Strong Arm Tactics:

A History and Statistical Analysis of the Professional Quarterback

 

Aging Quarterbacks

Time is every athlete's enemy, and quarterbacks are no exception. Injuries, age and declining skills halt every quarterback's career eventually. On average, a quarterback's prime seasons are finished by the time he reaches 33. Before 1960, only Arnie Herber, Sammy Baugh and Charlie Conerly played past 34, but the 1960s saw the first influx of 35-year old quarterbacks. Here is the full data alluded to in the book. The age listed is the quarterback's age at the start of the season.

At 35, there were 78 quarterback-seasons and only 55 of them were by quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes.

Quarterback Year Games Att Comp % Yards Y/Att TD Int Rating

Relative

Rating

   Rushes Yards Avg. TD
Herber, Arnie 1945 10 80 35 43.8% 641 8.0 9 8 69.8 147 6 -27 -4.5 0
Baugh, Sammy 1949 12 255 145 56.9% 1903 7.5 18 14 81.2 151 13 67 5.2 2
Conerly, Charlie 1956 12 174 90 51.7% 1143 6.6 10 7 75 126 11 11 1 0
Tittle, Y.A. 1961 13 285 163 57.2% 2272 8.0 17 12 85.3 125 25 85 3.4 3
Blanda, George 1962 14 418 197 47.1% 2810 6.7 27 42 51.3 89 3 6 2 0
Layne, Bobby 1962 13 233 116 49.8% 1686 7.2 9 17 56.2 77 15 25 1.7 1
Brown, Ed 1963 14 362 168 46.4% 2982 8.2 21 20 71.4 100 15 20 1.3 2
Rote, Tobin 1963 14 286 170 59.4% 2510 8.8 20 17 86.7 133 24 62 2.6 2
Tripucka, Frank 1963 2 15 7 46.7% 31 2.1 0 5 13.9 21 0 0 0 0
Parilli, Babe 1964 14 473 228 48.2% 3465 7.3 31 27 70.8 113 34 168 4.9 2
Wade, Bill 1965 5 41 20 48.8% 204 5.0 0 2 43.1 59 5 18 3.6 0
Bratkowski, Zeke 1966 8 64 36 56.3% 569 8.9 4 2 93.8 139 4 7 1.8 0
Bukich, Rudy 1968 2 7 2 28.6% 23 3.3 0 0 40.8 59 0 0 0 0
Unitas, Johnny 1968 5 32 11 34.4% 139 4.3 2 4 30.1 44 3 -1 -0.3 0
Jurgensen, Sonny 1969 13 442 274 62.0% 3102 7.0 22 15 85.4 119 17 156 9.2 1
Morrall, Earl 1969 9 99 46 46.5% 755 7.6 5 7 60 84 0 0 0 0
Starr, Bart 1969 12 148 92 62.2% 1161 7.8 9 6 89.9 126 7 60 8.6 0
Brodie, John 1970 14 378 223 59.0% 2941 7.8 24 10 93.8 143 9 29 3.2 2
Dawson, Len 1970 13 262 141 53.8% 1876 7.2 13 14 71 108 11 46 4.2 0
Johnson, Charlie 1974 14 244 136 55.7% 1969 8.1 13 9 84.5 132 4 -3 -0.8 0
Kilmer, Billy 1974 11 234 137 58.5% 1632 7.0 10 6 83.5 130 6 27 4.5 0
Snead, Norm 1974 8 159 97 61.0% 983 6.2 5 8 68.2 NA 4 29 7.3 0
Gabriel, Roman 1975 11 292 151 51.7% 1644 5.6 13 11 67.8 103 13 70 5.4 1
Hadl, John 1975 14 353 191 54.1% 2095 5.9 6 21 52.8 80 20 47 2.4 0
Tarkenton, Fran 1975 14 425 273 64.2% 2994 7.0 25 13 91.8 140 16 108 6.8 2
Munson, Bill 1976 5 37 20 54.1% 295 8.0 1 3 55.6 83 1 6 6 0
Staubach, Roger 1977 14 361 210 58.2% 2620 7.3 18 9 87 142 51 171 3.4 3
Morton, Craig 1978 14 267 146 54.7% 1802 6.7 11 8 77 118 17 71 4.2 0
Hart, Jim 1979 14 378 194 51.3% 2218 5.9 9 20 55.2 78 6 11 1.8 0
Griese, Bob 1980 5 100 61 61.0% 790 7.9 6 4 89.2 121 1 0 0 0
Stabler, Ken 1981 13 285 165 57.9% 1988 7.0 14 18 69.5 95 10 -3 -0.3 0
Bradshaw, Terry 1983 1 8 5 62.5% 77 9.6 2 0 133.9 176 1 3 3 0
Plunkett, Jim 1983 14 379 230 60.7% 2935 7.7 20 18 82.7 109 0 0 0 0
Anderson, Ken 1984 11 275 175 63.6% 2107 7.7 10 12 81 106 11 64 5.8 0
Dickey, Lynn 1984 15 401 237 59.1% 3195 8.0 25 19 85.6 112 18 6 0.3 3
Manning, Archie 1984 6 94 52 55.3% 545 5.8 2 3 66.1 87 11 42 3.8 0
Theismann, Joe 1984 16 477 283 59.3% 3391 7.1 24 13 86.6 114 62 314 5.1 1
Ferguson, Joe 1985 8 54 31 57.4% 364 6.7 2 3 67.2 91 4 12 3 1
Fouts, Dan 1986 12 430 252 58.6% 3031 7.0 16 22 71.4 96 4 -3 -0.8 0
Jaworski, Ron 1986 10 245 128 52.2% 1405 5.7 8 6 70.2 95 13 33 2.5 0
Strock, Don 1986 16 20 14 70.0% 152 7.6 2 0 125.4 169 1 0 0 0
White, Danny 1987 11 362 215 59.4% 2617 7.2 12 17 73.2 97 10 14 1.4 1
Grogan, Steve 1988 6 140 67 47.9% 834 6.0 4 13 37.6 52 6 12 2 1
DeBerg, Steve 1989 12 324 196 60.5% 2529 7.8 11 16 75.8 100 14 -8 -0.6 0
Evans, Vince 1990 5 1 1 100.0% 36 36.0 0 0 118.8 154 1 -2 -2 0
Kramer, Tommy 1990 1 3 1 33.3% 2 0.7 0 1 2.8 4 0 0 0 0
Simms, Phil 1991 6 141 82 58.2% 993 7.0 8 4 87 114 9 42 4.7 1
Moon, Warren 1992 11 346 224 64.7% 2521 7.3 18 12 89.3 119 27 147 5.4 1
Krieg, Dave 1993 12 189 105 55.6% 1238 6.6 7 3 81.4 106 21 24 1.1 0
McMahon, Jim 1994 3 43 23 53.5% 219 5.1 1 3 46.6 59 6 32 5.3 0
Wilson, Wade 1994 4 28 20 71.4% 172 6.1 0 0 87.2 111 7 15 2.1 0
Elway, John 1995 16 542 316 58.3% 3970 7.3 26 14 86.4 109 41 176 4.3 1
Hebert, Bobby 1995 4 45 28 62.2% 313 7.0 2 1 88.5 112 5 -1 -0.2 0
Kelly, Jim 1995 15 458 255 55.7% 3130 6.8 22 13 81.1 102 17 20 1.2 0
Esiason, Boomer 1996 10 339 190 56.0% 2293 6.8 11 14 70.6 92 15 52 3.5 1
Hostetler, Dave 1996 13 402 242 60.2% 2548 6.3 23 14 83.2 108 37 179 4.8 1
Marino, Dan 1996 13 373 221 59.2% 2795 7.5 17 9 87.8 114 11 -3 -0.3 0
Young, Steve 1996 12 316 214 67.7% 2410 7.6 14 6 97.2 126 52 310 6 4
Bono, Steve 1997 2 10 5 50.0% 29 2.9 0 0 56.3 73 3 -3 -1 0
Brister, Bubby 1997 1 9 6 66.7% 48 5.3 0 0 79.9 103 4 2 0.5 0
Reich, Frank 1997 6 30 11 36.7% 121 4.0 0 2 21.7 28 4 -4 -1 0
Rypien, Mark 1997 5 39 19 48.7% 270 6.9 0 2 50.2 65 1 1 1 0
Tomczak, Mike 1997 16 24 16 66.7% 185 7.7 1 2 68.9 89 7 13 1.9 0
Cunningham, Randall 1998 15 425 259 60.9% 3704 8.7 34 10 106 135 32 132 4.1 1
Harbaugh, Jim 1999 14 434 249 57.4% 2761 6.4 10 14 70.6 92 34 126 3.7 0
Testaverde, Vinny 1999 1 15 10 66.7% 96 6.4 1 1 78.8 102 0 0 0 0
Beuerlein, Steve 2000 16 533 324 60.8% 3730 7.0 19 18 79.7 102 44 106 2.4 1
Chandler, Chris 2000 14 331 192 58.0% 2236 6.8 10 12 73.5 94 21 60 2.9 0
Gannon, Rich 2001 16 549 361 65.8% 3828 7.0 27 9 95.5 122 63 231 3.7 2
O’Donnell, Neil 2001 5 76 42 55.3% 496 6.5 2 2 73.1 93 6 28 4.7 0
Peete, Rodney 2001 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Johnson, Brad 2003 16 570 354 62.1% 3811 6.7 26 21 81.5 103 25 33 1.3 0
Favre, Brett 2004 16 540 346 64.1% 4088 7.6 30 17 92.4 112 16 36 2.3 0
Brunell, Mark 2005 16 454 262 57.7% 3050 6.7 23 10 85.9 NA   42 111 2.6 0
Garcia, Jeff 2005 6 173 102 59.0% 937 5.4 3 6 65.1 NA   17 51 3 1
Green, Trent 2005 16 507 317 62.5% 4014 7.9 17 10 90.1 NA   35 82 2.3 0
Martin, Jaime 2005 8 177 124 70.1% 1277 7.2 5 7 83.5 NA   9 6 0.7 0
Warner, Kurt 2006 7 168 108 64.3% 1377 8.2 6 5 89.3 NA   13 3 0.2 0


At 36, there were just 69 quarterback-seasons and only 54 with at least 100 attempts.

Name Year Games Att Comp % Yards Y/Att TD Int Rating

Relative

Rating

   Rushes Yards Avg TD
Baugh, Sammy 1950 11 166 90 54.2% 1130 6.8 10 11 68.1 129 7 27 3.9 1
Conerly, Charlie 1957 12 232 128 55.2% 1712 7.4 11 11 74.9 119 15 24 1.6 1
Songin, Butch 1960 14 392 187 47.7% 2476 6.3 22 15 70.9 114 36 -140 -3.9 2
Tittle, Y.A. 1962 14 375 200 53.3% 3224 8.6 33 20 89.5 123 17 108 6.4 2
Blanda, George 1963 14 423 224 53.0% 3003 7.1 24 25 70.1 108 4 1 0.3 0
Brown, Ed 1964 14 272 121 44.5% 1990 7.3 12 19 55.2 77 26 110 4.2 2
Rote, Tobin 1964 14 163 74 45.4% 1156 7.1 9 15 49.5 79 10 -12 -1.2 0
Parilli, Babe 1965 14 426 173 40.6% 2597 6.1 18 26 50 86 50 200 4 0
Wade, Bill 1966 2 21 9 42.9% 79 3.8 0 1 33.6 50 0 0 0 0
Bratkowski, Zeke 1967 6 94 53 56.4% 724 7.7 5 9 59.3 89 5 6 1.2 0
Davidson, Cotton 1968 1 2 1 50.0% 4 2.0 0 0 56.3 90 0 0 0 0
Unitas, Johnny 1969 13 327 178 54.4% 2342 7.2 12 20 64 89 11 23 2.1 0
Jurgensen, Sonny 1970 14 337 202 59.9% 2354 7.0 23 10 91.5 140 6 39 6.5 1
Morrall, Earl 1970 14 93 51 54.8% 792 8.5 9 4 97.6 149 2 6 3 0
Starr, Bart 1970 14 255 140 54.9% 1645 6.5 8 13 63.9 98 12 62 5.2 1
Brodie, John 1971 14 387 208 53.7% 2642 6.8 18 24 65 105 14 45 3.2 3
Dawson, Len 1971 14 301 167 55.5% 2504 8.3 15 13 81.6 131 12 24 2 0
Johnson, Charlie 1975 14 142 65 45.8% 1021 7.2 5 12 46.7 71 10 21 2.1 0
Kilmer, Billy 1975 12 346 178 51.4% 2440 7.1 23 16 77.2 117 11 34 3.1 1
Snead, Norm 1975 9 189 108 57.1% 1337 7.1 9 10 73 111 9 30 3.3 1
Gabriel, Roman 1976 4 92 46 50.0% 476 5.2 2 2 63.5 95 4 2 0.5 0
Hadl, John 1976 14 113 60 53.1% 634 5.6 7 8 60.9 91 7 11 1.6 0
Tarkenton, Fran 1976 13 412 255 61.9% 2961 7.2 17 8 89.3 133 27 45 1.7 1
Munson, Bill 1977 4 31 20 64.5% 225 7.3 1 1 83.4 136 1 2 2 0
Staubach, Roger 1978 15 413 231 55.9% 3190 7.7 25 16 84.9 131 42 182 4.3 1
Morton, Craig 1979 14 370 204 55.1% 2626 7.1 16 19 70.6 100 23 13 0.6 1
Hart, Jim 1980 15 425 228 53.6% 2946 6.9 16 20 68.6 93 9 11 1.2 0
Stabler, Ken 1982 8 189 117 61.9% 1343 7.1 6 10 71.8 98 3 -4 -1.3 0
Plunkett, Jim 1984 8 198 108 54.5% 1473 7.4 6 10 67.6 89 0 0 0 0
Anderson, Ken 1985 3 32 16 50.0% 170 5.3 2 0 86.7 118 1 0 0 0
Dickey, Lynn 1985 12 314 172 54.8% 2206 7.0 15 17 70.4 96 18 -12 -0.7 1
Theismann, Joe 1985 11 301 167 55.5% 1774 5.9 8 16 59.6 81 25 115 4.6 2
Ferguson, Joe 1986 6 155 73 47.1% 941 6.1 7 7 62.9 85 5 25 5 0
Fouts, Dan 1987 11 364 206 56.6% 2517 6.9 10 15 70 93 12 0 0 2
Strock, Don 1987 12 23 13 56.5% 114 5.0 0 1 51.7 69 0 0 0 0
White, Danny 1988 3 42 29 69.0% 274 6.5 1 3 65 89 0 0 0 0
Grogan, Steve 1989 7 261 133 51.0% 1697 6.5 9 14 60.8 80 9 19 2.1 0
DeBerg, Steve 1990 16 444 258 58.1% 3444 7.8 23 4 96.3 125 21 -5 -0.2 0
Evans, Vince 1991 4 14 6 42.9% 127 9.1 1 2 59.8 78 8 20 2.5 0
Montana, Joe 1992 1 21 15 71.4% 126 6.0 2 0 118.4 157 3 28 9.3 0
Simms, Phil 1992 4 137 83 60.6% 912 6.7 5 3 83.3 111 6 17 2.8 0
Moon, Warren 1993 15 520 303 58.3% 3485 6.7 21 21 75.2 98 48 145 3 1
Krieg, Dave 1994 14 212 131 61.8% 1629 7.7 14 3 101.7 130 23 35 1.5 0
McMahon, Jim 1995 1 1 1 100.0% 6 6.0 0 0 91.7 116 0 0 0 0
Wilson, Wade 1995 7 57 38 66.7% 391 6.9 1 3 70.1 89 10 12 1.2 0
Elway, John 1996 15 466 287 61.6% 3328 7.1 26 14 89.2 116 50 249 5 4
Hebert, Bobby 1996 14 489 295 60.3% 3162 6.5 22 25 73 95 15 59 3.9 1
Kelly, Jim 1996 13 379 222 58.6% 2810 7.4 14 19 73.2 95 19 66 3.5 2
Esiason, Boomer 1997 7 186 118 63.4% 1478 7.9 13 2 106.9 138 8 11 1.4 0
Hostetler, Dave 1997 6 144 79 54.9% 899 6.2 5 10 56.5 73 14 28 2 0
Marino, Dan 1997 16 548 319 58.2% 3780 6.9 16 11 80.7 105 17 -14 -0.8 0
Young, Steve 1997 15 356 241 67.7% 3029 8.5 19 6 104.7 136 50 199 4 3
Bono, Steve 1998 6 136 69 50.7% 807 5.9 5 4 69.1 88 10 13 1.3 0
Brister, Bubby 1998 7 131 78 59.5% 986 7.5 10 3 99 126 19 102 5.4 1
Flutie, Doug 1998 13 354 202 57.1% 2711 7.7 20 11 87.4 112 48 248 5.2 1
Reich, Frank 1998 6 110 63 57.3% 768 7.0 5 4 78.9 101 6 3 0.5 0
Tomczak, Mike 1998 16 30 21 70.0% 204 6.8 2 2 83.2 106 0 0 0 0
Cunningham, Randall 1999 6 200 124 62.0% 1475 7.4 8 9 79.1 103 10 58 5.8 0
Harbaugh, Jim 2000 7 202 123 60.9% 1416 7.0 8 10 74.6 96 16 24 1.5 0
Testaverde, Vinny 2000 16 590 328 55.6% 3732 6.3 21 25 69 88 25 32 1.3 0
Chandler, Chris 2001 14 365 223 61.1% 2847 7.8 16 14 84.1 107 25 84 3.4 0
Gannon, Rich 2002 16 618 418 67.6% 4689 7.6 26 10 97.3 121 50 156 3.1 3
O’Donnell, Neil 2002 4 5 3 60.0% 24 4.8 0 0 72.1 90 3 -3 -1 0
Peete, Rodney 2002 14 381 223 58.5% 2630 6.9 15 14 77.4 96 22 14 0.6 0
Johnson, Brad 2004 4 103 65 63.1% 674 6.5 3 3 79.5 96 5 23 4.6 0
Favre, Brett 2005 16 607 372 61.3% 3881 6.4 20 29 70.9 NA   18 62 3.4 0
Brunell, Mark 2006 10 260 162 62.3% 1789 6.9 8 4 86.5 NA   13 34 2.6 0
Garcia, Jeff 2006 8 188 116 61.7% 1309 7.0 10 2 95.8 NA   25 87 3.5 0
Green, Trent 2006 8 198 121 61.1% 1342 6.8 7 9 74.1 NA   19 59 3.1 0


Age 37 brings further decline, with only 54 quarterback-seasons and 34 with at least 100-pass attempts.

Name Year Games Att Comp % Yards Y/Att TD Int Rating

Relative

Rating

   Rushes Yards Avg TD
Baugh, Sammy 1951 12 154 67 43.5% 1104 7.2 7 17 43.8 79 11 -5 -0.5 0
Conerly, Charlie 1958 10 184 88 47.8% 1199 6.5 10 9 66.8 102 12 -17 -1.4 0
Songin, Butch 1961 14 212 98 46.2% 1429 6.7 14 9 73 124 8 39 4.9 0
Tittle, Y.A. 1963 13 367 221 60.2% 3145 8.6 36 14 104.8 146 18 99 5.5 2
Blanda, George 1964 14 505 262 51.9% 3287 6.5 17 27 61.4 98 4 -2 -0.5 0
Brown, Ed 1965 14 23 10 43.5% 204 8.9 1 5 50.2 NA 2 -3 -1.5 0
Parilli, Babe 1966 14 382 181 47.4% 2721 7.1 20 20 66.9 106 28 42 1.5 1
Bratkowski, Zeke 1968 10 126 68 54.0% 835 6.6 3 7 59.5 87 8 24 3 0
Unitas, Johnny 1970 14 321 166 51.7% 2213 6.9 14 18 65.1 99 9 16 1.8 0
Jurgensen, Sonny 1971 5 28 16 57.1% 170 6.1 0 2 45.2 73 3 29 9.7 0
Morrall, Earl 1971 14 167 84 50.3% 1210 7.2 7 12 58.2 94 6 13 2.2 0
Starr, Bart 1971 5 45 24 53.3% 286 6.4 0 3 45.2 73 3 11 3.7 1
Brodie, John 1972 6 110 70 63.6% 905 8.2 9 8 86.4 130 3 8 2.7 1
Dawson, Len 1972 14 305 175 57.4% 1835 6.0 13 12 72.8 110 15 75 5 0
Kilmer, Billy 1976 10 206 108 52.4% 1252 6.1 12 10 70.3 105 13 -7 -0.5 0
Snead, Norm 1976 3 42 22 52.4% 239 5.7 0 4 29.9 45 3 -1 -0.3 0
Gabriel, Roman 1977 13 3 1 33.3% 15 5.0 0 0 50.7 83 0 0 0 0
Hadl, John 1977 14 24 11 45.8% 76 3.2 0 3 13.9 23 3 11 3.7 1
Tarkenton, Fran 1977 9 258 155 60.1% 1734 6.7 9 14 69.2 113 15 6 0.4 0
Munson, Bill 1978 4 43 24 55.8% 328 7.6 4 2 92 142 0 0 0 0
Staubach, Roger 1979 16 461 267 57.9% 3586 7.8 27 11 92.3 131 37 172 4.6 0
Morton, Craig 1980 12 301 183 60.8% 2150 7.1 12 13 77.8 106 21 29 1.4 1
Hart, Jim 1981 10 241 134 55.6% 1694 7.0 11 14 68.7 94 3 2 0.7 0
Stabler, Ken 1983 14 311 176 56.6% 1988 6.4 9 18 61.4 81 9 -14 -1.6 0
Landry, Greg 1984 1 20 11 55.0% 199 10.0 1 3 66.5 87 2 1 0.5 1
Plunkett, Jim 1985 3 103 71 68.9% 803 7.8 3 3 89.6 122 0 0 0 0
Anderson, Ken 1986 8 23 11 47.8% 171 7.4 1 2 51.2 69 0 0 0 0
Jaworski, Ron 1988 16 14 9 64.3% 123 8.8 1 0 116.1 159 0 0 0 0
Strock, Don 1988 4 91 55 60.4% 736 8.1 6 5 85.2 117 6 -2 -0.3 0
Grogan, Steve 1990 4 92 50 54.3% 615 6.7 4 3 76.1 98 4 -5 -1.3 0
DeBerg, Steve 1991 16 434 256 59.0% 2965 6.8 17 14 79.3 104 21 -15 -0.7 0
Evans, Vince 1992 5 53 29 54.7% 372 7.0 4 3 78.5 104 11 79 7.2 0
Montana, Joe 1993 11 298 181 60.7% 2144 7.2 13 7 87.4 114 25 64 2.6 0
Simms, Phil 1993 16 400 247 61.8% 3038 7.6 15 9 88.3 115 28 31 1.1 0
Moon, Warren 1994 15 601 371 61.7% 4264 7.1 18 19 79.9 102 27 55 2 0
Krieg, Dave 1995 16 521 304 58.3% 3554 6.8 16 21 72.6 92 19 29 1.5 0
McMahon, Jim 1996 5 4 3 75.0% 39 9.8 0 0 105.2 137 4 -1 -0.3 0
Wilson, Wade 1996 3 18 8 44.4% 79 4.4 0 1 34.3 45 4 5 1.3 0
Elway, John 1997 16 502 280 55.8% 3635 7.2 27 11 87.5 113 50 218 4.4 1
Marino, Dan 1998 16 537 310 57.7% 3479 6.5 23 15 79.8 102 21 -3 -0.1 1
Young, Steve 1998 15 517 322 62.3% 4170 8.1 36 12 101.1 129 70 454 6.5 6
Bono, Steve 1999 2 1 0 0.0% 0 0.0 0 0 39.6 51 2 -2 -1 0
Brister, Bubby 1999 2 20 12 60.0% 87 4.4 0 3 30.6 40 2 17 8.5 0
Flutie, Doug 1999 15 478 264 55.2% 3171 6.6 19 16 75.1 97 88 476 5.4 1
Tomczak, Mike 1999 16 258 139 53.9% 1625 6.3 12 8 75.8 98 16 19 1.2 0
Cunningham, Randall 2000 6 125 74 59.2% 849 6.8 6 4 82.4 106 23 89 3.9 1
Testaverde, Vinny 2001 16 441 260 59.0% 2752 6.2 15 14 75.3 96 31 25 0.8 0
Beuerlein, Steve 2002 8 117 68 58.1% 925 7.9 6 5 82.7 103 5 9 1.8 1
Chandler, Chris 2002 11 161 103 64.0% 1023 6.4 4 4 79.8 99 10 32 3.2 0
Gannon, Rich 2003 7 225 125 55.6% 1274 5.7 6 4 73.5 93 6 18 3 0
O’Donnell, Neil 2003 1 27 18 66.7% 232 8.6 2 1 102.7 130 1 -1 -1 0
Peete, Rodney 2003 2 10 4 40.0% 19 1.9 0 0 47.9 61 0 0 0 0
Johnson, Brad 2005 15 294 184 62.6% 1885 6.4 12 4 88.9 NA   18 53 2.9 0
Favre, Brett 2006 16 613 343 56.0% 3885 6.3 18 18 72.7 NA   23 29 1.3 1


38 is the oldest age that any quarterback ever won a title, accomplished by two of the 39 quarterbacks still playing at that age. (Only 21 threw at least 100 passes.)

Name Year Games Att Comp % Yards Y/Att TD Int Rating

Relative

Rating

   Rushes Yards Avg TD
Baugh, Sammy 1952 7 33 20 60.6% 152 4.6 2 1 79.4 142 1 1 1 0
Conerly, Charlie 1959 10 194 113 58.2% 1706 8.8 14 4 102.7 154 15 38 2.5 1
Songin, Butch 1962 7 90 42 46.7% 442 4.9 2 7 36.4 63 4 11 2.8 0
Tittle, Y.A. 1964 14 281 147 52.3% 1798 6.4 10 22 51.6 72 15 -7 -0.5 1
Blanda, George 1965 14 442 186 42.1% 2542 5.8 20 30 47.9 83 4 -6 -1.5 0
Rote, Tobin 1966 3 8 3 37.5% 40 5.0 0 1 14.6 23 0 0 0 0
Parilli, Babe 1967 14 344 161 46.8% 2317 6.7 19 24 58.5 95 14 61 4.4 0
Unitas, Johnny 1971 13 176 92 52.3% 942 5.4 3 9 52.3 84 9 5 0.6 0
Jurgensen, Sonny 1972 7 59 39 66.1% 633 10.7 2 4 84.9 128 4 -5 -1.3 0
Morrall, Earl 1972 14 150 83 55.3% 1360 9.1 11 7 91 137 17 67 3.9 1
Brodie, John 1973 14 194 98 50.5% 1126 5.8 3 12 47.7 74 5 16 3.2 1
Dawson, Len 1973 9 101 66 65.3% 725 7.2 2 5 72.4 112 6 40 6.7 0
Kilmer, Billy 1977 8 201 99 49.3% 1187 5.9 8 7 66.5 109 10 20 2 0
Tarkenton, Fran 1978 16 572 345 60.3% 3468 6.1 25 32 68.9 106 24 -6 -0.3 1
Munson, Bill 1979 3 7 3 42.9% 31 4.4 0 0 56.3 80 0 0 0 0
Morton, Craig 1981 15 376 225 59.8% 3195 8.5 21 14 90.5 124 8 18 2.3 0
Hart, Jim 1982 4 33 19 57.6% 199 6.0 1 0 85.3 116 0 0 0 0
Stabler, Ken 1984 3 70 33 47.1% 339 4.8 2 5 41.3 54 1 -1 -1 0
Plunkett, Jim 1986 10 252 133 52.8% 1986 7.9 14 9 82.5 111 0 0 0 0
Ferguson, Joe 1988 2 46 31 67.4% 368 8.0 3 1 104.3 143 1 0 0 0
Jaworski, Ron 1989 6 61 36 59.0% 385 6.3 2 5 54.3 72 4 5 1.3 0
DeBerg, Steve 1992 6 125 76 60.8% 710 5.7 3 4 71.1 94 3 3 1 0
Evans, Vince 1993 8 76 45 59.2% 640 8.4 3 4 77.7 101 14 51 3.6 0
Montana, Joe 1994 14 493 299 60.6% 3283 6.7 16 9 83.6 107 18 17 0.9 0
Moon, Warren 1995 16 606 377 62.2% 4228 7.0 33 14 91.5 115 33 82 2.5 0
Krieg, Dave 1996 13 377 226 59.9% 2278 6.0 14 12 76.3 99 16 12 0.8 1
Wilson, Wade 1997 7 21 12 57.1% 115 5.5 0 0 72.5 94 6 -2 -0.3 0
Elway, John 1998 13 356 210 59.0% 2806 7.9 22 10 93 119 37 94 2.5 1
Marino, Dan 1999 11 369 204 55.3% 2448 6.6 12 17 67.4 88 6 -6 -1 0
Young, Steve 1999 3 84 45 53.6% 446 5.3 3 4 60.9 79 11 57 5.2 0
Brister, Bubby 2000 2 20 10 50.0% 82 4.1 0 1 40 51 5 20 4 0
Flutie, Doug 2000 11 231 132 57.1% 1700 7.4 8 3 86.5 111 36 161 4.5 1
Cunningham, Randall 2001 6 89 54 60.7% 573 6.4 3 2 81.3 104 14 40 2.9 1
Testaverde, Vinny 2002 5 83 54 65.1% 499 6.0 3 3 78.3 97 2 23 11.5 0
Beuerlein, Steve 2003 5 63 33 52.4% 389 6.2 2 5 49 62 5 13 2.6 0
Chandler, Chris 2003 8 192 107 55.7% 1050 5.5 3 7 61.3 78 14 35 2.5 0
Gannon, Rich 2004 3 68 41 60.3% 524 7.7 3 2 86.9 105 5 26 5.2 0
Peete, Rodney 2004 2 1 1 100.0% 3 3.0 0 0 79.2 96 1 -1 -1 0
Johnson, Brad 2006 15 439 270 61.5% 2750 6.3 9 15 72 NA   29 82 2.8 1


At 39, only nine of 20 quarterbacks threw at least 100 passes.

Name Year Games Att Comp % Yards Y/Att TD Int Rating

Relative

Rating

   Rushes Yards Avg TD
Conerly, Charlie 1960 12 134 66 49.3% 954 7.1 8 7 70.9 111 14 1 0.1 0
Blanda, George 1966 14 271 122 45.0% 1764 6.5 17 21 55.3 88 3 1 0.3 0
Parilli, Babe 1968 14 55 29 52.7% 401 7.3 5 2 91.6 146 7 -2 -0.3 1
Unitas, Johnny 1972 8 157 88 56.1% 1111 7.1 4 6 70.8 107 3 15 5 0
Jurgensen, Sonny 1973 14 145 87 60.0% 904 6.2 6 5 77.5 119 3 7 2.3 0
Morrall, Earl 1973 14 38 17 44.7% 253 6.7 0 4 27.5 42 1 9 9 0
Dawson, Len 1974 14 235 138 58.7% 1573 6.7 7 13 65.8 102 11 28 2.5 0
Kilmer, Billy 1978 5 46 23 50.0% 316 6.9 4 3 74.2 114 1 1 1 0
Morton, Craig 1982 3 26 18 69.2% 193 7.4 0 3 51.1 70 0 0 0 0
Hart, Jim 1983 5 91 50 54.9% 592 6.5 4 8 53 70 5 12 2.4 0
Ferguson, Joe 1989 5 90 44 48.9% 533 5.9 3 6 50.8 67 4 6 1.5 0
DeBerg, Steve 1993 8 227 136 59.9% 1707 7.5 7 10 75.3 NA 4 -4 -1 0
Evans, Vince 1994 9 33 18 54.5% 222 6.7 2 0 95.8 122 6 24 4 0
Moon, Warren 1996 8 247 134 54.3% 1610 6.5 7 9 68.7 89 9 6 0.7 0
Krieg, Dave 1997 8 2 1 50.0% 2 1.0 0 0 56.3 73 4 -2 -0.5 0
Wilson, Wade 1998 5 88 52 59.1% 568 6.5 7 4 85.8 110 7 24 3.4 0
Flutie, Doug 2001 16 521 294 56.4% 3464 6.6 15 18 72 92 53 192 3.6 1
Rypien, Mark 2001 4 9 5 55.6% 57 6.3 0 0 74.8 95 0 0 0 0
Testaverde, Vinny 2003 7 198 123 62.1% 1385 7.0 7 2 90.6 115 6 17 2.8 0
Chandler, Chris 2004 5 62 35 56.5% 463 7.5 2 8 51.4 62 1 2 2 0


George Blanda, Warren Moon and Doug Flutie are the most notable quarterbacks who played in their 40s.

Name Year Age Games Att Comp % Yards Y/Att TD Int Rating

Relative

Rating

   Rushes Yards Avg TD
Conerly, Charlie 1961 40 13 106 44 41.5% 634 6.0 7 8 52.2 76 13 16 1.2 0
Blanda, George 1967 40 14 38 15 39.5% 285 7.5 3 3 59.6 97 0 0 0 0
Parilli, Babe 1969 40 14 24 14 58.3% 138 5.8 2 1 85.1 132 3 4 1.3 0
Bratkowski, Zeke 1971 40 6 37 19 51.4% 298 8.1 4 3 80.7 130 1 1 1 1
Unitas, Johnny 1973 40 5 76 34 44.7% 471 6.2 3 7 40 62 0 0 0 0
Jurgensen, Sonny 1974 40 14 167 107 64.1% 1185 7.1 11 5 94.5 147 4 -6 -1.5 0
Morrall, Earl 1974 40 14 27 17 63.0% 301 11.1 2 3 86.1 134 1 11 11 0
Dawson, Len 1975 40 12 140 93 66.4% 1095 7.8 5 4 90 137 5 7 1.4 0
Hart, Jim 1984 40 2 7 3 42.9% 26 3.7 0 0 53.3 70 3 -6 -2 0
Ferguson, Joe 1990 40 1 8 2 25.0% 21 2.6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Evans, Vince 1995 40 9 175 100 57.1% 1236 7.1 6 8 71.5 90 14 36 2.6 0
Moon, Warren 1997 40 15 528 313 59.3% 3678 7.0 25 16 83.7 108 17 40 2.4 1
Krieg, Dave 1998 40 5 21 12 57.1% 199 9.5 0 0 89.2 114 3 -1 -0.3 0
Flutie, Doug 2002 40 2 11 3 27.3% 64 5.8 0 0 51.3 64 1 6 6 0
Testaverde, Vinny 2004 40 16 495 297 60.0% 3532 7.1 17 20 76.4 92 20 42 2.1 1
Blanda, George 1968 41 14 49 30 61.2% 522 10.7 6 2 120.1 192 0 0 0 0
Morrall, Earl 1975 41 13 43 26 60.5% 273 6.3 3 2 82.8 126 4 33 8.3 0
Moon, Warren 1998 41 10 258 145 56.2% 1632 6.3 11 8 76.6 98 16 10 0.6 0
Flutie, Doug 2003 41 7 167 91 54.5% 1097 6.6 9 4 82.8 105 33 168 5.1 2
Testaverde, Vinny 2005 41 6 106 60 56.6% 777 7.3 1 6 59.4 NA   7 4 0.6 2
Blanda, George 1969 42 14 13 6 46.2% 73 5.6 2 1 71.5 111 1 0 0 0
Morrall, Earl 1976 42 14 26 10 38.5% 148 5.7 1 1 54.6 82 0 0 0 0
Moon, Warren 1999 42 1 3 1 33.3% 20 6.7 0 0 57.6 75 0 0 0 0
Flutie, Doug 2004 42 2 38 20 52.6% 276 7.3 1 0 85 103 5 39 7.8 2
Testaverde, Vinny 2006 43 3 3 2 66.7% 29 9.7 1 0 137.5     8 -8 -1.0 0
Blanda, George 1970 43 14 55 29 52.7% 461 8.4 6 5 79.4 121 2 4 2 0
Moon, Warren 2000 43 2 34 15 44.1% 208 6.1 1 1 61.9 79 2 2 1 0
Flutie, Doug 2005 43 5 10 5 50.0% 29 2.9 0 0 56.3 NA   5 -1 -0.2 0
Blanda, George 1971 44 14 58 32 55.2% 378 6.5 4 6 58.6 94 0 0 0 0
DeBerg, Steve 1998 44 8 59 30 50.8% 369 6.3 3 1 80.4 103 8 -10 -1.3 0
Blanda, George 1972 45 14 15 5 33.3% 77 5.1 1 0 73.5 111 0 0 0 0
Blanda, George 1973 46 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Blanda, George 1974 47 14 4 1 25.0% 28 7.0 1 0 95.8 149 0 0 0 0
Blanda, George 1975 48 14 3 1 33.3% 11 3.7 0 1 5.6 8 0 0 0 0


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