25 Most Clutch Quarterbacks in NFL Playoff History

By now, you all know that Drew Brees snapped Dan Marino's hallowed yardage record. 

This year, Brees, as well as Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady—both of whom soon could join Brees in surpassing Marino—have put together incredible regular seasons....with emphasis on the "regular."

Those kinds of individual marks are great: they sell jerseys, make headlines and lead to big contracts. But quarterbacks truly earn their salary and become legends in the postseason. 

Throughout NFL history, there have been many signal-callers who excelled in the postseason. 

These 25 quarterbacks are the greatest ever to line up under center in the postseason. And while winning a Super Bowl isn't the only criteria—Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer aren't anywhere near this list—it's a huge element. It's safe to say that those QBs who hoisted up a Lombardi Trophy or two are likely to edge out the more prolific passers. 

Honorable Mention: Aaron Rodgers

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 1 Super Bowl appearance, 4 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XLV

A major criteria for this list is winning road playoff games. Rodgers did that three times last year, four if you count the Super Bowl, where Steelers fans ountnumbered Packers fans. 

Couple his incredible performance last January and February with the great game he had against Arizona the previous year (423 yards, 4 touchdowns), and he's off to an incredible start.

But let's see him win playoff games in multiple seasons before joining the rest of the truly epic names. 

Honorable Mention: Eli Manning

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 1 Super Bowl appearance, 4 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XLII

Basically, everything said about Aaron Rodgers in the previous slide, ditto for Eli Manning. 

No one doubts the historic play he delivered in 2007: three road playoff wins followed by a tremendous upset in the Super Bowl.

But he's been way below clutch in the three other playoff appearances, each a Giants loss. 

Again, that can certainly change in the next six weeks. 

No. 25: Steve McNair

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl appearance, 5 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XXXIV

McNair's lone playoff performance in a Ravens uniform (two interceptions in a loss to Indianapolis) in no way undoes the great legacy he built as the Titans field general.

He played through tremendous pain in the 2002 and 2003 playoffs (nearly producing a huge upset of the Patriots) to advance Tennessee, and since he never had a superstar wide receiver to throw to, that's a major achievement.

Still, it's what he did in the 1999 postseason that earns him this spot. The three wins that year, two of which came on the road, and his insane play on that last drive in the near upset of St. Louis was epic. 

No. 24: Jim Plunkett

Achievements: 2 Super Bowl wins, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 8 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1980 AFC Championship Game

Although he really didn't deserve the MVP in Super Bowl XV—Rod Martin had three interceptions and that 80-yard touchdown to Kenny King was almost all run-after-the-catch—Plunkett had a marvelous postseason career.

He was very efficient in the drubbing of Washington in Super Bowl XVIII, and although he threw more interceptions than touchdowns during his 10 playoff games, he always came up with big plays.

Case in point, his performance in San Diego against the powerhouse Chargers and Air Coryell, accounting for three scores and throwing just four incompletions. 

No. 23: Joe Namath

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 2 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1968 AFL Championship Game

It's something of a surprise that, for all his greatness and iconic status, Namath only played in three playoff games during his entire career....stranger still that all three came within the span on roughly one calendar year. 

But guaranteeing  victory over an 18-point favorite is a type of pressure no one in NFL history has ever experienced, so for him to go out and beat the Colts in Super Bowl III was a remarkably clutch single-game performance. It's as impressive as any achieved by the other 24 men on this list, regardless of his overall statistics that day in Miami. 

Couple that with the brilliant win over Oakland two weeks earlier, in which he threw the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter and completed that bomb to Don Maynard, and he deserves to be mentioned. 

No. 22: Phil Simms

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 6 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XXI

It's important that, for the purposes of this list, quarterbacks don't earn a spot too high based solely on the performance in one game, no matter how great the game was or how momentous the stage. That's a chief reason why Joe Namath barely made the list.

The same is partly true for Simms.

Simms' effort in Super Bowl XXI was arguably the single greatest in championship game history: 22-for-25 for 268 yards and three touchdowns.

But after that, he didn't really excel in postseason competition. He was flat-out bad in his last game, a 1993 playoff loss in San Francisco, and didn't play well in the Giants' surprising defeat at the hands of the Rams in 1989.

Still, he did have some spectacular games prior to his MVP day in the Rose Bowl, including a pair of victories over Joe Montana's 49ers. 

No. 21: Jake Delhomme

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl appearance, 5 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XXXVIII

As is the case with McNair, Delhomme's final playoff appearance (barring some sort of emergency situation with the Texans next month) was a disaster. He threw five picks in that loss to Arizona. But that was one game and doesn't undo a string of remarkable postseason excellence from 2003-2005.

I've noted that winning road playoff games is vital for this list and Delhomme won four. And before you point out Joe Flacco or Mark Sanchez's postseason road brilliance, think about Delhomme's effort in Super Bowl XXXVIII. He matched the great Tom Brady score for score in Houston that evening and had it not been for John Kasay's botched kickoff, he might have won a Super Bowl MVP. 

No. 20: Dan Marino

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl appearance, 8 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1990 AFC Wild Card

Remember, this is a list of greatest clutch playoff quarterbacks, not a list of greatest quarterbacks. If it were, it would be blasphemous and ridiculous to put Marino here.

But he did have fairly mixed results in the postseason, losing 10 of his 18 playoff appearances, winning just once on the road and throwing multiple interceptions in 10 games, all but one of which was a Dolphins loss.

And in that lone Super Bowl appearance, Joe Montanta completely stole his thunder. 

But Marino, whose supporting cast was never as talented as any of the quarterbacks who are to follow him on this list, did put together some playoff miracles, including against the Chiefs in 1990.

Behind 16-3 in the fourth quarter, he tossed two touchdowns passes to lead the Dolphins to a 17-16 win; that is textbook clutch. 

No. 19: Drew Brees

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 4 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XLIV

Although Brees has probably punched his ticket for Canton and is the only man to lead New Orleans to a Super Bowl triumph, I think it's a bit premature to put him higher on this list. And here's why.

A huge part of a quarterback's clutch-factor is winning road playoff games in hostile conditions. Brees has yet to do that, but he has a good chance of doing so next month in San Francisco or Green Bay or both. If that's the case, he'll shoot up this list. 

No. 18: Jim Kelly

Achievements: 4 Super Bowl appearances, 9 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1993 AFC Divisional

Kelly's playoff legacy is so difficult to quantify.

Obviously there are the Super Bowl losses, four games in which he played either marginal (XXV), decent (XXVIII), awful (XXVI) or didn't even finish (XXVII). 

But the other half of that coin is getting his team to the Super Bowl in the first place. He was great in the run leading up to the first Super Bowl in 1991, torched the Browns in a playoff loss in Cleveland the year before and put the Bills in position for the ill-fated Wide Right kick.

And don't underestimate how difficult it was to run that K-Gun offense. 

No. 17: Bernie Kosar

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl appearance, 5 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1986 AFC Wild Card

I admit that the Super Bowl win, the Super Bowl appearance and two of those playoff wins listed above are somewhat tainted. Kosar didn't start any of those games for the 1993 Cowboys.

But Kosar did rescue Dallas that year when Troy Aikman was knocked out of the NFC Championship Game, and the waiver-wire acquisition held down the fort with 5-of-9 passing for 83 yards and a game-clinching touchdown.

But the reason Kosar is on this list is for his tenure in Cleveland. No, he did not lead the Browns to the Super Bowl in any one of those AFC Title Game. But he played exceptional in the games that ended in "The Drive" and "The Fumble."

And then there was the record-setting performance he delivered as a 23-year-old against the Jets in 1986: 489 yards passing in a double-overtime win. 

No. 16: Sid Luckman

Achievements: 3 NFL Title Game wins, 4 NFL Title Game appearances, 4 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1943 NFL Title Game

There's a bit of apples-to-oranges feel for some of the entries pre-NFL merger, and Luckman is a great reason why.

For the most part, back then there were no "playoffs," at least not the way we think of them with several rounds. Division winners usually automatically qualified for the championship game. And Luckman only played in one postseason game that wasn't a title game. 

But he certainly made the most of those appearances. He was a huge part of the legendary 73-0 thumping of the Redskins in 1940, and three years later, he completely outplayed the great Sammy Baugh, throwing for five touchdowns in a 41-21 triumph. 

No. 15: Ben Roethlisberger

Achievements: 2 Super Bowl wins, 3 Super Bowl appearances, 10 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XLIII

Yes, Roethlisberger has stumbled on the big stage now and again.

His Super Bowl debut, against the Seahawks in Detroit, was pretty bad, one of the worst ever by a winning starting quarterback. At the end of his brilliant rookie season in 2004, he had two awful playoff games. And even last year against Green Bay, he threw two picks, one of which was about as ill-conceived as possible.

But he's also had some truly incredible performances in the postseason, especially on the road. In successive weeks in 2005, he's won in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver, and he also has two playoff wins over the great Ravens defense.

And in terms of clutch performances, what he did in the final minutes against Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII was the ultimate. 

No. 14: Bart Starr

Achievements: 3 NFL Title Game wins, 4 NFL Title Game appearances, 2 Super Bowl wins, 2 Super Bowl appearances, 2 Super Bowl MVPs, 9 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1966 NFL Title Game

Starr always saved his best for the clutch, and especially in the postseason.

He threw four touchdowns in Cotton Bowl win over a great Cowboys defense, tossed two more the next year in "The Ice Bowl" and was near flawless in the first Super Bowl. 

Fifteen touchdowns against just three interceptions in the postseason is an brilliant stat line. 

No. 13: Brett Favre

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 2 Super Bowl appearances, 13 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1995 NFC Divisional 

Perhaps even moreso than Jim Kelly, Brett Favre's entire body of work is pretty difficult to get a handle on.

Favre's detractors would say this: Not only was Favre not clutch in the postseason, he choked. And there's merit to that argument based on the game-losing interceptions against New Orleans in 2009, the Giants in 2007, the four picks he threw in that loss at Lambeau (the Randy Moss-moon game) or the six he threw in the 2001 playoff loss to St. Louis. 

But Favre's brilliance in the previous decade (hopefully) overshadows those blemishes. 

Twice he went to San Francisco and beat the mighty 49ers, was great in his Super Bowl win and had six postseason games in which he threw three of more touchdowns. 

No. 12: Peyton Manning

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 2 Super Bowl appearances, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 9 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 2006 AFC Championship Game

In some ways, Manning's playoff career is the complete opposite of Favre's. He struggled mightily early in his career and followed that up with some tremendous postseason brilliance.

First, he couldn't win any playoff games, then he couldn't beat the Patriots, then he couldn't win a Super Bowl and then he couldn't return to the Super Bowl. And it is fair to say that he has had some "chokes" in postseason play, like the 2005 home loss to Pittsburgh,  the 2007 home loss to San Diego or the game-losing interception in Super Bowl XLIV.

But he won a Super Bowl, tore up a good Jets defense in the 2009 AFC Championship Game and put up one of the all-time great playoff comebacks against New England in 2006, lifting the Colts to the Super Bowl after falling behind 21-3.

No. 11: Ken Stabler

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl appearance, 7 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1977 AFC Divisional

Sadly, the Snake might never make the Hall of Fame, but his legacy in the postseason should be as long-lasting at a Canton bust. 

He delivered some truly epic clutch playoff moments, including his 30-yard, go-ahead touchdown scramble the proceeded the Immaculate Reception, the Sea of Hands pass and threw the four passes that allowed Fred Biletnikoff to win the MVP in Super Bowl XI.

But the effort in the game that ended with the Ghost to the Post that his finest. In Baltimore, he threw three second-half touchdowns and racked up 345 yards passing as the Raiders won in double overtime.

No. 10: Steve Young

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 1 Super Bowl appearance, 8 playoff wins [Note: Time as Joe Montana's backup with 49ers is not counted.]

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1994 NFC Championship Game

Sure the Super Bowl XXIX performance over San Diego was Young's best game—arguably the best any quarterback ever had—but that game was over by the middle of the first quarter.

So if you take that game out of the equation, picking a greatest clutch performance for Young is very challenging. He was awesome in the back-and-forth game against the Packers that ended with "The Catch II" and took the 49ers to four NFC Tittle Games in six years.

But the win over Dallas that took the 49ers to his lone Super Bowl was the best. After losing back to back NFC Championship Games to Dallas, the pressure on him was enormous. And he delivered, scoring three touchdowns.

No. 9: Roger Staubach

Achievements: 2 Super Bowl wins, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 4 Super Bowl appearances, 12 playoff wins 

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XIII

Captain Comeback earned his nickname with a handful of clutch playoff wins.

He invented the Hail Mary in the win over Minnesota, was remarkably sharp during the Cowboys 1971 run to their first Super Bowl and engineered an incredible comeback over the 49ers—down three scores in the fourth quarter—to win, 30-28. 

But it was his play in the Super Bowl that was most special. He split the four trips, but the two losses were extremely close thanks to his play. In the narrow (second) loss to Pittsburgh, Staubach threw two touchdowns in the game's final 18 minutes....well, three if you count the infamous drop by Jackie Smith. 

No. 8: Otto Graham

Achievements: 7 Title Game wins, 10 Title Game appearances, 12 playoff wins*

*includes Graham's play in the AAFC from 1946-49

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1950 NFL Title Game

Graham has become synonymous with Championship Games: 10 years as a pro, 10 championship game appearances. And since he won seven of those games, he obviously deserves to be in the top 10. 

But--as was the case with Sid Luckman--the Browns regular season dominance is how they managed to repeatedly play for title, not steady postseason victory. I hate to punish him for that fact, but it's unfair to put him behind some of the modern day names who had to win three or four games to claim a title. 

Still, that performance in the 1950 NFL Title Game versus the Rams—a team from an upstart league taking on an NFL mainstay—was Namath-like. 

No. 7: Troy Aikman

Achievements: 3 Super Bowl wins, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 3 Super Bowl appearances, 11 playoff wins 

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1992 NFC Championship

The three Super Bowls that Aikman won as the Cowboys starter, the first man to ever do that in four years, are ultimately Aikman's greatest achievement. But in terms of clutch postseason play, two of his NFC Title Game wins were far more impressive.

In 1992, he went to San Francisco and carved up a great 49ers defense. Thee years later, against an extremely hungry Packers team featuring Reggie White, he was almost flawless. 

It doesn't matter that he never had a signature two-minute drill that won a playoff game like each of the names higher on this list. 

No. 6: Johnny Unitas

Achievements: 2 NFL titles, 1 Super Bowl win, 2 Super Bowl appearances, 6 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1958 NFL Title Game

The Father of the 2-Minute Drill, Unitas' clutch play at the end of the 1958 title game against the Giants, in Yankee Stadium, no less, is enough to earn him a very, very high spot on this list despite playing in only nine postseason games.

(Again, not his fault; just the setup of the NFL at that time). 

As if that weren't enough, he was equally dominating the next year in the rematch with the Giants, and at age 37, led the young Colts back to the Super Bowl, where they ultimately redeemed themselves for the terrible loss Super Bowl III Jets.

No. 5: Kurt Warner

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl win, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 3 Super Bowl appearances, 9 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XXXIV

Warner's playoff career as a St. Louis Ram was awesome.

He reached a Super Bowl by throwing a fourth quarter touchdown to defeat Tampa Bay, then won a Super Bowl by throwing a fourth quarter touchdown to Isaac Bruce.

And without his two fourth-quarter touchdowns in Super Bowl XXXVI, Adam Vinatieri would never have needed to kick a last second field goal.

But it's what he did in his relatively brief Cardinals career that clinched a top-five spot. He was incredible in the NFC Championship win over Philadelphia, nearly toppled the Steelers with his pair of fourth quarter touchdowns in Super Bowl XLIII, then put together one of the all-time great postseason games in the overtime shootout with the Packers the following season. 

No. 4: John Elway

Achievements: 2 Super Bowl wins, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 5 Super Bowl appearances, 14 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: 1986 AFC Championship

So many clutch performances to choose from for Elway.

Certainly, the triumph over Green Bay was tremendous. So was the win that put them in that Super Bowl, going to Pittsburgh and hitting Shannon Sharpe on that key third-and-eight. And that comeback win over the Oilers in 1991 at Mile Hiigh was unforgettable. 

Still, if you look up "clutch" in the dictionary, there probably should be a picture of Elway engineering "The Drive." It doesn't get more clutch than marching 98 yards to score a touchdown in a championship game's final minutes, then winning the game in overtime in a ridiculously hostile environment. 

No. 3: Terry Bradshaw

Achievements: 4 Super Bowl wins, 2 Super Bowl MVPs, 4 Super Bowl appearances, 14 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XIV

Bradshaw's first playoff game, the one that ended with the Immaculate Reception, foreshadowed an incredibly clutch career. 

Going toe-to-toe with Roger Staubach twice and winning both Super Bowls was one of his greatest achievements, as was overcoming a fourth quarter deficit in the Super Bowl win over the Rams.

But here's the best reason why he earns this list's bronze medal.

In each of his four Super Bowl appearances, all of which were very close games, Bradshaw threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass. Neither Joe Montana, Tom Brady, John Elway or anyone else can say that. 

No. 2: Tom Brady

Achievements: 3 Super Bowl wins, 2 Super Bowl MVPs, 4 Super Bowl appearances, 14 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XXXVIII

Two game-winning Super Bowl drives in three years. The comeback in the snow....Tuck Rule and all. Twice going into Pittsburgh and winning the AFC Championship. Even the go-ahead fourth quarter touchdown pass to Randy Moss in the loss to the Giants.

The list goes on and on. 

But for me, it's the entire fourth quarter of the win over Carolina. Sure we remember the Adam Vinatieri kick, but Brady only had to drive the Pats 37 yards. Instead, it's the two long touchdown drives he put together prior to the game-winning field goal.

No. 1: Joe Montana

Achievements: 4 Super Bowl wins, 3 Super Bowl MVPs, 4 Super Bowl appearances, 16 playoff wins

Greatest Clutch Performance: Super Bowl XXIII

Lists like this should never really have a no-brainer at the top. But Montana is. It's impossible to argue anyone ahead of Montana, and not just because he won four Super Bowl in four tries.

Or because he threw the most famous postseason touchdowns in NFL history: the Catch.

Or because he won more playoff games than any quarterback in history. 

How about the run he put together in Kansas City in 1993: back-to-back playoff comebacks, including one in Houston. 

And then there is the matter of driving the 49ers 92 yards in the final three minutes to win Super Bowl XXIII. 

His nickname, Joe Cool, was as deserved as any ever. Pressure never affected him.