, where he was not only a star on the football team, but also on the basketball and track team. In track and field, he broke Texas state records for the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, as he achieved times of 13.55 seconds and 35.33 seconds respectively. At Baylor University he was named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year, and as a senior he put up 4,293 passing yards and 699 rushing yards as he led his team to a win in the Alamo Bowl and won the Heisman Trophy. In 2012 he was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award as he electrified the D.C. area with his spectacular play.
Who is this starting QB for the Green Bay Packers?
If the answer to question 7 is not the best quarterback in football right now, this man probably is. What's for sure is that he is always considered to be in the highest pantheon of current NFL quarterbacks. In college he played for the California Bears, where in his senior season he threw for 24 touchdowns against only eight interceptions. He started his NFL tenure with the Green Bay Packers as a backup to the answer to question 26, then became the starter in 2008 and led his team to a win in the Super Bowl in just his third season as a starter.
Who is this starting QB for the New York Jets?
He grew up in San Clemente, which is a small coastal city in Southern California just over an hour south of Los Angeles. He was not only a standout football player in high school, he was also a star basketball player as well. He stuck with football and went on to the University of Southern California (USC), which has a rich football history, especially when it comes to producing NFL quarterbacks. While there he was named the 2016 Pac-12 Conference Freshman Offensive Player of the Year (Wikipedia). In his rookie season with the New York Jets he threw for 2,865 yards.
Who is this starting QB for the New York Giants?
He is the younger brother of the answer to question number 3, and is a great, Hall of Fame caliber QB in his own right. After being drafted by the San Diego Chargers and being traded to New York, he quickly became a star, and reached his peak in 2007 when he led the Giants to an upset over the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. In that game he produced one of the greatest clutch plays ever with his famous pass to David Tyree. Four years later, he won a second world championship with an encore Super Bowl win against New England.
Who is this starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Like the answer to the previous question, this man has also won two world championships, as he has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to wins in Super Bowls XL and XLIII, and was also a member of that famed 2004 NFL Draft class. As a rookie, he set a league record with five comeback wins in the fourth quarter and six game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime (Wikipedia). He is still going strong after 15 seasons in the NFL, and has kept the Steelers at or near the top of the league even though the rest of the team has changed drastically over the years.
Who is this former starting QB for the Dallas Cowboys?
This man is pretty much a household name, at least to anyone who was around in the 90s. He started out at UCLA in the mid to late 80s, where he won Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year honors and led the Bruins to a win in the 1989 Cotton Bowl. A few months later he was drafted with the number one pick in the NFL Draft by the once-proud Dallas Cowboys, who had fallen on hard times. He led them to three Super Bowl world championships in a four year span in the mid 90s. After retiring in 1999, he became a commentator for the NFL on Fox.
Who is this starting QB for the New Orleans Saints?
Taken in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the then San Diego Chargers, he had a modest start to his career in his first few seasons, then moved on to the New Orleans Saints where he took his game to a whole new level. In 2009 he led them to a win in the Super Bowl over the Indianapolis Colts and the answer to question 3. Even after all these years and all that mileage, he continues to play at an elite level. In 2018 he led the league in pass completion percentage and quarterback rating as the Saints won 13 of the 15 games he played.
Who is this starting QB for the Minnesota Vikings?
At Michigan State University, he steadily improved in each of his four seasons and led them to an appearance in the Big Ten championship game in his senior season. The Washington Redskins drafted him in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and after being a backup QB to the answer to question 12 in his rookie season, he became a starter the very next year. After the Minnesota Vikings had an unexpectedly successful 2017 season, which culminated in an appearance in the NFC Championship Game, they signed this QB, hoping he would be the final piece to a championship puzzle for the 2018 season.
Who is this starting QB for the Indianapolis Colts?
When the answer to question 3 left Indy, this man, who was the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, immediately became the starter for the Colts. That season he led his team to 11 wins, setting a new record for quarterbacks who were taken number one overall in the draft (Wikipedia). He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons, and he led the league in passing touchdowns in the 2014 season. Off the field, he made an appearance on the TV comedy series "Parks and Recreation" in 2013 along with four of his teammates.
Who is this former legendary QB for the 49ers?
If you know anything about NFL history, or for that matter sports history, you likely know this man and all of his accomplishments. He first starred at Notre Dame, where he led them to a clutch win in the 1979 Cotton Bowl, where they trailed by 22 points and needed him to throw the game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds. In San Fran, he started as a backup to Steve DeBerg, then in his third season, his first full one as a starter, he led them to their very first Super Bowl win. He added three more world championships after that and earned the nickname "The Comeback Kid".
Who is this starting QB for the Houston Texans?
He made his name first at college football powerhouse Clemson University, where he led them to the national championship game in his junior year, and again in his senior year when they defeated Alabama, who was ranked number one that year. The Texans drafted him with the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, and he had a solid rookie season, posting 1,699 passing yards and 19 touchdown passes in six starts. In 2018 he played very well, as he had 4,165 passing yards, threw for 26 touchdowns and had a 103.1 passer rating en route to leading Houston to an 11-5 record.
Who is this starting QB for the Denver Broncos?
He was a big time college football star for the Houston Cougars, where he became the first quarterback in Division I FBS football history to put up at least 5,000 passing yards in three different seasons (Wikipedia). He finished his college days as the NCAA's all time leader in passing yards, touchdowns and completed passes. After being an undrafted prospect, he has played for four different teams, but has seemed to find a home in Denver, where in 2018 he threw for 3,890 yards and 18 touchdowns. You may remember him for throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a playoff win over New Orleans.
Who is this former starting QB?
This man had a short-lived but very successful stint as an NFL quarterback. He has one of the greatest underdog stories in sports history, as he was underwhelming in college and went undrafted. After bouncing around from team to team, he became the starter for the St. Louis Rams in the 1999 season. He had a huge season with 4,830 passing yards and 36 touchdowns and led the Rams to a win in the Super Bowl over Tennessee. In doing so, he made his team the "Greatest Show on Turf", along with Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Ricky Proehl and won regluar season and Super Bowl MVP honors.
Who is this starting QB for the Detroit Lions?
He had a great college tenure for the Georgia Bulldogs, leading them to wins in the Sugar Bowl as a sophomore and the Capital One Bowl in his junior season. He was highly touted by NFL scouts, and ended up being drafted with the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He became only the fourth QB in league history to put up more than 5,000 passing yards in a single season when he did it in his third season. He has led the Lions to three postseason appearances, and in 2015 he was the first QB to ever complete at least 60 percent of his passes in each game of an entire season (Wikipedia).
Who is this former starting QB for the Green Bay Packers?
This man was always one of the top, if not the top quarterback in the NFL for much of the 90s, and he continued to be a top level QB throughout the decade of the 2000s. Drafted in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, he struggled in his rookie season, then got traded to the Green Bay Packers and started to shine. He led them to a win in the Super Bowl following the 1995 season, and won three straight regular season MVP awards while being named to the Pro Bowl an impressive 11 times. He even made a cameo in the 1998 movie "There's Something About Mary", when Ben Stiller mispronounced his name.
Who is this legendary former starting QB for the Denver Broncos?
This man is a L-E-G-E-N-D, especially in the state of Colorado, where he is considered divine. He starred in both football and baseball at Stanford University, then went to the Denver Broncos as part of the famed 1983 NFL Draft class that included Jim Kelly and the answer to question 31. After losing in his first three Super Bowl appearance in the late 80s, he finally won one following the 1997 season by defeating the Green Bay Packers. The next season he won another Super Bowl. Like another great Broncos QB who is the answer to question 3, he truly went out on top.
Who is this starting QB for the Carolina Panthers?
As a college football player, he played his first three seasons for the Florida Gators. After his junior season at Blinn College, he transferred to Auburn University for his senior season, where he had a whale of a season, passing for 30 touchdowns, winning the Heisman Trophy and leading his team to the SEC championship in a blowout over South Carolina and a BCS championship over Oregon. Drafted with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, he won the league's Rookie of the Year award, and won the league MVP while leading his team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2016.
Who is this starting QB for the Arizona Cardinals?
He grew up in Manhattan Beach, a beachside suburb of Los Angeles. His father was a star ice skater who almost made the Winter Olympics in the 70s, while his mother was the captain of the Princeton University lacrosse team (Wikipedia). He played college football at UCLA, where he really intrigued pro scouts by getting named the Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year and throwing for 3,756 yards and 26 touchdowns in his junior season. He was then drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he put up 2,278 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns in his rookie season.
Who is this starting QB for the Kansas City Chiefs?
He played three seasons at Texas Tech, and was super impressive in his junior season there, putting up over 5,000 passing yards and throwing for an amazing 41 touchdowns. The Kansas City Chiefs took him 10th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, and he spent his rookie season backing up Alex Smith as the Chiefs lost in the playoffs to the Tennessee Titans. But they believed in him so much that they traded Smith and made him the starter for the 2018 season. He validated their belief with over 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdown passes in the 2018 season.
Who is this former starting QB for the Miami Dolphins?
This star was one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL through most of the 80s and 90s. He was a star at the University of Pittsburgh, where he led them to a clutch win in the 1982 Sugar Bowl over the Georgia Bulldogs. Drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the 27th pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, he set single season records with 5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes in the 1984 season, as he led Miami to an appearance in the Super Bowl. He also played a role in the 1994 hit movie "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective".
Who is this former starting QB for the Philadelphia Eagles?
He played both football and basketball at Syracuse University, but it was football where he shined, as he was named the Big East's offensive player of the decade of the 1990s (Wikipedia). The Philadelphia Eagles made him the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, and starting in his second season he led his team to five straight appearances in the NFC Championship Game, including a trip to the Super Bowl following the 2004 season. He later took the Eagles to a sixth NFC Championship Game appearance in the 2008 season. He ended his NFL stint with the fourth lowest interception percentage in league history.
Who is this former starting QB for the 49ers?
In high school he was a star pitcher for the varsity baseball team, and although he also played varsity football, he was only given one football scholarship, even though he received several to play baseball. He chose football and signed at the University of Nevada, and in his junior season there he had over 2,000 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, over 1,000 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. The San Francisco 49ers took him in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and he spent his first season backing up Alex Smith. Midway through his second season he became the starter and led the Niners to the Super Bowl.
Who is this former starting QB for the Jets?
For a minute back in the late 60s and early 70s, this loquacious man was the toast of New York City. He played college football at the University of Alabama for legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who later called him "the greatest athlete I ever coached" (Wikipedia). He started out with the New York Jets in 1965, and became famous for what happened in Super Bowl III in January 1969. Facing the heavily favored Colts and their legendary QB Johnny Unitas, this man guaranteed a win and backed it up as they defeated the Colts 16-7 to become world champs.
Who is this former starting QB for the Steelers?
Most people know him as the wild and funny commentator for the NFL on Fox, but way back in the day he was a legendary QB. In his junior season at Louisiana Tech University he led the nation in passing yards, and helped his team win the Rice Bowl. Taken with the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, it took him several seasons to become a star, but once he did, he led them to four Super Bowl world championships and established the Steelers as one of the most iconic NFL teams of all time.