Stop Comparing Quarterbacks From Then And Now
In football, quarterbacks are always the star of the show. They are the ones that make the passes, make the clutch plays, and sell the jerseys. QBs are the face of the franchise they play for 99% of the time.
Still, there is an issue going on that needs to be fixed. People continue to compare quarterbacks from years past to the signal callers of today’s NFL.
Someone mentioned John Elway and Baker Mayfield, so we got to thinking 🤔
Elway vs Mayfield through 43 career games:
Elway Mayfield
8,391 Pass yds 10,337
49-52 TD-INT 72-43
53.5 Cmp% 61.7
69.9 Pass RTG 88.8 pic.twitter.com/ymMDKI5QLJ
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) December 21, 2020
The league is so much different compared to what it used to be. There is no point in comparing a QB from the 1980s to a QB from 2020. In 1980, rookie quarterback records weren’t being broken every year.
Good morning #Chargers fans ⚡️
Justin Herbert has tied the #NFL Rookie QB Passing Touchdown record (27)
& There’s still 2 games left pic.twitter.com/EVAwrJ1oj0
— ⚡️ChargersLegion⚡️ (@ChargersLegion) December 18, 2020
Now, I am not trying to discredit anything Herbert and Mayfield have done this season. Both have played above expectations, in turn impressing a lot of people (including myself). Still, the difference in the league from back in the day is drastic, and people can’t keep comparing legends to the guys suiting up in today’s game.
For example, nine out of the top ten single season passing years have come from 2010 and beyond. The lone exception being Dan Marino in 1984.
| Rank | Player | Yds | Year | Tm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peyton Manning (37) | 5,477 | 2013 | DEN |
| 2 | Drew Brees (32) | 5,476 | 2011 | NOR |
| 3 | Tom Brady (34) | 5,235 | 2011 | NWE |
| 4 | Drew Brees (37) | 5,208 | 2016 | NOR |
| 5 | Drew Brees (33) | 5,177 | 2012 | NOR |
| 6 | Drew Brees (34) | 5,162 | 2013 | NOR |
| 7 | Ben Roethlisberger (36) | 5,129 | 2018 | PIT |
| 8 | Jameis Winston (25) | 5,109 | 2019 | TAM |
| 9 | Patrick Mahomes(22) | 5,097 | 2018 | KAN |
| 10 | Dan Marino+ (22) | 5,084 | 1984 | MIA |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
– Jarrod Ribaudo (@jarrod_ribaudo)
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Featured image courtesy of Twitter / @Sam_Penix