Note: I used 25 unique quarterbacks for this list— Any quarterbacks that played in multiple Super Bowls will have their most notable games featured rather than having the same QB show up multiple times.
With that caveat out of the way, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.
#25
Stan Humphries (San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl XXIX, 1995)
Humphries was coming off a decent 1994 season and an improbable upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game when he ran into the 49ers. San Fran's defense caused Humphries to connect on just 49 percent of his pass attempts, while throwing for just 5.6 yards per attempt. While he threw a touchdown, Humphries also threw two interceptions. His 56.1 passer rating clinched the decimation, and the Chargers would lose 49-26 (on a side-note, the combined 75 points is a Super Bowl record).
#24
Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl XIX, 1985)
Dan Marino is one of the best quarterbacks in history and was coming off an MVP season in which he threw for a then-record 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns. The Dolphins cruised to an NFL-best 14-2 record, culminating when they reached the fifth Super Bowl in franchise history. Marino further made history by becoming the youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl game at just 23.
That's where the good news ended. Marino, despite being sacked a paltry 13 times in the regular season, got brought down four times in the Super Bowl. He threw just one touchdown compared to two interceptions. Despite throwing for 318 yards (second-most in Super Bowl history to that point, tied with Terry Bradshaw and behind Joe Montana's 331 yards from the same game), the Dolphins got smacked around to the tune of 38-16, the third-greatest margin of defeat in the Super Bowl at the time.
#23
Joe Kapp (Minnesota Vikings, Super Bowl IV, 1970)
Here's some trivia— Joe Kapp is the only quarterback to play in the Rose Bowl, the Grey Cup and the Super Bowl. He's also in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, thanks to his stellar play with the BC Lions. While he wasn't as successful in the states, 1969 was by far is best season in the NFL— he threw for a career-best 1,726 yards and 17 touchdowns to his career-low 13 interceptions.
While he threw for 183 yards for a pretty-good 7.3 yards per attempt, he threw zero touchdown compared to two interceptions, and was sacked three times by the awesome Chiefs defense in the Super Bowl. The Vikings could only muster seven points compared to Kansas City's 23. Sadly, this was one of the better performances in the Super Bowl the Vikings had in the 70s.
#22
Boomer Esiason (Cincinnati Bengals, Super Bowl XXIII, 1989)
1988 was a good year for ol' Boomer— He had an unlikely MVP season where he threw twice as many touchdowns as interceptions, threw for a career-high 3,572 yards and led the NFL in passer rating (97.4) and yards per attempt (9.2).
In the Super Bowl, Esiason was held without a touchdown and the 49ers forced one interception out of him. He also had 11 completions, connecting on just 44 percent of his passes while getting sacked five times. His 46.1 passer rating was also the fourth-lowest among staring quarterbacks in 80s Super Bowls.
Even then, the game was fairly close. The Bengals were leading with a few minutes left on the clock, but Joe Montana proceeded to rip out the Bengals' hearts with a 92-yard drive to put the 49ers on top 20-16.
#21
Chris Chandler (Atlanta Falcons, Super Bowl XXXIII, 1999)
The Atlanta Falcons had an out-of-nowhere great season in 1998, winning 14 games and knocking off the much better Minnesota Vikings on the road in the NFC Championship Game. Unfortunately, the clock struck midnight on this Cinderella story just as the Super Bowl got underway.
Chris Chandler, the poor journeyman in charge of quarterbacking the Dirty Birds in the Big Game, played like someone who was in completely over his head against a much better opponent. Fortunately, he was. Chandler completed just 54.3 percent of his passes, getting sacked twice and throwing one touchdown to three interceptions. His passer rating of 47.1 was the fourth-lowest mark by a starter in 90s Super Bowls as the Falcons got rolled by the Broncos 34-19. Despite that, Chandler still didn't have the most embarrassing experience at the Super Bowl that year.
#20
Johnny Unitas (Baltimore Colts, Super Bowl V, 1971)
As a change of pace, here's the quarterback from a Super Bowl-winning team. Johnny U, at the time of his retirement, had more pass completions, pass attempts, passing yards and passing touchdowns than any player before him. He was the first quarterback to throw for over 3,000 yards in a single season, and the first to throw at least 30 touchdowns in a season. He was the first quarterback to throw for over 30,000 yards in his career. He was the first quarterback to win an MVP award, and the first to win multiple MVPs (his three wins were a record until 2009). He also guided the Colts to back-to-back championships over the New York Giants in the late 50s, with the 1958 Championship Game earning the title of the Greatest Game Ever Played.
By 1970, Unitas was on his last legs. He had a decent season at 37, but his Super Bowl V performance was one to forget. The Colts won 16-13 over the Cowboys, in spite of their all-time great quarterback. Unitas threw just nine passes in the game, completing only three of them for just 88 yards. Despite his short stay in the game, he still managed to turn the ball over three times (two interceptions and one lost fumble). Unitas threw one touchdown, which buoyed up his passer rating to 68.1.
Earl Morrall played most of the game in relief, but didn't play a whole lot better. Fortunately for the Colts, the Cowboys' Craig Morton managed to play an even shittier game than either of Baltimore's QBs.
Sadly, despite his legendary career, I actually had a tough time deciding which of Unitas' two Super Bowl appearances was worse. His Super Bowl III stat line was also terrible, but I decided to go with his Super Bowl V game, thanks to his numerous turnovers (by comparison, he only had one turnover in Super Bowl III).
#19
Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XL, 2006)
The single-worst performance by a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in history. For context, Roethlisberger was in just his second season as a pro, and was the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl after Dan Marino. The Steelers were also very much a run-first team, with the young product from Miami of Ohio getting treated with kid gloves (he averaged just 22 pass attempts per game compared to all non-QB rushers averaging a bit more than 32 a game).
Still, with all that in mind, holy shit did Big Ben suck in Super Bowl XL! He completed just nine of his 21 pass attempts (42.9%) for 123 yards (5.9 yards per attempt), no touchdowns and two interceptions. His passer rating of 22.6 is seventh-worst among starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl history. If not for his rushing touchdown in the game, his stat line would be even worse.
The Steelers still managed to beat the Seahawks 21-10, thanks mostly to their run game and the fact that Super Bowl XL is still one of the worst-officiated championship games ever.
#18
Rex Grossman (Chicago Bears, Super Bowl XLI, 2007)
In an era which featured a series of terrible quarterbacks for the Bears, Rex Grossman was one of them. Grossman threw 23 touchdowns in 2006, and he turned the ball over 25 times (20 interceptions, five lost fumbles). And this was still easily his best season in the NFL. (That last sentence is up there as far as the most depressing things I've written on this blog goes.) The Bears still managed to go 13-3 and make the Super Bowl thanks to their tremendous defense. That same defense didn't really show up to the Super Bowl, though.
Grossman, ironically, actually had a decent game by his standards. He completed 20 of 28 passes, but for only 5.9 yards per attempt. He threw one touchdown, but he threw two picks and fumbled twice, losing one. His passer rating in the game was 68.3. How sad is it that this still constitutes a better game than Ben Roethlisberger's from the previous year's Super Bowl?
#17
Neil O'Donnell (Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XXX, 1996)
If you can say one thing about Neil O'Donnell, it's that he was an NFL quarterback for a while. O'Donnell actually had a decent season in 1995, completing 59.1 percent of his passes for 7.1 yards per attempt. He also threw 17 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. And the Steelers advanced to their fifth Super Bowl after their second-straight instant-classic AFC Championship Game, this one a last-minute victory over the upstart Indianapolis Colts.
In the Big Game, the Cowboys manhandled O'Donnell. He threw one touchdown to three interceptions, and was sacked four times. His passes only went for an average of about five yards. He had a passer rating of 51.3. Shockingly, in spite of handling O'Donnell, the Cowboys' 27-17 victory was their smallest margin of victory in the Super Bowl during their 90s dynasty.
#16
Bob Griese (Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl VI, 1972)
Griese played well for the Dolphins when they won Super Bowl VII and VIII. Super Bowl VI, on the other hand? Not so much. Griese had a great 1971 season, throwing more touchdowns per pass attempt than any other player in the NFL (19 touchdowns for every 7.2 attempts). For that, he was named to his fourth Pro Bowl/All-Star Game, and was named 1st Team All-Pro for the first time in his career.
In the Super Bowl, though, Griese didn't throw a touchdown, instead losing a fumble and throwing a pick. He was also held to just 5.8 yards per attempt for a passer rating of 51.7, the fifth-worst mark for a starter in the Super Bowl during the 70s. The Cowboys held the Dolphins' vaunted run game to just 80 yards in the game (for context, the Dolphins averaged 173.5 rushing yards per game in 1971). As a result, Griese had to throw a lot— 23 passes in all (he would throw just 18 passes in the next two Super Bowls combined). That game plan didn't work, and the Cowboys won the game 24-3. Those three points are the fewest ever scored in a Super Bowl.
#15
Peyton Manning (Super Bowl XLVIII, 2014)
A newie, but a badie. Manning was coming off the finest season of his Hall of Fame career, throwing for a record 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns, being named 1st Team All-Pro for the seventh time and also to his fourteenth Pro Bowl, while winning his record fifth MVP. Then he went up against the Seahawks' defense.
Manning was only sacked once officially, but was knocked down a bunch more than that. He completed 69.4 percent of his passes, but only for an average of 5.7 yards. He threw one touchdown late, which bumped up his passer rating significantly to 73.5 (it's still the lowest passer rating for a starter in Super Bowls played in this current decade). And he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble en route to the Seahawks' 43-8 destruction of the Broncos— the most lopsided Super Bowl victory in over twenty years.
#14
Drew Bledsoe (New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXI, 1997)
Bledsoe was coming off the best season of his career to that point when the Patriots qualified for Super Bowl XXXI. Besides going to his second Pro Bowl, he completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 4,086 yards with 27 touchdowns to 15 interceptions (plus three lost fumbles). That was all good for a passer rating of 83.7, the highest of his career at the time.
Bledsoe only completed 52.1 percent of his passes for an average of 5.3 yards in the Super Bowl. The Packers' defense held him in check for pretty much the whole game, sacking him five times and picking him off four times. Even with his two touchdowns, Bledsoe still had a 46.6 passer rating, the third-worst mark by a starter in a 90s Super Bowl. The Patriots lost 35-21.
#13
Ron Jaworski (Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl XV, 1981)
Coming off his only Pro Bowl season in which he had career-highs in completion percentage (57.0), passing yards (3,529), touchdowns (27) and passer rating (91.0), Jaworski proceed to get handled by the Raiders in the Super Bowl. While he threw for an impressive 291 yards (the third-most yards to that point, good for 7.7 yards per pass attempt), he only completed 47.4 percent of his passes and turned the ball over a then-record four times in the game (three interceptions, one lost fumble). The Eagles would lose 27-10 to the Raiders and wouldn't be back in the Big Game for nearly 25 years.
#12
Jim Kelly (Buffalo Bills, Super Bowl XXVI, 1992)
Before you ask, no, I didn't plan for a quarterback who wore number 12 to take the twelfth spot on this list. Jim Kelly often had a rough go of things in the Super Bowl, which means that I sadly had to pick and choose between various bad games he had on the biggest stage. His first Super Bowl, XXV, was his best and cleanest title game, with his final one, XXVIII, being merely okay. Luckily for me, after that process of elimination it becomes a lot more clear which deserves to be on this list— Super Bowl XXVI against the Washington Redskins.
1991 was Kelly's best in the NFL (noticing a pattern?). He had highs in completion percentage (64.1), passing yards (3,844) and touchdowns (33, which led the NFL), and posted the third-best passer rating (97.6) and yards per pass attempt (8.1) in the league while throwing touchdowns on an NFL-best seven percent of his pass attempts.
Naturally, his Super Bowl performance was dreadful that year. He threw a Super Bowl-record 58 passes and connected on just 48.3 percent of them for an average of 4.7 yards. While he threw two touchdowns, he committed five turnovers (four interceptions, one lost fumble out of two total), also a Super Bowl record (one he probably didn't want to break). Kelly was sacked five times and had a passer rating of 44.8, the second-worst mark in the 90s. With the Bills' run game equally stifled, they would go on to lose to Washington 37-24.
While that was definitely bad, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up Kelly's equally poor performance from the following year. Despite getting knocked out of Super Bowl XXVII early (he threw only seven passes, tied with Bob Griese for the second-fewest pass attempts by a starter in a Super Bowl) he still managed to lose a fumble, throw two picks and get sacked twice.
#11
Frank Reich (Buffalo Bills, Super Bowl XXVII, 1993)
Speaking of Super Bowl XXVII, after Kelly's quick exit the reigns were naturally handed to his backup, Frank Reich. Reich had backed up Kelly in 61 games in the regular season by that time and had started just six games in his career. But he was valuable in relief— he took over for Kelly (who was knocked out early again) in Buffalo's wild card win over the Houston Oilers. The Bills were down by as many as 32 points, but Reich improbably led the Bills to overtime and an eventual 41-38 victory— the biggest comeback in NFL history, in either the regular season or the playoffs.
(In an interesting note, Reich had also come off the bench to complete the biggest comeback in NCAA history in 1984, helping Maryland overcome a 31-point deficit to beat the Miami Hurricanes 42-40. That comeback has since been surpassed when Michigan State overcame a 35-point deficit to beat Northwestern 41-38 in 2006.)
Reich's comeback magic wasn't present in the Super Bowl, though. He was sacked twice and had a passer rating of 60.4 in the game. Reich also fumbled three times (a Super Bowl record) and lost two of them. That went along with his two touchdowns for a total of four turnovers, which didn't help the Bills any. They would lose 52-17 to the Cowboys, the third-worst beat-down in Super Bowl history.
#10
John Elway (Denver Broncos, Super Bowl XXIV, 1990)
Speaking of facing adversity in the Super Bowl, the Broncos lost four Super Bowls before the Bills made it cool. John Elway was the signal-caller in three of those four games, and he often laid the football equivalent of a long, wet fart in the Big Game.
Elway played okay in his first Super Bowl, XXVI, but was terrible in his second, XXVII. But Elway saved his most putrid performance for the final Super Bowl his 80s teams qualified for, XXIV.
Going up against the world-beating San Francisco 49ers, Elway completed just 38.5 percent of his passes for 108 yards (4.2 yards per attempt). He was sacked four times, threw two interceptions and fumbled twice (losing one) while being held without a touchdown. His passer rating of 19.4 is the fifth-worst ever posted by a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl. As a final indignity, the 49ers rolled over the Broncos 55-10, the biggest blowout in the history of the Super Bowl.
#9
Joe Theismann (Washington Redskins, Super Bowl XVIII, 1984)
Theismann was named to the only 1st Team All-Pro list of his career in 1983 as he threw 29 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, for 3,714 yards while completing 60.1 percent of his passes. His 97.0 passer rating was second-best in the NFL to only the Falcons' Steve Bartowski. Not only that, but the Washington offense was historically great, becoming the first team in NFL history to score 500 or more points in a season (541 to be exact, good for 33.81 points per game). (Just a note: the 1961 Houston Oilers were the first team to score 500 points, period, in 14 games no less, but that was in the AFL and Washington scored 28 more points than they did.)
Then the Super Bowl happened. Theismann completed 45.7 percent of his passes, while committing three turnovers. He was also sacked six times, the second-most ever in the Super Bowl. His 45.3 passer rating was the third-worst for a starter in 80s Super Bowls, and Washington's 38-9 loss to the Raiders was the biggest margin of victory in the Super Bowl in history to that point (a record which stood for one year— we'll talk more about that one later).
#8
David Woodley (Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl XVII, 1983)
After Bob Griese but before Dan Marino there was David Woodley. Woodley usurped Griese as the Dolphins' starting quarterback in 1980. While he wasn't great, the Dolphins still made it to the Super Bowl after the strike-shortened 1982 season. It didn't end well.
Don Shula liked Woodley in part for his mobility— in nine games, he was sacked just 10 times. That mobility didn't really manifest against Washington— Woodley was sacked once and ran four times for 16 yards. He also completed just 28.6 percent of his passes on four-for-14 passing (he didn't complete a single pass in the second half, going oh-for-eight). His one interception and lost fumble didn't help, and the Dolphins lost to Washington 27-17.
Woodley had a passer rating of 50.0 in Super Bowl XVII. But if you take out his one touchdown, and the 76 yards which proceeded it, his rating drops to 7.5, which would be third-worst ever for a starter in Super Bowl history.
Woodley was out of football by 1986, and just over 20 years after becoming the youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl at 24 (a record which was broken two years later by Dan Marino), he died at 44 in 2003, becoming the youngest Super Bowl quarterback to die in the process. He had spent the better part of two decades living in seclusion from his former teammates as he destroyed his body and personal life with alcohol. Scratch that— this is the most depressing thing I've written.
#7
Rich Gannon (Oakland Raiders, Super Bowl XXXVII, 2003)
Gannon was a revelation for the Raiders in the early 2000s, being named 1st Team All-Pro twice in three years and winning two MVPs in the same time period. In 2002, he had the best year of his career at age 37— he led the league with 4,689 yards (career-high) while throwing 26 touchdowns to 10 interceptions on a 67.6 completion percentage (career-high) and a 97.3 passer rating (career-high).
In the Super Bowl, Gannon played nothing like a reigning MVP. He completed 54.5 percent of his passes and was sacked five times. But the turnovers were what really ruined Gannon's, and by extension the Raiders', night— he threw five interceptions, the most any player has ever thrown in a single Super Bowl (and he also tied Jim Kelly for the most turnovers in a single Super Bowl). His 48.9 passer rating was the third-worst in 2000s Super Bowls, and the Buccaneers thrashed the Raiders 48-21, the fourth-most points laid on an opponent in Super Bowl history.
#6
Billy Kilmer (Washington Redskins, Super Bowl VII, 1973)
In his younger days in the early 60s, Kilmer was one of the best mobile quarterbacks around (he rushed for over 1,500 yards, and the 987 yards he rushed for in his first two seasons is still tenth-best in history for any quarterback with at least two seasons under their belts). In 1972 he went to his first and only Pro Bowl thanks to leading the NFL with 19 touchdowns (throwing a TD on 8.2 percent of his passes) to 11 interceptions. He also threw for 1,648 yards, completed 53.3 percent of his passes, and had a passer rating of 84.8, the highest of his career.
Upon guiding Washington to its first championship game in nearly 30 years, Kilmer ran into the undefeated Dolphins. The Dolphins' defense in that era is criminally underrated, and lived up to its fearsome nature. Kilmer completed 50 percent of his passes, but on just 3.7 yards per attempt, the fourth-worst mark for a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl. He also threw three interceptions and was sacked twice for a passer rating of 19.6, the sixth-worst ever. The Dolphins completed their perfect season by bludgeoning Washington by a deceptively-close score of 17-14.
#5
Fran Tarkenton (Minnesota Vikings, Super Bowl IX, 1975)
Among the best all-around quarterbacks ever, Fran Tarkenton was the John Elway of his day, despite not at all resembling John Elway from a game-playing perspective. Tarkenton reached the Super Bowl three times, all of which resulted in losses, and he often played badly in the games (his first Super Bowl, VIII, was his only decent title game, and even then it wasn't that great).
Tarkenton's worst performance came in Super Bowl IX. The Steel Curtain Defense absolutely wrecked him. He completed 42.3 percent of his passes for 102 yards (3.9 per attempt, the fifth-lowest mark in history). Despite retiring with the fourth-most rushing yards by a quarterback, Tarkenton ran once for no gain in the ninth Big Game, fumbling once (the Vikings recovered it). He was held without a touchdown and threw three interceptions for a passer rating of 14.1, the fourth-lowest ever by a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl. The Vikings lost 16-6.
#4
Kerry Collins (New York Giants, Super Bowl XXXV, 2001)
Collins went from highly-touted draft pick to journeyman rather quickly, but he had a decent season in 2000 for the Giants. Then he went up against the vaunted Ravens defense, whose 2000 iteration was perhaps the best of the modern era. Collins could only complete 38.5 percent of his passes for 112 yards (2.9 per attempt, third-worst ever). He fumbled once, but the Giants recovered it. They did not recover his four interceptions, though. Without a touchdown to his name, Collins accumulated a passer rating of 7.1, the second-worst ever. Unsurprisingly for a team that could muster barely any offense against one of the best defenses ever, the Giants were creamed 34-7.
#3
Earl Morrall (Baltimore Colts, Super Bowl III, 1969)
Morrall was a Cinderella story come to life in 1968. Johnny Unitas was hobbled by an arm injury in the final preseason game and couldn't play. Morrall came off the bench and proceed to have an out-of-nowhere MVP season at age 34. He completed 57.4 percent of his passes for 2,909 yards and led the NFL with 26 touchdowns. The Colts, thanks to the combination of Morrall's stellar play and their awesome defense (which allowed just 10.29 points per game and 241.21 yards per game, first and second in the NFL, respectively), cruised to a 13-1 record and slaughtered the Vikings and Browns en route to Super Bowl III.
And that's where things went wrong. The Jets completely disoriented Morrall, forcing him to throw three interceptions (he was, ignominiously, the first quarterback to throw multiple interceptions in a single Super Bowl). Morrall completed just six of his 17 passes (35.3 percent) for a paltry 71 yards, and rushed twice for minus-two yards. His passer rating of 9.3 is the third-lowest ever. Even with Johnny Unitas coming off the bench, the Colts still became the first NFL team to lose in the Super Bowl to the upstart AFL.
#2
Tony Eason and Steve Grogan (New England Patriots, Super Bowl XX, 1986)
Yeah, this one might be controversial, but I think there's one quarterbacking performance worse than this one. And, yes, I am cheating a bit on this one— honestly, does it matter who the quarterback facing the '85 Bears is? (Don't say Dan Marino!)
Steve Grogan was drafted by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 1975 Draft, and they spent much of the rest of his 16-year career trying to find someone better than him. The latest such attempt was in 1983, when the Patriots took Tony Eason fifteenth overall as the fourth quarterback off the board (ahead of Dan Marino).
Despite more closely resembling Todd Blackledge than John Elway, Eason assumed the starting job in 1984 and showed flashes of brilliance. In the playoffs after the 1985 season, Eason threw five touchdowns and no picks in the Patriots' improbable climb to Super Bowl XX, defeating the New York Jets, the Los Angeles Raiders and the Miami Dolphins— all better teams and all on the road.
And then the '85 Bears happened. The Bears were coming off two-straight playoff shutouts (they're still the only team to ever do that) and had outscored their opponents 45-0. They also featured perhaps the greatest defense ever. Needless to say, things didn't bode well for Tony from Blythe, California.
Eason threw six passes and connected on none of them. He's still the only starting quarterback in Super Bowl history to not complete at least one pass. He also lost a fumble and was sacked three times, which eventually forced Steve Grogan into the game.
Grogan played moderately better— at the very least, he completed a pass. Still, Grogan was sacked five times and threw two interceptions. While he threw a touchdown pass, the Patriots were utterly demolished 46-10, the worst beatdown in Super Bowl history at the time, and still the second-worst ever.
So to recap— the Patriots' quarterbacks combined to go 17-of-36 passing, for a completion percentage of 47.2, 177 yards with 4.9 yards per attempt, a single touchdown, two interceptions, a lost fumble, and eight sacks. Is it any surprise the Super Bowl MVP went to the Bears' defense?
And that was pretty much it for Eason. While he was the primary starter for another season, Grogan (or whomever else the team picked up) took back the starting position, which Eason would never permanently recover. He was eventually traded to the New York Jets where he backed up Ken O'Brien, another guy Eason was drafted ahead of and was not better than. He retired with only eight seasons under his belt after the 1990 season, the same year Steve Grogan hung up his cleats. What a world, huh?
#1
Craig Morton (Denver Broncos, Super Bowl XII, 1978)
I've already mentioned Mr. Morton once before in this article— he was the Cowboys' starting quarterback in Super Bowl V, their loss to the Colts. Morton played terribly in that game, but was never taken out, despite the fact that some guy named Roger Staubach was sitting on the bench.
Morton remained the Cowboys starter through a good chunk of the 1971 season, but Staubach eventually won the job (after Tom Landry spent a whole game literally switching the two out on every other play). Staubach only relinquished the job due to a separated shoulder in 1972, but permanently won the job by 1973. Morton stuck around Dallas until 1974, when he was shipped to the New York Giants.
By 1977, Morton found his way to the Denver Broncos. While he was still pretty mediocre, he had a fine season, thanks in no part to limiting his turnovers (he threw just eight interceptions that year). Backed by the brutal Orange Crush Defense, the Broncos went 12-2 and wound up playing in their first Super Bowl, with Morton improbably becoming the first quarterback to start in a Super Bowl for two different teams. Coincidentally, Morton would be starting against his old backup, Roger Staubach, and his old team, the Dallas Cowboys.
His reunion with the Cowboys went about as poorly as you could possibly imagine. No, that's underselling things drastically— Larry Craig Morton played the single-worst game where a starting quarterback stuck around for the majority of it in Super Bowl history.
Get this stat line— Morton went four-for-15 passing, for a 26.7 completion percentage, 39 yards at 2.6 yards a pop, was sacked twice and threw zero touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating was 0.0. FUCKING ZERO!
Do you know how rare that is? I swear to God, I looked this up— since 1960, there have been 49 instances of a quarterback attempting at least 15 passes in a game and coming away with a passer rating of 0.0. 48 of those were in the regular season. The one time that's happened in the playoffs, the quarterback was, you guessed it, Craig Morton. So Craig Morton not only played the worst game in Super Bowl history, he played perhaps the worst game in playoff history, certainly the worst within the last 56 years. My God, Sammy Baugh's stat line from the 1940 NFL Championship Game was better than Morton's, and Baugh's team lost 73-0!
Think of all the great defenses which played in the Super Bowl— the 60s Packers, the 1969 Chiefs, the Steel Curtain, the Purple People Eaters, the 1985 Bears, the 2000 Ravens, the 2013 Seahawks, just to name a few. None of them accomplished what the Doomsday Defense accomplished— getting a quarterback to a 0.0 passer rating!
Back to Morton— oh yeah, I'm still not done riffing on this poor motherfucker. Like I said earlier, he played badly in Super Bowl V. He went 12-for-26 passing, for a 46.2 completion percentage, 127 yards at 4.9 per attempt, was sacked twice and threw a touchdown and three interceptions for a passer rating of 34.1.
Craig Morton has the worst numbers of any quarterback who's played in multiple Super Bowls, and it's not even close. His combined completion percentage is 39! His combined passer rating is 20! He threw one touchdown to seven interceptions! Tom Brady has played in more Super Bowls than anyone else and STILL hasn't thrown seven total interceptions in the Super Bowl, all while playing in four more games than Morton!
Needless to say, the Broncos lost 27-10. But at least they have Morton's historic performance to look back on. ...Okay, I tried.
Stats and accomplishments found on pro-football-reference.com.
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