The NFL Benchwarmer Hall of Fame

They are the understudies of the National Football League. Those who are capable of performing on the big stage, but just need the opportunity to do so.

The qualifications for this group can be a little tricky. Yes, Tom Brady and Brett Favre did come off the bench to change the course of their respective teams' histories. However, the fact that they only did this in the infancy of their careers doesn't do enough for induction.

The players that made the "first ballot" of the Benchwarmer Hall of Fame are those who are noted for their ability to come out of the shadows and into the spotlight to help make sure their club didn't miss a beat.

Of the 10 on this list, nine are quarterbacks. That's because not only do they have the biggest impact on the game, but since there's only one out there for each team, the likelihood of sitting on the pine is much greater.

Jeff Hostetler

After spending several years in the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, Hostetler was needed late in the 1990 season when starting QB Phil Simms went down with an injury.

The Giants stayed on track when the playoffs began, as Hostetler led New York to wins over Chicago and San Francisco. Then, in Super Bowl XXV, the former Rhodes Scholar engineered multiple time-consuming drives that helped limit the high-powered Buffalo Bills.

In the end, it was the Giants who won by the slimmest of margins, 20-19. Hostetler's reward was the starting quarterback spot once the 1991 campaign began. He never found the same success with New York and eventually landed with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1993.

Frank Reich

During his 13-year career in the NFL, Reich had just 20 starts at quarterback for four different teams.

None is as memorable as a Wild Card playoff game in 1993 when his Buffalo Bills hosted the Houston Oilers. The Bills fell behind 35-3, but Reich and company mounted the greatest comeback in league history.

As Houston unraveled and Buffalo surged, it was Reich who looked like a seasoned signal-caller. He completed 21 of his 34 pass attempts for 289 yards and four touchdowns. Ultimately, the Bills won 41-38 and eventually reached that year's Super Bowl.

Max McGee

McGee is the only non-QB on this list for good reason. In the first ever NFL-AFL Championship game, better known as Super Bowl I, top Packer wideout Boyd Dowler came out with a shoulder injury.

That forced head coach Vince Lombardi to call on McGee for more playing time—the same McGee who didn't expect to see the field much, and spent the previous night breaking curfew and throwing down a few too many alcoholic beverages. 

Hungover or not, McGee was superb in Dowler's place. His first reception was a one-handed catch that wound up being a 37-yard touchdown and the first such score in Super Bowl history.

At game's end, he had seven receptions for 138 yards and two TDs in Green Bay's 35-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Don Strock

After coming out of Virginia Tech, Strock spent the majority of his career backing up two Hall of Fame signal-callers: Bob Griese and Dan Marino.

However, his claim to fame came in a 1982 AFC Divisional playoff at the Orange Bowl against the San Diego Chargers.

Down 24-0 in the first half, head coach Don Shula yanked faltering quarterback David Woodley and replaced him with the veteran Strock.

All Strock did was lead Miami back to tie the game at halftime. The Dolphins eventually took the lead, but lost in overtime. Strock's line on the evening was 29-of-43 for 403 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

That magic resurfaced for Cleveland in 1988. With starter Bernie Kosar injured and two other backups sidelined by ailments, the Browns signed Strock—who locked up a Wild Card playoff spot with a home comeback victory in the snow against the Houston Oilers in Week 17. 

Jim Plunkett

The 1971 Heisman Trophy winner didn't initially find as much success on the professional ranks as he did on the college level.

After struggling with the New England Patriots, Plunkett was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1976. Things didn't go much better there, as he was released two years later.

Plunkett's next shot came with the Oakland Raiders, and his big break came in Week 5 of 1980. At age 33, he relieved the injured Dan Pastorini. The Raiders' season took a turn for the better, as they won nine of their last 11 games to earn a Wild Card playoff berth.

The postseason provided a fairy tale finish to this Cinderella story, as Plunkett earned MVP honors with a win in Super Bowl XV.

Three years later, Plunkett was again the backup, this time to Steve Wilson. But when Wilson got hurt, it was Plunkett to the rescue yet again. The Raiders went on to dismantle the favored Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.

Earl Morrall

Morrall played in the NFL for 21 seasons. In that lengthy career, he started more than five games in a season just seven times.

One of those years was 1968, when he subbed for an ailing Johnny Unitas and guided the Baltimore Colts to a 13-1 regular-season record—winning the league's MVP award. 

Super Bowl III didn't go Morrall's way, but he would find more success with the Miami Dolphins in 1972.

With the support of head coach Don Shula, the same man who was manning the sidelines in Baltimore in 1968, Morrall took over after Bob Griese went down with an injury in Week 5. Morrall would lead Miami to nine more regular-season wins, as well as two postseason triumphs, to qualify for the Super Bowl with a chance at a 17-0 season.

But his struggles in the AFC title game win over the Steelers forced Shula to go with Griese against the Redskins, a game the Dolphins won to complete their perfection.

George Blanda

The AFL is where Blanda got his start, starring as the first-stringer with the Houston Oilers. But he will be most remembered as a backup with the Oakland Raiders.

In the final nine seasons of an amazing 26-year career, Blanda was the team's kicker, but at times came off the bench to quarterback the Raiders. In 1970, in place of Daryle Lamonica, Blanda went 4-1 as a starter.

Blanda's lengthy career was rewarded when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

Steve Young

Young was the unfortunate victim of being the quarterback on lousy Tampa Bay Buccaneers teams in 1985 and 1986. A trade to the San Francisco 49ers turned out to be the best thing for his career, although it didn't appear that way at first.

That's because Joe Montana had established himself as not only the team's starter, but also as one of the finest quarterbacks ever.

However, when Young did fill in for Montana, he shined. This caused arguably the greatest quarterback controversy in NFL history. Nevertheless, it was Montana who led the Niners to a pair of Super Bowl titles while Young watched from the sidelines.

After injuries forced Montana to miss the entire 1991 season, Young became the starter. In 1992, he became one of the league's best at the position. 

Young's accomplishments from there on are well-known: the most passing titles of all time, more than 29,000 yards passing, a six-touchdown performance in Super Bowl XXIX and induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Doug Williams

Williams' impact on the pro level was felt right away, as he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the 1979 NFC Championship game.

A contract dispute after the 1982 season was the impetus for Williams to bolt for the USFL. Once that league folded three years later, he signed with the Washington Redskins.

Williams came to the forefront in 1987 as the backup to Jay Schroeder. On three occasions that season, Williams replaced Schroeder and led the Redskins to victory. Despite only having two starts that year, Williams was tabbed the starter once the playoffs began.

Joe Gibbs' notion proved to be a logical one. In winning the MVP of Super Bowl XXII, Williams threw for 340 yards and four touchdown passes in a blowout win over Denver.

Kurt Warner

The last of the "Best of the Bench" is a future Hall of Famer who scripted one of the most fascinating stories in the annals of the NFL.

Prior to the start of the 1999 regular season, the Rams lost Trent Green to injury. Warner stepped in, and all he did was lead "The Greatest Show on Turf" to a Super Bowl title.

Warner went to the New York Giants as their starter in 2004, but gave way to rookie Eli Manning after nine games.

Just as his career appeared to be on the downturn, he was revived in Arizona. Warner was merely a supporting character in the Cardinals' fold until 2007, when he officially supplanted Matt Leinart. Arizona reached Super Bowl XLIII with Warner at the helm, nearly upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers.