With Aaron Rodgers chasing team and individual records with his highest ever quarterback rating leading the undefeated Packers, his single-season place in NFL history is just three games away from being cemented as possibly the best ever. Who had the greatest season up to this point is debatable, but this list will attempt it.
To rank them, criteria such as era as well as team win-loss record will be taken into effect. Rule changes over the years have favored the passing game while the byproduct of a good quarterback should always be victory on the field.
To try and make this list as fair as possible, only seasons after the league adopted the current 16-game schedule (starting in 1978) will be counted. Here are the 10 best seasons by an NFL quarterback:
10. Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota, 2004—Record as starter: 8-8; Passing stats: 4,717 yards, 39 TDs, 11 Ints, 69.2 percent completion rate. QB rating: 110.9. Culpepper’s historic season made him something of a one-hit wonder. Never again did he come close to this kind of production in any of his five seasons afterward. Why here? Culpepper gets the nod over Randall Cunningham’s 1998 season for 10th place on this list with his superior completion rate (Cunningham’s was 60.2 percent).
9. Brett Favre, Minnesota, 2009—Record as starter: 12-4; Passing stats: 4,202 yards, 33 TDs, 7 Ints, 68.4 percent completion rate. QB rating: 107.2. Amazingly, Favre’s best season came as a 40-year-old with the Vikings. Never before had the three-time MVP avoided interceptions as he did in 2009. Why here? Favre gets the slight nod over Culpepper with his 12 wins. Also Favre didn’t have Randy Moss to throw to.
8. Steve Young, San Francisco, 1992—Record as starter: 14-2; Passing stats: 3,465 yards, 25 TDs, 7 Ints, 66.7 completion rate. QB rating: 107.0. Young’s second best season is only held back this far due to lack of passing yards and TDs. Why here? Era. Though Young had the luxury of throwing to the greatest wide receiver ever in Jerry Rice (unlike Favre), he did it at a time when defensive rules were a lot less lax on cornerbacks. Thus, his quarterback rating, at the time was the third highest in history since the merger in 1970.
7. Kurt Warner, St. Louis, 1999—Record as starter: 13-3; Passing stats: 4,353 yards, 41 TDs, 13 Ints, 65.1 percent completion rate. QB rating: 109.2. Warner burst onto the scene as a 28-year-old with his memorable showing in ‘99, leading the Rams to a Super Bowl win. Why here? His superior yards and touchdown passes over Young (in ’92) give him the slight edge.
6. Drew Brees, New Orleans, 2009—Record as starter: 13-2; Passing stats: 4,388, 34 TDs, 11 Ints, 70.6 percent completion rate. QB rating: 109.6. Brees’s 2009 season lets him be named in the same breath as All-Pros Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. His completion rate was the highest in NFL history in leading the Saints to their first Super Bowl win. Why here? Slight nod over Warner because of receivers. Few can name who Brees threw to, while Warner had Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, and even running back Marshall Faulk.
5. Joe Montana, San Francisco...
5. Joe Montana, San Francisco, 1989—Record as starter: 11-2; Passing stats: 3,521 yards, 26 TDs, 8 Ints, 70.2 percent completion rate. QB rating: 112.4. Montana may have been the best quarterback of all time and as a 33-year-old in ‘89 set career highs in completion rate (second highest since the merger), yards per attempt (9.1), and quarterback rating, which was a record at the time. Why here? Slight edge over Brees due to era. Though Brees didn’t have Rice to throw to, Joe ’Cool' put on arguably the second best show, at the time since the merger.
4. Steve Young, San Francisco, 1994—Record as starter: 13-3; Passing stats: 3,969 yards, 35 TDs, 10 Ints, 70.3 percent completion rate. QB rating: 112.8. Young retired with the highest quarterback rating of all time (96.8) and this was his best season. Why here? Young narrowly eclipsed Montana’s best year by besting him in multiple passing categories, but didn’t step out of his shadow until hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end. His 112.8 quarterback rating, just ahead of Montana’s 112.4, was a record at the time.
3. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis, 2004—Record as starter: 12-4; Passing stats: 4,557 yards, 49 TDs, 10 Ints, 67.6 percent completion rate. QB rating: 121.1. Manning was really good in the saesons leading up to 2004, but really broke out that year. The 49 touchdown passes were a record (despite barely playing the final game) as was the 121.1 quarterback rating. Why here? Despite the superior numbers over Young, Manning’s ‘04 season gets only a slight nod due to the rule change that went into effect prior to the season that strictly enforced pass interference calls against defensive backs. Still the 121.1 rating was more than 10 points ahead of second place (Culpepper).
2. Tom Brady, New England, 2007—Record as starter: 16-0; Passing stats: 4,806 yards, 50 TDs, 8, Ints, 68.9 percent completion rate. QB rating: 117.2. Brady was considered a great quarterback heading into the 2007 season mainly because of his three Super Bowl rings as opposed to his regular season achievements. That all changed when the Patriots acquired Randy Moss. Why here? Tough call over Manning, but gets the slight nod because he guided New England to the first ever 16-0 regular season.
1. Dan Marino, Miami, 1984—Record as starter: 14-2; Passing stats: 5,084 yards, 48 TDs, 17 Ints, 64.9 percent completion rate. QB rating: 108.9. Marino was in just his second NFL season when he made history, smashing records for yards, touchdown passes, and quarterback rating, while leading the Dolphins to a 14-2 record. Why here? Best season of his era would still hold up as one of the best in the current pass-happy period. The 48 touchdown passes record held for 20 years and was 12 more than anyone in history at the time. The 108.9 quarterback rating was the highest since the merger and was still the fourth best, all-time until the defensive rule changes in 2004. Meanwhile, his 5,084 passing yards is still the most of all-time.
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