Patrick Mahomes vs. Joe Montana: Who Is Really the Greatest Quarterback of All Time?
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Patrick Mahomes has cracked the list for the greatest players to ever play his position.
Thanks to a third Super Bowl victory and MVP, the Kansas City Chiefs leader begins the 2024 season already ranked among the all-time NFL quarterback legends.
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Patrick Mahomes is in rare air as the new NFL season beginsCredit: Getty
Kansas City will face Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in the season-opener on Thursday, as Travis Kelce, Andy Reid and Mahomes start their three-peat bid back at Arrowhead Stadium in the NFL’s official kickoff.
Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Joe Montana are also good enough for this top 10 list.
In the future, dual threats such as Jalen Hurts could find their way here as the most important position in sports keeps changing.
Caleb Williams, who joined the Chicago Bears as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, is the latest big QB name to join the pros.
“You had some questions about him [Williams] standing in the pocket and going through progressions,” NFL Network analyst and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Kurt Warner exclusively told talkSPORT.
“I think he’s done a decent job in preseason at showing he’s got the capabilities of doing that, along with some of that special that we knew he had.
“He intrigues me, that he can have some success. It may not be as quickly as he learns some of those nuances. But I see the different pieces that are there.”
Below, talkSPORT.com ranks the best quarterbacks in NFL history, using passing yards, touchdowns, wins and Super Bowl appearances as the main metrics.
10. Patrick Mahomes
The Chiefs star knocked Drew Brees out of the top 10 with Kansas City’s second consecutive world championship.
While the 28-year-old Mahomes is technically young in NFL years, he’s already in the top echelon of QBs when it comes to Super Bowl rings.
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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is getting used to sharing the stage with MahomesCredit: Getty
Mahomes is 3-1 in the Super Bowl and his wins have been unbelievable, including three thrillers and back-to-back comeback victories.
Mahomes has also been public in his belief that he has a long way to go until he passes Tom Brady for GOAT status.
“It’s always going to be tough because Brady beat me in the Super Bowl,” Mahomes said. “That’s something he’ll always have on my head.”
Former NFL star Kurt Warner answers whether it is too early to compare Patrick Mahomes to Tom Brady
But no one has been this dominant, this fast, and Mahomes is already on a surefire Hall of Fame pace.
Not bad for a former Texas Tech prospect who ran a slow 40-yard dash at the Combine and now jokingly begs the NFL to stop showing his video.
Throw in the fact that Showtime has changed how the NFL is played at the QB position, and he’s football’s version of Stephen Curry while following Michael Jordan’s career path.
A historic three-peat will move Mahomes higher on this list.
He already has a special Super Bowl ring with 529 diamonds and a secret message inside.
Career stats: (28,424 passing yards, 219 passing touchdowns)
9. Roger Staubach
Staubach is the first “old timer” to make this list but it was impossible to exclude Captain America.
His service in the United States Navy limited his NFL stats.
But there’s no doubt that Staubach belongs and he helped create the “franchise quarterback” term that is now so widely used.
The two-time Super Bowl champion excelled through the air and on the ground, totalling 24,964 yards and 173 touchdowns.
Staubach was also the face of the Cowboys during an era when Dallas dominated TVs and The Star became synonymous with the growing power of the NFL.
(22,700 yards, 153 TDs)
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Roger Staubach was the face of the Cowboys when Dallas was America’s TeamCredit: Getty
8. Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has been stuck on 475 career TDs all season and his next passing yard will be his first for the New York Jets.
That tells you all you need to know about how dominant Rodgers was with the Green Bay Packers.
Brett Favre was once viewed as irreplaceable inside Lambeau Field.
Rodgers patiently waited for his turn, then spent 18 seasons wowing Packers fans and joining Favre in Green Bay history.
The No. 24 overall pick in 2005 has made 10 Pro Bowls, been named NFL MVP four times and kept getting better with age.
The only thing missing from Rodgers’ trophy case is a second Super Bowl ring.
To accomplish that, he needs to finally be healthy for the Jets in 2024.
(59,055 yards, 475 TDs)
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Aaron Rodgers became an expert in his later years and a true Packers legendCredit: Getty
7. Dan Marino
More than 20 years after he threw his last pass, Marino’s powerful arm is still the stuff of NFL legend.
No one could throw the ball like Marino — and no one has since.
The Pittsburgh product redefined the possibilities of the quarterback position during his second season with the Miami Dolphins, throwing for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns.
He made nine Pro Bowls, won an NFL MVP and finished his 17-year career with 420 TDs.
The only drawback for Marino was the Dolphins, who made the Super Bowl with their super-armed QB but failed to win the big game.
Like Staubach, Marino was ahead of the curve and showed the NFL proof of what QBs would eventually become.
(61,361 yards, 420 TDs)
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Dan Marino’s powerful arm is the stuff of NFL legend and hasn’t been recreatedCredit: Getty
6. John Elway
The 1983 NFL Draft changed the league.
It also produced two of the greatest QBs in history.
Marino went to Miami at No. 27.
Elway was so talented that he went No. 1 overall in a first round that featured seven future Hall of Famers, then forced his way from the hapless Baltimore Colts to the Denver Broncos by threatening to play baseball for the New York Yankees.
One of the first dual-threat QBs, Elway possessed a rocket arm and a bruising body — he rushed for 3,407 yards and 33 TDs during his 16-year career.
Elway’s name is still linked with some of the NFL’s greatest moments (“The Drive”) and he appeared in five Super Bowls, winning back-to-back trophies in 1997-98 before going out on top.
(51,475 yards, 300 TDs)
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John Elway went out on top and was a powerful dual threat with running back powerCredit: AFP
5. Brett Favre
It’s hard to imagine Mahomes’ on-the-field brilliance without Favre’s backyard magic.
Favre was the first NFL QB to do it his own way and keep winning big, year after year.
The Southern Mississippi product is also a reminder that the greatest NFL arms often break the mold and don’t have to be No. 1 picks.
Favre was taken at No. 33 overall in 1991, then barely played during his rookie year in Atlanta.
His career changed with a 1992 trade to Green Bay, where the Gunslinger joined forces with offensive-minded head coach Mike Holmgren.
Favre spent the next 18 seasons as a constant MVP contender, winning the award three times.
His next-to-last season with Minnesota should never be forgotten.
As a 40-year-old, Favre threw for 4,202 yards and 33 TDs, leading the 12-4 Vikings to the edge of the Super Bowl.
(71,838 yards, 508 TDs)
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Brett Favre helped take the NFL to new heights in the 1990s and played with passionCredit: Getty
4. Johnny Unitas
Before Peyton Manning was breaking down NFL defenses, there was a Baltimore Colt who dominated football and altered the way the QB position was played
Unitas made 10 Pro Bowls, won multiple NFL championships — including Super Bowl V against Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys — and was named MVP three times.
Unitas totalled more than 40,000 passing yards and recorded 290 TDs during an era when running backs dominated offenses.
As big as his numbers are, it’s worth wondering how much more Unitas would have accomplished in the contemporary era.
(40,239 yards, 290 TDs)
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Johnny Unitas’s unique playing style led to the modern passing game in the NFLCredit: 1971 Focus on Sport
3. Peyton Manning
There was a time when Tom Brady vs Manning was a polarising debate.
A fan was either on one side or the other, and it was easy to pick Manning as the best QB in the NFL.
The Sheriff propelled football into a new age, utilising video preparation and scouting to modernise the position.
But Manning was also a throwback, inspired by legends such as Unitas and learning the sport from his father, Archie.
Manning won five MVP awards, earned 14 Pro Bowl honors, and was named Comeback Player of the Year.
His best years were with Indianapolis and his best rivalry with Brady was when the Colts and New England Patriots annually went head to head.
(71,940 yards, 539 TDs)
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At one time, Peyton Manning was in the lead in the Tom Brady vs Manning debateCredit: Getty
2. Joe Montana
The NFL’s original GOAT.
Montana was untouchable when he was with the San Francisco 49ers, who created a dynasty that dominated the league in the 1980s.
Paired with Jerry Rice — regarded as the best wide receiver in NFL history — the third-round pick out of Notre Dame was also Joe Cool long before Joe Burrow was a Bengal.
Montana did it the old way, watching and learning during his initial two years, then mastering Bill Walsh’s sport-changing West Coast offense.
Montana won two MVP awards and captured four Super Bowl trophies.
Like Brady, the 49ers legend was at his best in the playoffs (16-7 record) and created a body of work that is still being appreciated.
(40,551 yards, 273 TDs)
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Long known as the best QB of all time, Joe Montana has only been topped by oneCredit: Getty Images – Getty
1. Tom Brady
As good as the others are, no one comes close to Brady.
Brady had the longevity of LeBron James and the championship dominance of Michael Jordan.
The greatest NFL QB of all time has an almost 10,000-yard advantage over Brees for the most passing yards in history, while Brady threw nearly 100 more TDs than his second-place competitor.
Once viewed as a system quarterback within the New England Patriots’ dynasty under Bill Belichick, the No. 199 overall pick rewrote the record book and established himself as a legendary force in the NFL.
Brady finished his career with seven Super Bowl rings and threw for 4,694 yards at age 45 with Tampa Bay.
The GOAT was so great that every year NFL fans ask the same question.
Will Brady come back and play again?
(89,214 yards, 649 TDs)
