The Pittsburgh Steelers have been blessed with some great talent at the quarterback position over the years. The franchise has been led to Super Bowl victories by one gold jacket wearer in Terry Bradshaw and two-time champion, Ben Roethlisberger, who is in line for his enshrinement among the sport's greats in Canton as soon as he is eligible in 2026. Neil O'Donnell took the team to the big game once in the final year of his five-year tenure in Pittsburgh. NFL Throwback recently ranked the NFL franchises by their quarterback rooms and Pittsburgh's group landed inside the top ten but outside the top five.
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Steelers Ben Roethlisberger seen here with Aaron Rodgers whose strong resume helped the Green Bay Packers all-time quarterback room finish ahead of the Steelers.
The Steelers Spot Amongst The All-Time Quarterback Rooms
There should be no surprise that the Green Bay Packers landed in the top spot for all-time signal caller groups. The Wisconsin franchise has been graced with three and soon-to-be four Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Arnie Herber might be an unfamiliar name for some, but he was a dominant force in the passing game for the Packers from 1930 until 1940. He was enriched in the Hall of Fame in 1966.
Bart Starr is considered one of the game's first big stars at the quarterback position. He was only an AP All-Pro once, according to Pro Football Reference, but he was the MVP of the first two Super Bowls ever played. After a deal with the Atlanta Falcons that almost didn't happen, the Packers landed their next gold jacket thrower, Brett Favre.
During his 16-year career in Green Bay, Favre captured three-straight MVP awards, to go with a Super Bowl win and MVP. His successor, Aaron Rodgers, also ironically ended a Hall of Fame-worthy stay in Green Bay with a trade to the New York Jets. Steelers fans know all about Rodgers' Super Bowl victory as he threw three scores to lead the Packers over the Steelers in 2011.
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The Steelers' defense collapses on Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
The Indianapolis Colts landed second on the list led by two of the all-time greats. Peyton Manning helped the Colts to play in two Super Bowls, beating the Chicago Bears in 2007. The four-time MVP in Indy (he won a fifth with the Denver Broncos in 2013) led the league in passing yards three times and touchdowns twice. Johnny Unitas had a Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Colts after being passed on by the Steelers.
Another three-time MVP in blue and white won the passing yards and touchdowns league crown four times. The other two Colts quarterbacks who helped them secure the number 2 spot were Andrew Luck and Burt Jones.
Coming in at number three was the San Fransisco 49ers. The franchise was lucky to employ two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks at once from 1987 until 1993 with Joe Montana in the late stages of his career and Steve Young waiting patiently for his shot to take over. Y.A. Tittle and Young's successor, Jeff Garcia also had solid tenures for the 49ers to build out their all-time quarterback room.
The fourth place spot was reserved for the Rams franchise in St. Louis and Los Angeles. It was led by Kurt Warner, who took the team to its first Super Bowl. This group is rounded out by the record holder for passing yards in a game Norm Van Brocklin as well as Jared Goff and Marc Bulger.
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Roger Staubach looks for room to run in Super Bowl XIII on Jan. 21, 1979. The Steelers won 35-31.
The Dallas Cowboys landed at number five on the list led by Super Bowl winners, Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. The careers of undrafted free agent, Tony Romo and the ongoing success of his heir, Dak Prescott also helped them to slide into the top five.
The Las Vegas Raiders enjoyed plenty of success at the quarterback position during the years in Oakland. The team's all-time room includes Ken Stabler, Daryle Lamonica, Jim Plunkett, Rich Gannon, and Derek Carr.
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Steelers Kordell Stewart tries to escape the pressure of the Jacksonville Jaguars pass rush.
The Steelers come in at number seven on the list thanks to the strengths of Bradshaw and Roethlisberger's career accomplishments. O'Donnell also got a shoutout for his work to get the Steelers to a Super Bowl in 1995. Rounding out the group for Pittsburgh is 2001 Pro Bowler, Kordell Stewart. The team and its fans hope someday ascending talent Kenny Pickett will etch his name in here and help the team either to up its spot on lists like this or at least hold it.
Pittsburgh's all-time quarterback room might not have the overall depth that some teams like the Raiders or the Rams, but the stars at the top aren't even. The careers of Stabler and Bradshaw are easy ones to compare as they played in the same era and both are Hall of Famers with an AP MVP award. There's a stark difference in the number of championships, where Stabler's one pales in comparison to Bradshaw's four. Roethlisberger never took home an MVP award like Kurt Warner, but he's got a pair of championships and his six Pro Bowls top Warner's four.
Pittsburgh's group would be hard-pressed to break into the top three, but not giving a top-five spot for a group that has six Lombardi Trophies split between the top two guys seems harsh. Especially when the Rams get credit for a quarterback that took them back to the Super Bowl only to have one of the worst quarterback performances in the game's history. The Cowboys are pushed up by Prescott who has played in fewer conference finals (0) than O'Donnell.
What do you think of this list? Are the Steelers in the right spot? Comment below!
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