Best Quarterback Ever for Every NFL Team
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It’s no secret that the best teams in NFL history have the best quarterbacks. Franchises rise or fall based on who plays there.
Some teams have done so well at the position that they’ve had multiple signal-callers become Hall of Famers. Other franchises have had very few great quarterbacks, if any at all.
These are the best quarterbacks, ever, for all 32 NFL franchises.
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Arizona/Phoenix/Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals: Jim Hart
Born: April 29, 1944 (Evanston, Illinois)
College: Southern Illinois
Drafted: Undrafted (1966)
NFL career: 19 seasons (1966-84)
Teams: St. Louis Cardinals (1966-83), Washington Football Team (1984)
Stats: 201 games, 34,665 passing yards, 209-247 TD-INT, 51.1 completion percentage
Career highlights: Four-time Pro Bowl (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977), NFL All-Pro (1974), NFC Offensive Player of the Year (1974)
Bottom Line: Jim Hart
Jim Hart went from going undrafted to playing almost two decades in the NFL. That being said, the fact that we had to consider an “eye test” argument for Kyler Murray as the Cardinals’ best quarterback of all time after just one season speaks to the franchise’s wretched history at the position.
Hart’s glory years were three straight division titles in the mid-1970s — an 0-3 playoff run where Hart threw four touchdowns and eight interceptions.
He set the Pro Bowl record with five interceptions in 1977 and threw an unbelievable 247 interceptions in his career.
Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan
Born: May 17, 1985 (Exton, Pennsylvania)
College: Boston College
Drafted: Round 1, No. 3 overall, Atlanta Falcons (2008)
NFL career: 15 seasons (2008-22)
Teams: Atlanta Falcons (2008-21), Indianapolis Colts (2022)
Stats: 234 games, 62,792 passing yards, 381-183 TD-INT, 65.6 completion percentage
Career highlights: NFL Most Valuable Player (2016), NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2016), NFL All-Pro (2016), four-time Pro Bowl (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Bottom Line: Matt Ryan
For all of Matt Ryan’s accomplishments, including winning NFL MVP in 2016, his career after 13 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons is defined by one game — blowing a 28-3 second-half lead to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. And that’s despite Ryan throwing for over 1,000 yards just in the postseason that year.
Michael Vick fans will try and make an argument for him as the team’s greatest quarterback, but it’s not even close. Vick didn’t make 100 starts for the Falcons and only played six seasons, one of which he sat out with an injury.