ClutchPoints
Only four teams remain in the NFL playoffs. The Super Bowl is so close that all of the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos can taste it. Unfortunately for the Broncos, quarterback Bo Nix fractured his ankle with just a couple of plays remaining in their overtime win in the AFC Divisional Round. That injury puts a huge damper on Denver’s Super Bowl hopes, as Jarrett Stidham, a somewhat unproven backup, will be taking over under center.
All hope isn’t lost for the Broncos, though. In fact, there have been nine instances in which a backup quarterback led his team to a Super Bowl victory. In preparation for a potential Stidham miracle run, here is a ranking of each backup quarterback-turned-Super Bowl champion.
Trent Dilfer is regarded as one of the worst Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks ever. Perhaps that is because he wasn’t supposed to be the Baltimore Ravens’ starting QB in the first place. Tony Banks was the team’s starter in 2000, but after four straight weeks without an offensive touchdown, the Ravens switched things up and promoted Dilfer.
He’d go on to win Super Bowl XXXV in blowout fashion, 34-7. In all likelihood, it might not have mattered who quarterbacked the Ravens this year, as their defense was arguably the best defensive unit in NFL history. Dilfer only had 1,502 yards and 12 touchdowns, but it didn’t matter because Ray Lewis, Ron Woodson, and the rest of the defense completely thwarted opposing offenses.
That year, the Ravens only allowed 10.3 points per game and 970 total rushing yards, the latter of which was a record during a 16-game season.
Earl Morrall had one of the most unique careers in NFL history. The 1956 second overall pick played 21 years in the NFL. He won three Super Bowls and an NFL championship. He had two Pro Bowl nods that were separated by more than a decade, and he was the 1968 MVP.
However, he spent most of his career as a backup. Whenever Morrall subbed in, though, he tended to make waves. In 1968, for example, Morrall replaced an injured Johnny Unitas early in the season. Unitas is one of the greatest players in NFL history. In relief of Unitas, Morrall would go on to earn his MVP and lead the Baltimore Colts to a Super Bowl III appearance, although they were upset in the AFL-NFL clash.
Morrall would go on to find Super Bowl success, though. In 1972, his first year with the Miami Dolphins, he’d go 9-0 in the regular season, once taking over for the injured Bob Griese. The winning continued through the playoffs, but Griese was given his job back ahead of Super Bowl VII. It didn’t really matter who was quarterbacking the team, as the Dolphins had one of the greatest running back tandems ever with Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris. Griese...
