This season has been a painful one for franchise quarterbacks. In the closing season, Aaron Rodgers was the talk of the country. His trade from his longtime franchise the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets was meant to catapult the MetLife Stadium outfit from an 11 year playoff drought into genuine Lombardi contenders. However, A-Rod went down injured just six minutes into his debut against the Buffalo Bills and the Green Machine never recovered.
But perhaps the most rehabilitating injury was the one suffered by Joe Burrow. The former Heisman winner transformed the Cincinnati Bengals with his drafting as the first overall pick back in 2020. He has led Cincy to their first playoff victory in 30 years, a first Super Bowl in 33 years and back-to-back Conference Championship games. He looked set to make it a trifecta of AFC championship games this term however, he suffered a season ending injury midway through the campaign.
Backup quarterback Jake Browning has stepped up in his absence and after a rocky start, he has gone on to become one of the most in-form quarterbacks in the league. He has led the Cats to back-to-back victories and has lifted them back into playoff contention. Although they remain +20000 outsiders according to Super Bowl odds, the fact that there is any chance at all of them lifting the Lombardi is thanks to Browning.
But he isn’t the first backup quarterback to have managed to steady the ship for a franchise. Here are three quarterbacks that didn’t only do that, they led them all the way to the Lombardi.
Super Bowl LII: Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were the first number one seed in NFL history to be considered underdogs in their own stadium in the divisional round of the playoffs. That was thanks to an injury to starting superstar quarterback Carson Wentz, thrusting Nick Foles into the spotlight under immense pressure. The former Arizona Wildcat had a rough start to his tenure, but he shook off the rust and played some of the best football of his career in that year’s playoffs.
At Super Bowl LII, the journeyman quarterback threw for a mighty 373 yards and three touchdowns, including catching a touchdown pass himself in the famed ‘Philly Special’. That secured a 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots and a first Lombardi in franchise history at the third time of asking. Foles was named the MVP, and his performance will forever be remembered as one of the greatest in Super Bowl history, securing his spot in Eagles folk lore forever.
Super Bowl XXXVI: Tom Brady and the New England Patriots
Okay, technically Tom Brady wasn’t the designated backup when he led the Patriots to victory in 2002. But let’s not forget that Drew Bledsoe was the starter for most of the season until he went down with an injury, leaving Brady to step up and take the reins. And we all know how that turned out…
Tom Brady has since become the consensus GOAT in terms of quarterbacks, but before that he was just a backup to the injury-stricken Bledsoe. The 1993 first overall draft pick had led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, but he suffered a hit that caused internal bleeding in the second game of the season. Brady took over and won 11 of the next 14 games to secure the top seed in the AFC.
In the Super Bowl, Brady led the Patriots to a stunning upset over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams nicknamed the ‘Greatest Show on Turf.’ But TB12 threw for 145 yards and a touchdown in a 20-17 win, including an impressive game winning full length drive that resulted in a last gasp field goal which secured victory.
Super Bowl XLII: Eli Manning and the New York Giants
The younger Manning brother was always disrespected thanks to just how good his older brother Peyton was, but he proved the naysayers wrong and came into his own during the 2007 Super Bowl.
The former University of Mississippi standout threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, leading his team to a shocking upset victory against the perfect Patriots. Late in the fourth quarter, led the Giants on a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter that culminated in a miraculous catch by David Tyree, and the game-winning pass to Plaxico Burress with just 35 seconds left on the clock.
If that wasn’t enough, he would repeat the feat four years later when the Giants and the Patriots squared off once more. Although the Brady Bunch had suffered defeats throughout the course of the regular season, they were still considered heavy favorites to secure their redemption. But unfortunately for them, Manning would deliver another MVP winning performance, including yet another last gasp touchdown which secured a 21-17 victory. Talk about clutch.
