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ShareThisMailbag: Super Bowl QBs With the Fewest Career Home Playoff Games
PFR reader Bill asked a great question yesterday:
"I can't find evidence of this, but is Aaron Rodgers the only quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl without ever having a playoff game in his home stadium? Other wild card teams have won Super Bowls, but the quarterback will have had at least one playoff game at home during his career prior to winning a super bowl."
Question answered -- here are the fewest previous playoff home games (games where he recorded any stats at all, not just starts) by a Super Bowl-winning QB:
| Quarterback | Year | Team | Prev Hm G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Len Dawson | 1969 | KAN | 0 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 2010 | GNB | 0 |
| Joe Namath | 1968 | NYJ | 1 |
| Bob Griese | 1972 | MIA | 1 |
| Jim Plunkett | 1980 | OAK | 1 |
| Jeff Hostetler | 1990 | NYG | 1 |
| Troy Aikman | 1992 | DAL | 1 |
| Tom Brady | 2001 | NWE | 1 |
| Eli Manning | 2007 | NYG | 1 |
Rodgers became the second Super Bowl winning quarterback ever to enter the game with zero career playoff home starts, and zero career games where he actually recorded any stats, following Dawson (whose only career playoff home game was also his last playoff game).
Of course, alert reader Tom Steen pointed out in the comments that Rodgers did technically play in Green Bay's 2007 home game vs. Seattle, recording no stats but taking the field at one point. So if you're a stickler, the answer is still Dawson.
Just for fun, here's the whole list of Super Bowl starting QBs, keeping in mind that our playoff gamelogs only go back to 1960 (so we won't pick up any home playoff games before that):
| Quarterback | Year | Team | Won SB | Prv Hm G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Rodgers | 2010 | GNB | 1 | 0 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2010 | PIT | 0 | 7 |
| Drew Brees | 2009 | NOR | 1 | 4 |
| Peyton Manning | 2009 | IND | 0 | 9 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2008 | PIT | 1 | 5 |
| Kurt Warner | 2008 | ARI | 0 | 6 |
| Eli Manning | 2007 | NYG | 1 | 1 |
| Tom Brady | 2007 | NWE | 0 | 8 |
| Peyton Manning | 2006 | IND | 1 | 6 |
| Rex Grossman | 2006 | CHI | 0 | 3 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2005 | PIT | 1 | 2 |
| Matt Hasselbeck | 2005 | SEA | 0 | 3 |
| Tom Brady | 2004 | NWE | 1 | 4 |
| Donovan McNabb | 2004 | PHI | 0 | 8 |
| Tom Brady | 2003 | NWE | 1 | 3 |
| Jake Delhomme | 2003 | CAR | 0 | 1 |
| Brad Johnson | 2002 | TAM | 1 | 2 |
| Rich Gannon | 2002 | OAK | 0 | 6 |
| Tom Brady | 2001 | NWE | 1 | 1 |
| Kurt Warner | 2001 | STL | 0 | 4 |
| Trent Dilfer | 2000 | BAL | 1 | 2 |
| Kerry Collins | 2000 | NYG | 0 | 3 |
| Kurt Warner | 1999 | STL | 1 | 2 |
| Steve McNair | 1999 | TEN | 0 | 1 |
| John Elway | 1998 | DEN | 1 | 11 |
| Chris Chandler | 1998 | ATL | 0 | 1 |
| John Elway | 1997 | DEN | 1 | 9 |
| Brett Favre | 1997 | GNB | 0 | 5 |
| Brett Favre | 1996 | GNB | 1 | 4 |
| Drew Bledsoe | 1996 | NWE | 0 | 2 |
| Troy Aikman | 1995 | DAL | 1 | 6 |
| Neil O'Donnell | 1995 | PIT | 0 | 5 |
| Steve Young | 1994 | SFO | 1 | 10 |
| Stan Humphries | 1994 | SDG | 0 | 2 |
| Troy Aikman | 1993 | DAL | 1 | 3 |
| Jim Kelly | 1993 | BUF | 0 | 7 |
| Troy Aikman | 1992 | DAL | 1 | 1 |
| Jim Kelly | 1992 | BUF | 0 | 5 |
| Mark Rypien | 1991 | WAS | 1 | 2 |
| Jim Kelly | 1991 | BUF | 0 | 5 |
| Jeff Hostetler | 1990 | NYG | 1 | 1 |
| Jim Kelly | 1990 | BUF | 0 | 3 |
| Joe Montana | 1989 | SFO | 1 | 9 |
| John Elway | 1989 | DEN | 0 | 6 |
| Joe Montana | 1988 | SFO | 1 | 7 |
| Boomer Esiason | 1988 | CIN | 0 | 2 |
| Doug Williams | 1987 | WAS | 1 | 3 |
| John Elway | 1987 | DEN | 0 | 4 |
| Phil Simms | 1986 | NYG | 1 | 3 |
| John Elway | 1986 | DEN | 0 | 2 |
| Jim McMahon | 1985 | CHI | 1 | 2 |
| Tony Eason | 1985 | NWE | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Montana | 1984 | SFO | 1 | 5 |
| Dan Marino | 1984 | MIA | 0 | 3 |
| Jim Plunkett | 1983 | RAI | 1 | 5 |
| Joe Theismann | 1983 | WAS | 0 | 5 |
| Joe Theismann | 1982 | WAS | 1 | 3 |
| David Woodley | 1982 | MIA | 0 | 4 |
| Joe Montana | 1981 | SFO | 1 | 2 |
| Ken Anderson | 1981 | CIN | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Plunkett | 1980 | OAK | 1 | 1 |
| Ron Jaworski | 1980 | PHI | 0 | 5 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 1979 | PIT | 1 | 9 |
| Vince Ferragamo | 1979 | RAM | 0 | 1 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 1978 | PIT | 1 | 7 |
| Roger Staubach | 1978 | DAL | 0 | 8 |
| Roger Staubach | 1977 | DAL | 1 | 7 |
| Craig Morton | 1977 | DEN | 0 | 5 |
| Ken Stabler | 1976 | OAK | 1 | 6 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 1976 | MIN | 0 | 6 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 1975 | PIT | 1 | 5 |
| Roger Staubach | 1975 | DAL | 0 | 4 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 1974 | PIT | 1 | 3 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 1974 | MIN | 0 | 3 |
| Bob Griese | 1973 | MIA | 1 | 3 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 1973 | MIN | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Griese | 1972 | MIA | 1 | 1 |
| Billy Kilmer | 1972 | WAS | 0 | 2 |
| Roger Staubach | 1971 | DAL | 1 | 2 |
| Bob Griese | 1971 | MIA | 0 | 1 |
| Johnny Unitas | 1970 | BAL | 1 | 2 |
| Craig Morton | 1970 | DAL | 0 | 3 |
| Len Dawson | 1969 | KAN | 1 | 0 |
| Joe Kapp | 1969 | MIN | 0 | 2 |
| Joe Namath | 1968 | NYJ | 1 | 1 |
| Earl Morrall | 1968 | BAL | 0 | 1 |
| Bart Starr | 1967 | GNB | 1 | 5 |
| Daryle Lamonica | 1967 | OAK | 0 | 2 |
| Bart Starr | 1966 | GNB | 1 | 3 |
| Len Dawson | 1966 | KAN | 0 | 0 |
Going into Super Bowl XXXIII, John Elway had appeared in a staggering eleven playoff home games, an all-time record. Steve Young appeared in 10 before Super Bowl XXIX, but only 5 of those were starts (the rest were in relief of Joe Montana).
This entry was posted on Monday, February 21st, 2011 at 9:39 am and is filed under History, Quarterbacks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
After the first series or two of SB XX, the Patriots offensive line went on strike demanding a change in QB. So how many home playoff games had Steve Grogan played up to that point?
One, a 31-14 loss to the Oilers.
Technically, Rodgers doesn't fit into this category with Dawson either. Rodgers has played in one home playoff game -- 2007 Divisional vs Seattle. He came in for mop-up duty (no pass attempts). Obviously, no career home starts, but he did play in the one game - it even shows in his playoff gamelog.
Thanks Neil. That was a fun topic. I looked at the list of starters above, and found quite a few quarterbacks in the early 1980s who appear in the opposite category - they had never started at least one road playoff game before their first Super Bowl appearance. I do not think that any of these appeared previously in a relief role either, but I cannot say for sure.
1981 - Joe Montana (first playoff appearance?)
1982 - David Woodley (prior year lost only playoff game at home)
1982 - Joe Theismann (first playoff appearance?)
1984 - Dan Marino (prior year lost only playoff game at home)
1985 - Jim McMahon (injured during 1984 playoff run?)
As I performed a quick manual scan of the more recent Super Bowls, I did not find any others. Assuming I haven't overlooked a large number of qbs, I think this trend is an indication of the increased unpredictability of the NFL playoffs over the years. Any thoughts? Would the complete list be easy to generate?
#3 - Good catch. I updated the wording to QBs who didn't record any stats in a home playoff game prior to the Super Bowl. I was keying on pass attempts or rushes, but you're correct that he did technically play in the 2007 home game.
If you are counting Aaron Rodgers filling in for Favre in the Seattle playoff game 3 years ago, then technically he did play in a playoff game at home. Len Dawson is the only QB to never play in a home playoff game in his only 2 Super Bowl appearances. The Chiefs first and only playoff game at home when Dawson was there, was the 27-24 overtime loss to the Dolphins on Christmas Day in 1971.
Re. to Jeff:
1981 was Joe Montana's first postseason appearance.
1982 was Theismann's first postseason appearance as a starter (Redskins' last previous postseason appearance was in 1976; not sure if Theismann played in divisional game vs. Minnesota)
And yes, McMahon was injured during the 1984 playoff run (a result of that brutal game vs. the Raiders)