Top 5 NFL Quarterbacks in Washington Football Team History
A look at the Greatest Quarterbacks in Washington Football Team History
Today we look at the best NFL Quarterbacks to ever play for the Washington Football Team. In this list, we will only be looking at the Top 5 passers to ever sling it for the red and gold. Of late, a black cloud has risen over this Franchise for the better half of the past two decades. This team has recently failed to find a consistent and stable true NFL Franchise Quarterback.
With the recent news of Dwayne Haskins release from the team and just one game to go in the season, the search for a true Franchise Quarterback continues. By the way, it’s worth noting that I heavily predicted Alex Smith would take the Starting job from Haskins in the Preseason. I must admit though, I never thought that the team would give up on Haskins or release him so soon. Much like Booger McFarland has said, Haskins did it to himself, and now Ron Rivera has put the whole team on notice.
Ron Rivera’s message to this team is that anyone can get the ax if you are not preparing yourself to win football games and put in the work. If a high-profile 1st Round Draft Pick (who was handpicked by the owner) in just his second season, is replaceable at a position of need, then the whole team better take that message as a no-nonsense way of Ron Rivera enforcing his imprint on this team. This is officially Ron Rivera’s team now.
Though I couldn’t or wouldn’t have predicted that Dwayne Haskins would get released this soon, it hardly comes as a surprise. From partying without a mask to not putting in the practice time work, and from having his Team Captaincy revoked, the signs were all there that Washington was done with Haskins. Hopefully, Washington can move on with a clean slate as they look to the future with a coach that has a proven track record of winning.
Alex Smith is another example of the bad luck this team has had at the Quarterback position. If it isn’t performance-based like Haskins, it’s injury-based like with Alex Smith now. His comeback story is to be respected this season and he has helped turn Washington’s season around to make a possible playoff run. With that being said, Smith can’t play forever, and while he is the best option on the roster, he isn’t the same player he once was.
Washington is one of the best pass-rushing teams in the NFL today, but we all know that doesn’t matter if you don’t address and fulfill the most important position on the roster. Despite the recent inconsistencies of the past two decades at the Quarterback position, if you look further back into the history of this Franchise, you’ll find that the track record of a quality NFL Quarterback isn’t hard to find. So with that being said, we’ll start the countdown of the Top 5 NFL Quarterbacks in Washington Football Team History.
Before we begin, be sure to check out the rest of the NFC East All-Time QB Rankings list:
Be sure to also check out The Top 50 Greatest NFL Quarterbacks of All-Time list below (you might find Quarterbacks from this list on the Top 50 All-Time):
The Washington Football Team recently won a game with playoff seeding implications. Check out this article below regarding the Tank job by Doug Pederson, that has propelled Washington into the 2020 NFL Post-Season playoffs;
Now let's begin this Countdown!
5. Mark Rypien (1988 — 1993):
Career Stats with Washington Football Team: 45–27 QB Record, 56.4 % Cmp., 15,928 Passing Yards, 101 TD, 75 INT, 80.2 Rate
Rypien wasn’t an elite Quarterback by any means necessary, but he was as solid as they came for a team that made a Super-Bowl run during the 1991 season. The Washington Football team was riding high that year as they finished 14–2 in the regular season. Amid that highly successful year for the team, Rypien himself was riding high and had a career year.
In fact, after the 1991 season, Rypien fell off big time and would never replicate his 1991 Super-Bowl winning season. While Rypien wasn’t the most consistent passer, it's hard to argue with the team’s success with him under center. He was a two-time Pro-Bowler for the Franchise. In six seasons with the team, Rypien finished with a losing record in just one of those six seasons. That’s not a bad run for a Quarterback that wasn’t very talented.
4. Billy Kilmer (1971 — 1978)
Career Stats with Washington Football Team: 50–23–1 QB Record, 53.1 % Cmp., 12,352 Passing Yards, 103 TD, 75 INT, 76.9 Rate
It’s worth noting that Billy Kilmer didn’t even start his career off as a Quarterback. He started his career with the 49ers as a running back. Much like Mark Rypien, Billy Kilmer left a lot to be desired as a pure passer. His throwing motion was very ugly and unorthodox. He didn’t have the greatest mechanics either. Still, much like Rypien, and even more so, Kilmer was a consistently and highly productive Quarterback for the Washington Football Team. Kilmer was on the Top 10 QB’s of the 70’s list.
In 8 Seasons with Washington, Kilmer had a tremendous 50–23–1 Overall Record as a starter. That was the main reason Kilmer was able to maintain his starting position for so long with the team, despite his throwing motion. All he did was win. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s hard to argue with the results. A close look at his highlight tape and you’ll wonder how a Quarterback that threw the way he did was able to have the success that he achieved. However, when you look at his numbers they tell a different story than his ugly game tape.
Kilmer’s numbers are quite comparable to that of some of his top contemporaries of Quarterbacks at the time. In fact, in 1972 Kilmer led the NFL in Touchdown passes with 19. For someone who played in the “Dead Ball Era”, Kilmer kept his Interceptions relatively low, and his Passer Rating relatively high. In a lot of ways when you look at his overall production with the team and the numbers he put up, it’s hard to believe he only made 1 Pro-Bowl with the Franchise.
3. Joe Theismann (1974 — 1985)
Career Stats (All with Washington Football Team): 77–47 QB Record, 56.7 Completion %, 25,206 Passing Yards, 160 TD, 138 INT, 77.4 Rate
The annoying loudmouth that many who aren’t Washington fans, can’t stand. No matter what you think of Theismann as a Commentator, he was one hell of an NFL Quarterback. We all know the tragic story of Lawrence Taylor practically ending his career, but before all that, Theismann was the last great Quarterback Washington has had. He was a Super-Bowl winner and Regular Season MVP.
Surprisingly for all the hype, Theismann received back in the late ’70s and early 80’s, he only managed to make 2 Pro-Bowl appearances during his time with the Franchise. Theismann is the All-Time passing leader for Washington in; Attempts, Completions, and Passing Yards. He is 2nd All-Time in Passing Touchdowns for the Franchise.
Theismann has also achieved more team success than any other passer in Washington Football Team History, as he paces the Franchise with 77 wins as their Starting Quarterback. That’s quite the list of accomplishments for a player who started his career as a starter late (age 29 first full season as the starter) and ironically had it cut short due to injury. Theismann was on the Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks of the 1980’s list.
2. Sammy Baugh (1937–1952)
Career Stats (All with Washington Football Team): 56.5% Cmp., 21,886 Passing Yards, 187 TD, 203 INT, 72.2 Rate
The man they called “Slinging Sammy” was way ahead of his time. His completion percentages for the era he played in, were phenomenal. Baugh led the NFL in Completion Percentage 8 times during his career (all with Washington). He also led the league in Passing Yards 4 times, Touchdown passes 2 times, and Passer Rating 3 times. His 1947 season is one of the best by a quarterback in the history of this game.
Baugh dominated that season as he led the league in pass attempts (354), completions (210), completion percentage (59.3 %), Passing Yards (2,938), Passing Touchdowns (25), and Passer Rating (92.0). I don’t care what era you play in, when you dominate that many categories in a season, you are one bad dude. Sammy Baugh was a gunslinger that put up prolific numbers but also won games.
He helped The Washington Football Team win 2 NFL Titles, and was a 6-time Pro-Bowler and 4-time All-Pro. With individual and team accolades like that, Baugh not only is one of the best Washington Football Team Quarterbacks to ever play the game, he’s also one of the greatest quarterbacks in all of NFL history. Baugh is ranked on the Top 50 Greatest NFL Quarterbacks of All-Time list.
1. Sonny Jurgensen (1964 — 1974)
Career Stats with Washington Football Team: 52–51–5 QB Record, 58% Cmp., 179 TD, 116 INT, 22,585 Passing Yards, 83.9 Rate
Jurgensen may not have had the team success that the other Top 5 Quarterbacks for Washington had, but he was the most prolific. Jurgensen was asked to throw a lot more than his peers, especially for his era. His impressive 83.9 Passer Rating would equate to a 110, in today’s NFL where the rules favor Offenses.
Jurgensen enjoyed a majority of his statistical prowess with Washington and was a 4-time Pro-Bowler for the Franchise. With the recent struggles for Washington to find their next Franchise Quarterback, they would no doubt take themselves another Jurgensen. Jurgensen wasn’t the tallest or biggest Quarterback of his time, but his arm was as good, if not, better than anyone from his era.
Jurgensen could always put the ball where he wanted and possessed the anticipation and tremendous arm strength to fit the ball into tight windows. When you look at his whole body of work with the Washington Football Team, it’s not hard to put him number one on this list.
Jeffrey Genao is a Writer and Contributor for Top Level Sports. You can read more of his Content at Top Level Sports. You can also Follow his Publication Below:
