Greatest QBs of the Super Bowl Era: No. 47 - Steve McNair

Steve McNair led the Tennessee Titans to within a yard of a Super Bowl championship, but his lack of success in the playoffs kept him from finishing higher on this list.

McNair was given the nickname of "Air McNair" at little Alcorn State in Mississippi, a NCAA Division I-AA school, where he was so prolific he was drafted third overall by the Houston Oilers in 1995.

The Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997 the same year McNair took over as fulltime starter. From 1997 to 2004, McNair was top 10 in approximate value five times, passer ratings twice, including leading the league in 2003, and top 10 in DYAR four times.

His best season was 2003 when he led the league in passer rating and finished top three in DYAR. 

The Titans made the playoffs four times with McNair as QB, but he was top five in passer ratings just twice and never in the top three. Still, he drove Tennessee to the 2000 Super Bowl against the prolific St. Louis Rams. McNair was unspectacular in that game, completing 22-of-36 passes for 214 yards and no touchdowns. The Titans had the ball on the Rams' 10-yard-line with six seconds remaining. McNair hit Kevin Dyson on a slant but Mike Jones tackled one yard short of the goalline.

In 2005, the Titans traded McNair to the Baltimore Ravens and he had a two more solid seasons, finishing in the top 10 in DYAR twice and in QBR the first year it was calculated.

Steve McNair
		Season					Playoffs
Year	Team	AV	PR	DYAR	QBR	Avg.	PR	QBR	Avg.	Total
1997	Tennessee Titans	6.5	0	0	X	2.17	0	X	0	2.17
1998	Tennessee Titans	6.5	0	6	X	4.17	0	X	0	4.17
1999	Tennessee Titans	0	0	0	X	0.00	1	X	1	1.00
2000	Tennessee Titans	1.5	0	0	X	0.50	0	X	0	0.50
2001	Tennessee Titans	0	6	9	X	5.00	0	X	0	5.00
2002	Tennessee Titans	4.5	0	3	X	2.50	1	X	1	3.50
2003	Tennessee Titans	4	10	8	X	7.33	0	X	0	7.33
2005	Baltimore Ravens	0	0	1	X	0.33	0	X	0	0.33
2006	Baltimore Ravens	0	0	1	5	1.50	0	0	0	1.50
Total										25.50
Best 5 (1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003)										22.17
JAWS Score										23.83

Top QBs of the Super Bowl Era
Rank	Quarterback	Years	Total	Top 5	JAWS
47	Steve McNair	1997-2006	25.50	22.17	23.83
48	Billy Kilmer	1969-1976	24.50	21.25	22.88
49	Joe Namath	1966-1974	23.50	22.00	22.75
50	Vinny Testaverde	1993-2001	22.67	22.67	22.67
51	Daunte Culpepper	2000-2004	22.17	22.17	22.17
52	Ron Jaworski	1978-1983	21.21	20.38	20.79
53	Neil Lomax	1983-1988	20.59	20.59	20.59
54	Jim Plunkett	1971-1986	20.59	18.09	19.34

Greatest baseball teams of the playoff era

The playoff field is set for the 2019 baseball playoffs and there are three potentially great teams.

Houston, with 104 wins, looks like it'll outduel the injury-plagued New York Yankees for the best record in the American League. The Dodgers, with 103 wins, still have a chance for best overall record.

Baseball has been around long enough that teams play for titles and posterity. Each of those three teams, if they were to win this year's World Series, have a good shot at being remembered among the best teams of the Divisional Playoff era.

The list below is my ranking of every World Series winner since 1969, when baseball split into divisions. It's not an opinion ranking. I've broken it down by record, whether a team finished with the best record, who teams beat in the playoffs and how easily and run differential.

Let's break down a popular team title team to show how it works. Let's take the 2016 Chicago Cubs.

* The Cubs went 103-58 on the season, that was a winning percentage of .640. The best regular-season winning percentage of a World Series winner in the divisional era is the 1998 New York Yankees at .704.

* The Cubs had the best record in baseball, so they got a 1.000 in bonus points. If they'd just had the best record in the National League, they would have gotten .800. Division winners get .600. A team that made it with the best wild card record gets .400, and a team that snuck in with the second wild card gets .200.

* In the playoffs, the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants in four games and the Los Angeles Dodgers in six. The Giants had an 87-75 record and the Dodgers were 91-71. The Cubs points formula for the playoffs was ((3*.537)+(4*.562))/10. That's the victories in each series multiplied by the opponents' regular season winning percentage divided by overall games played. For Chicago, it added up to .386. Teams that sweep series get higher scores. The highest playoff score in my system is .624 by the 1976 Cincinnati Reds.

* In the World Series, the Cubs topped the Cleveland Indians in seven games. The Indians that year were 94-67. The World Series formula for the Cubs was (4*.580)/7. That calculates out to .331. The Cubs were hurt by having to go seven games to win. The best World Series score is .648 by the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

* The next bonus round is just giving teams 0.01 points for every total win. This helps teams in the divisional round era because they have more games to potentially win. That balances out the fact that it is harder to win now because teams have to face an extra series. The Cubs won 114 games overall in 2016 for 1.140 points. The 1998 Yankees were tops at this as well with 1.250.

* The next two categories simply give teams .01 for positive run differential. The Cubs outscored opponents by 252 runs in the regular season and another 18 runs in the postseason. So the Cubs received .252 and .018 in points. The 1998 Yankees had the greatest run differential score in the regular season with .299. In the postseason, the 2007 Boston Red Sox scored a .053.

If you add up all of the Cubs scores, you get 3.767. Where does that rank, check them out on the chart below.

Rk.	Team	Win Pct.	Best Record	Playoffs	World Series	Win Bonus	Season Run Dif.	Playoff Run Dif.	Overall Score
1.	1998 Yankees	.704	1.000	.425	.605	1.250	.299	.028	4.311
2.	1976 Reds	.630	1.000	.624	.610	1.090	.224	.022	4.200
3.	1970 Orioles	.667	1.000	.605	.504	1.150	.218	.030	4.174
4.	2018 Red Sox	.667	1.000	.488	.451	1.190	.229	.037	4.062
5.	1975 Reds	.667	1.000	.571	.339	1.150	.254	.011	3.992
6.	1984 Tigers	.642	1.000	.518	.454	1.110	.186	.018	3.928
7.	2007 Red Sox	.593	1.000	.411	.552	1.070	.210	.053	3.889
8.	1989 A's	.611	1.000	.439	.568	1.070	.136	.023	3.847
9.	1999 Yankees	.605	.800	.510	.636	1.090	.169	.027	3.837
10.	2009 Yankees	.636	1.000	.444	.383	1.140	.162	.028	3.793
11.	1986 Mets	.667	1.000	.395	.337	1.150	.205	.014	3.768
12.	2016 Cubs	.640	1.000	.386	.331	1.140	.252	.018	3.767
13.	1969 Mets	.617	.800	.574	.538	1.070	.091	.018	3.709
14.	2013 Red Sox	.599	1.000	.399	.399	1.080	.197	.028	3.702
14.	2005 White Sox	.611	.800	.513	.549	1.100	.096	.033	3.702
16.	1978 Yankees	.614	1.000	.426	.391	1.070	.153	.010	3.664
17.	1979 Pirates	.605	.800	.559	.366	1.050	.132	.016	3.528
18.	1995 Braves	.625	.800	.417	.365	1.040	.189	.008	3.418
19.	2004 Red Sox	.605	.400	.420	.648	1.090	.181	.021	3.365
20.	2015 Royals	.586	.800	.354	.445	1.060	.083	.024	3.351
21.	1982 Cardinals	.568	.800	.549	.335	.990	.076	.018	3.336
22.	1992 Blue Jays	.593	.800	.395	.403	1.040	.098	.004	3.334
23.	1983 Orioles	.605	.600	.458	.445	1.050	.147	.025	3.330
23.	1991 Twins	.586	.800	.450	.331	1.030	.124	.009	3.330
25.	1993 Blue Jays	.586	.800	.387	.399	1.030	.105	.012	3.319
26.	1990 Reds	.562	.600	.391	.636	.990	.096	.019	3.294
27.	1977 Yankees	.617	.600	.378	.403	1.070	.180	-.003	3.245
28.	2017 Astros	.623	.600	.361	.367	1.080	.196	.005	3.232
28.	2008 Phillies	.568	.600	.416	.479	1.030	.119	.020	3.232
30.	1972 A's	.600	.800	.331	.353	1.000	.147	-.002	3.228
31.	1974 A's	.556	.600	.422	.504	.970	.138	.009	3.199
32.	2012 Giants	.580	.600	.331	.543	1.050	.069	.022	3.195
33.	2010 Giants	.568	.600	.408	.445	1.030	.114	.018	3.183
34.	1988 Dodgers	.584	.600	.357	.514	1.020	.084	.014	3.173
35.	2002 Angels	.611	.400	.473	.337	1.100	.207	.018	3.146
36.	1996 Yankees	.586	.600	.427	.395	1.030	.084	.000	3.104
37.	2001 Diamondbacks	.568	.600	.389	.339	1.030	.141	.028	3.096
38.	2000 Yankees	.540	.600	.358	.464	.980	.057	.012	3.011
39.	1981 Dodgers	.573	.600	.333	.367	1.020	.094	.017	3.004
40.	1973 A's	.580	.600	.359	.291	1.010	.143	-.003	2.980
41.	1980 Phillies	.562	.600	.343	.399	.980	.089	.005	2.978
42.	1985 Royals	.562	.600	.351	.357	.980	.048	.016	2.914
43.	1987 Twins	.525	.600	.484	.335	.930	-.020	.023	2.877
44.	1997 Marlins	.568	.400	.463	.305	1.030	.071	-.002	2.835
45.	2003 Marlins	.562	.400	.367	.416	1.020	.059	-.002	2.822
46.	2011 Cardinals	.556	.200	.387	.339	1.010	.070	.024	2.586
47.	2014 Giants	.543	.200	.455	.314	1.000	.051	.018	2.580
48.	2006 Cardinals	.515	.200	.366	.469	.940	.019	.020	2.529

Greatest QBs of the Super Bowl Era: No. 48 - Billy Kilmer

Billy Kilmer is another late bloomer who played his way onto this list once he got into the right situation.

Kilmer was a lightly regarded prospect who went from one year of junior college football to fifth in the Heisman voting by his senior season at UCLA. He was the 11th pick of the first round by the San Francisco 49ers in 1961 who plugged him in as a running quarterback in a shotgun system.

The 49ers saw no future for Kilmer as a quarterback, who rarely threw a tight spiral. San Francisco played him primarily at running back until placing him in the 1967 expansion draft. The New Orleans Saints picked Kilmer and finally gave him a chance at a starting job. He shared the QB duties for two seasons before taking over fulltime in 1969.

The year, Kilmer finished in the top 10 in approximate value. After the 1970 season, Kilmer knew the Saints were going to draft Archie Manning and asked for a trade. He got his wish, as the Washington Redskins sent a linebacker and two draft picks to Washington.

In Washington, Kilmer was slated to be a backup to Sonny Jurgenson. Jurgenson injured his shoulder before the start of the season and Kilmer grabbed the starting job and wouldn't give it up until 1978 when he was 39 years old.

As a Redskin, Kilmer finished in the top 10 in approximate value four times and passer rating five times. That included a second-place finish in 1972 when the Redskins made it to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the undefeated Dolphins. Kilmer was a clutch playoff passer, finishing in the top five in passer rating four times.

Billy Kilmer
		Season					Playoffs
Year	Team	AV	PR	DYAR	QBR	Avg.	PR	QBR	Avg.	Total
1969	New Orleans Saints	4	0	X	X	2.00	0	X	0	2.00
1971	Washington Redskins	1	3	X	X	2.00	1	X	1	3.00
1972	Washington Redskins	2.5	9	X	X	5.75	3	X	3	8.75
1973	Washington Redskins	0	4	X	X	2.00	2	X	2	4.00
1974	Washington Redskins	2	5	X	X	3.50	0	X	0	3.50
1975	Washington Redskins	0.5	2	X	X	1.25	0	X	0	1.25
1976	Washington Redskins	0	0	X	X	0.00	2	X	0	2.00
Total										24.50
Best 5 (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)										21.25
JAWS Score										22.88

Top QBs of the Super Bowl Era
Rank	Quarterback	Years	Total	Top 5	JAWS
48	Billy Kilmer	1969-1976	24.50	21.25	22.88
49	Joe Namath	1966-1974	23.50	22.00	22.75
50	Vinny Testaverde	1993-2001	22.67	22.67	22.67
51	Daunte Culpepper	2000-2004	22.17	22.17	22.17
52	Ron Jaworski	1978-1983	21.21	20.38	20.79
53	Neil Lomax	1983-1988	20.59	20.59	20.59
54	Jim Plunkett	1971-1986	20.59	18.09	19.34

Greatest QBs of Super Bowl era: No. 49 - Joe Namath

Joe Namath usually ranks pretty high on lists of the most undeserving Hall of Famers and my formula illustrates the point. There are lots of quarterbacks ranked higher who will never make it to Canton.

Namath is in the football for his nickname - "Broadway Joe" - and his famous prediction that his underdog New York Jets would beat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. The Jets fulfilled the prediction, winning 16-7. Namath played well but not spectacularly. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards. He didn't have a TD pass, but he also didn't have an interception.

Writers easily could have picked Matt Snell, who had 121 yards rushing, or even the Jets defense, which held Earl Morrall and Johnny Unitas to 17-of-41 in passing, for MVP, but Namath received the award because he had put such a large target on his back.

Namath had some other pretty accomplishments in his career. In 1967, he was the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He led the AFL in touchdown passes in 1967 and passer rating in 1969. He led the AFL or NFL in passing yardage three times.

Namath also led the AFL or NFL in interceptions four times and when you look at his rankings versus his peers, well, he pales in comparison. He was top four in approximate value four times and top 10 six. He was top 10 in passer rating just once, though, and top five in player passer rating only in the Super Bowl season.

Joe Namath
		Season					Playoffs
Year	Team	AV	PR	DYAR	QBR	Avg.	PR	QBR	Avg.	Total
1966	New York Jets	3.5	0	X	X	1.75	0	X	0	1.75
1967	New York Jets	7.5	2	X	X	4.75	0	X	0	4.75
1968	New York Jets	8	0	X	X	4.00	3	X	3	7.00
1969	New York Jets	8	0	X	X	4.00	0	X	0	4.00
1972	New York Jets	9	0	X	X	4.50	0	X	0	4.50
1974	New York Jets	3	0	X	X	1.50	0	X	0	1.50
Total										23.50
Best 5 (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972)										22.00
JAWS Score										22.75

Top QBs of the Super Bowl Era
Rank	Quarterback	Years	Total	Top 5	JAWS
49	Joe Namath	1966-1974	23.50	22.00	22.75
50	Vinny Testaverde	1993-2001	22.67	22.67	22.67
51	Daunte Culpepper	2000-2004	22.17	22.17	22.17
52	Ron Jaworski	1978-1983	21.21	20.38	20.79
53	Neil Lomax	1983-1988	20.59	20.59	20.59
54	Jim Plunkett	1971-1986	20.59	18.09	19.34

Greatest QBs of Super Bowl Era: No. 50 - Vinny Testaverde

Vinny Testaverde was a Heisman Trophy bust who turned himself into a valuable veteran in three different cities.

Testaverde played at the University of Miami at the height of its run in the 1980s and 1990s. He led the Hurricanes to the 1987 Fiesta Bowl where they lost their shot at a national championship to Penn State. Testaverde played poorly in that game, throwing five interceptions.

Despite that, Testaverde was the No. 1 overall pick in 1987 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played seven seasons in Tampa and was truly bad in 1988 and 1989, leading the league in interceptions in back-to-back seasons. He eventually became serviceable, but the Bucs never turned a corner. Tampa was just 24-48 with Vinny as QB.

Tampa let Testaverde walk and he signed with Cleveland where he turned into one of the NFL's better passers. From 1993 to 2001, Testaverde finished in the top 10 in approximate value twice, passer rating four times and DYAR three.

His best season was 1998 when he was second in passer rating and third in DYAR. The Jets were 12-1 when Testaverde was quarterback. The Jets made it to the AFC championship game where they lost to Denver.

Testaverde ended up playing 21 seasons in the NFL and threw 275 TD passes and for 46,233 yards.

Vinny Testaverde
		Season					Playoffs
Year	Team	AV	PR	DYAR	QBR	Avg.	PR	QBR	Avg.	Total
1993	Cleveland Browns	0	5	0	X	1.67	0	X	0	1.67
1995	Cleveland Browns	0	0.5	2	X	0.83	0	X	0	0.83
1996	Baltimore Ravens	8	6	10	X	8.00	0	X	0	8.00
1998	New York Jets	4.5	9	8	X	7.17	0	X	0	7.17
2001	New York Jets	0	0	0	X	0.00	5	X	0	5.00
Total										22.67
Best 5 (1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001)										22.67
JAWS Score										22.67

Top QBs of the Super Bowl Era
Rank	Quarterback	Years	Total	Top 5	JAWS
50	Vinny Testaverde	1993-2001	22.67	22.67	22.67
51	Daunte Culpepper	2000-2004	22.17	22.17	22.17
52	Ron Jaworski	1978-1983	21.21	20.38	20.79
53	Neil Lomax	1983-1988	20.59	20.59	20.59
54	Jim Plunkett	1971-1986	20.59	18.09	19.34

Greatest QBs of Super Bowl Era: No. 51 - Daunte Culpepper

Daunte Culpepper was a freak athlete for a quarterback who seemed destined for the Hall of Fame before a knee injury derailed his career.

Culpepper was a three-sport high school star good enough at baseball that he was drafted by the New York Yankees. Culpepper chose football over baseball but low test scores scared off many large programs and he ended up at Central Florida.

Culpepper set 30 school records at UCF and one NCAA passing record, highest completion percentage. The Minnesota Vikings picked the 6-4, 255-pound QB 11th overall and he earned the starting job in 2000.

For five seasons, he was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He finished top five in approximate value four times, top four in passer rating three times and second in DYAR in 2004.

His 2004 season was - pardon the cliche - one for the record books. His rushing and passing total of 5,123 yards was the highest ever and he set a Vikings record with 39 touchdown passes.

In 2005, Culpepper got off to a poor start and then suffered a massive knee injury in the seventh game. Culpepper never was able to regain form.

Daunte Culpepper
		Season					Playoffs
Year	Team	AV	PR	DYAR	QBR	Avg.	PR	QBR	Avg.	Total
2000	Minnesota Vikings	10	7	0	X	5.67	0	X	0	5.67
2002	Minnesota Vikings	6.5	0	0	X	2.17	0	X	0	2.17
2003	Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	X	5.33	0	X	0	5.33
2004	Minnesota Vikings	9	9	9	X	9.00	0	X	0	9.00
Total										22.17
Best 5 (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004)										22.17
JAWS Score										22.17

Top QBs of the Super Bowl Era
Rank	Quarterback	Years	Total	Top 5	JAWS
51	Daunte Culpepper	2000-2004	22.17	22.17	22.17
52	Ron Jaworski	1978-1983	21.21	20.38	20.79
53	Neil Lomax	1983-1988	20.59	20.59	20.59
54	Jim Plunkett	1971-1986	20.59	18.09	19.34

Greatest QBs of Super Bowl Era: No. 52 - Ron Jaworski

Ron Jaworski is one of the NFL's after-career success stories. He owns a company that runs golf courses in three states, is part owner of an Arena Football League team and has been a respected football analyst for more than 30 years.

Jaworski was a second-round draft pick out of Youngstown State by the Los Angeles Rams. In L.A., he mostly sat behind John Hadl, James Harris and Pat Haden. In 1977, the Rams shipped Jaworski to the perennially downtrodden Philadelphia Eagles.

Dick Vermeil, though, was lifting Philadelphia out of decades of losing and cast his lot with Jaworski. Under Vermeil, Jaworski finished in the top 10 in approximate value for six consecutive seasons, twice was in the top 10 in passer rating and twice was the No. 2 quarterback in playoff passer rating.

His best season clearly was 1980 when he finished second in the NFL in passer rating, was NFC Player of the Year and NFL MVP. He led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance with wins over the Vikings and Cowboys. The Oakland Raiders, though, dismantled the Eagles, 27-10.

From 1978 to 1981, the Eagles were 42-22 with Jaworski as QB and 3-4 in the playoffs. Vermeil left the Eagles because of burnout in 1982 and the franchise sunk again. Jaworski eventually lost his starting job to Randall Cunningham in 1986. He was picked for the Eagles Hall of Fame.

Ron Jaworski
		Season					Playoffs
Year	Team	AV	PR	DYAR	QBR	Avg.	PR	QBR	Avg.	Total
1978	Philadelphia Eagles	0.25	0	X	X	0.13	4	X	4	4.13
1979	Philadelphia Eagles	0.5	2	X	X	1.25	4	X	4	5.25
1980	Philadelphia Eagles	6.5	9	X	X	7.75	0	X	0	7.75
1981	Philadelphia Eagles	4	0	X	X	2.00	0	X	0	2.00
1982	Philadelphia Eagles	2.5	0	X	X	1.25	0	X	0	1.25
1983	Philadelphia Eagles	1.67	0	X	X	0.83	0	X	0	0.83
Total										21.21
Best 5 (1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982)										20.38
JAWS Score										20.79

Top QBs of the Super Bowl Era
Rank	Quarterback	Years	Total	Top 5	JAWS
52	Ron Jaworski	1978-1983	21.21	20.38	20.79
53	Neil Lomax	1983-1988	20.59	20.59	20.59
54	Jim Plunkett	1971-1986	20.59	18.09	19.34