When football fans are not watching the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game, they may be reading or discussing the vast and almost limitless realm of game statistics. With over forty years of Super Bowl records on hand, many fans find it interesting to learn which players have been the most successful in each statistical category such as game or career passing, rushing or receiving yards, receptions, quarterback sacks, interceptions, and a wide range of other statistics.
This article focuses on the top ten Super Bowl quarterbacks in the category of number of yards passing. It may be surprising who is on the list and where they rank.
Quarterbacks Who Passed for Most Yards in Super Bowl Games
The NFL's official web site has a section on Super Bowl history. One of their statistics pages lists each quarterback who has played in the championship game and ranks them by their passing yards. According to their records, the following men are the top ten passers throughout all Super Bowl games:
- Kurt Warner tops the list with 414 total yards passing in Super Bowl XXXIV. Warner led the St Louis Rams to a narrow victory over the Tennessee Titans by a score of 23-16.
- Kurt Warner passed for 377 yards as the Arizona Cardinals quarterback in Super Bowl XLIII although the Pittsburgh Steelers ultimately won the contest 27-23.
- Kurt Warner, with the St. Louis Rams, faced the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. Passing for 365 yards, the Rams still ended up losing to the Patriots 20-17.
- Donovan McNabb was the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback in the Super Bowl XXXIX. Although he passed for 357 yards, his team lost to the New England Patriots 24-21.
- Joe Montana passed for 357 yards as his San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in Super Bowl XXIII.
- Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers when he passed for 354 yards in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
- Doug Williams passed for 340 yards in Super Bowl XXII when his Washington Redskins were victorious over the Denver Broncos 42-10.
- John Elway quarterbacked the Denver Broncos to a 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons with 336 yards passing in Super Bowl XXXIII.
- Peyton Manning passed for 333 yards in Super Bowl XLIV but his Indianapolis Colts lost to the New Orleans Saints by a final score of 31-17.
- Joe Montana was with the San Francisco 49ers when he led them to victory over the Miami Dolphins, 38-16, on 331 passing yards.
Best of the Top Ten Passing Quarterbacks in Super Bowl History
Two men occupy five of the top ten positions. Kurt Warner holds the top three spots as the Super Bowls' passing leader. He played for two different teams, the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals, in three NFL championship games over a span of nine years. Warner also holds the top spot in career Super Bowl passing yards at 1,156.
Joe Montana, ranked as number five and ten, played in a total of four Super Bowl games with the San Francisco 49ers. He ranks second on the list of all-time Super Bowl passers with 1,142 yards but holds the highest passer rating over those four games of 127.8.
Recommended Reading on the Super Bowl
Readers who enjoyed this article may also be interested in learning which NFL teams have played in the most Super Bowl games, which teams have won the most championship games, or learn about the most lopsided Super Bowl scores.
Ronald G Falconberry - Ron Falconberry is an IT professional and freelance writer who enjoys researching and writing articles on Bible topics, history, and ...
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