Top 5 most overrated QBs in NFL history
Quarterbacks are so important that any half-decent player can become an overrated QB if the franchise they are playing for has had no luck in that position. Teams spend years, lots of money and draft capital to get the right quarterbacks, and if they are slightly better than the previous incumbents, the teams proclaim them to be the very best. Over the years, we have seen some good quarterbacks who might fall into the category of overrated QBs on closer inspection of their performances. Here are some we believe to fall into that category.
Overrated QBs over the years in the NFL
#5 - Tony Romo
Tony Romo's story and the franchise he played for made it special. Any player playing for the Dallas Cowboys automatically garners attention because they are, after all, the richest franchise also known as America's Team. His personal story is also perfect. He went undrafted in the NFL and then made it as the quarterback of the biggest franchise of them all.
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However, what makes him an overrated QB is that, even though he played with the Cowboys for so long, he ended up with a losing 2-4 record in the playoffs. He never even once made it to the Super Bowl, and that just does not merit the hype he got as the face of the Cowboys franchise.
#4 - Dan Fouts
Dan Fouts was one of the best quarterbacks the San Diego Chargers ever had. But by no means was he all that he was made out to be. His quarterback rating was just 80.2 and his completion rate was just 59%. He had just 12 more touchdowns than his interceptions.
In 33 of their seasons, the Chargers had Dan Fouts, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers or Justin Herbert as their primary starting QB.
They missed the playoffs in 22 of those years. And in none of those did they make it to the Super Bowl. (Their 1 SB appearance was with Stan Humphries.)
In the postseason, his performances made for even worse reading. He made it to the playoffs only four times and lost three times. During that time, he threw for 12 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. That included two games with five interceptions in a game. His quarterback rating was just 70.0 in those games. Even though he went to six Pro Bowls and is a Hall of Famer, he is definitely an overrated QB in our opinion.
#3 - Archie Manning
The patriarch of the Manning family, Archie Manning, made it to two Pro Bowls, but his is more famous because of his sons, Peyton and Eli Manning. His record in the NFL is the worst for any quarterback with, at least, 100 starts at 35-101-3. He certainly was not helped by a weak New Orleans team that could not provide him any protection.
But even when he got the ball away, it seemed to land an awful lot more with the opposition players than it did with his own team members. He threw for 173 interceptions and just 125 touchdowns. That is nearly one and a half times the interception as compared to touchdowns. His quarterback rating was a paltry 67.1. His sons' achievements have elevated him, but judged purely based on his skills alone, he was an overrated QB.
#2 - Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw might seem the weirdest pick on this list given he won four Super Bowls in six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, those teams were not dependent on the quarterback because they had talent on both sides of the ball. One of the Super Bowls he won in a season had just seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. Such was the talent of the team that his weaknesses were well hidden.
Over his career, he had 212 touchdowns but 210 interceptions; hardly the hallmark of a great quarterback. He threw more than 20 interceptions five times in his career. His career is undoubtedly impressive, but in no way did he warrant a legendary status. Very much an overrated QB in our book.
#1 - Joe Namath
Joe Namath is a a legend for the New York Jets. He famously proclaimed that, in Super Bowl III, the upstarts from the American Football League would defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League. But his performance in the game was nothing to shout about, even though he was given MVP honors. In the 16-7 scoreline, he did not have a single touchdown.
Over his career, he went 62-63. His quarterback rating was just 65.5, and he threw 220 interceptions as compared to 173 touchdowns. Numbers such as these do not scream legend at us, and that is why he makes the list as an overrated QB.