Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts Top 5 Quarterbacks of All Time

Whether it has been in Baltimore or Indianapolis, the Colts have always been a very relevant franchise in professional football. They have won four championships (1958, 1959, 1970, & 2006). Their two Super Bowl titles have come in different cities (Super Bowl V – Baltimore) and (Super Bowl XLI – Indianapolis). Only the Colts (Baltimore/Indy) and Rams (St. Louis/LA) can make that rare claim. From Johnny U and Mad Dog Mike Curtis to the Triplets in Indianapolis, the Colts have had plenty of legends all over the gridiron. Today we are just going to focus on one pretty vital position: quarterback. This team has had some legends behind center, so let’s look at the best quarterbacks in the history of the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts.

Bert Jones’s 46-46 record as the Baltimore Colts starting quarterback may not scream all-time great, but he had a solid nine-year run and is one of the best signal callers in team history. He was the 2nd overall pick of the 1973 NFL Draft. In particular, Jones had a three-year stretch from 1975 to 1977 where he was one of the top QB’s in the NFL. He led the Colts to a 31-11 record and three playoff appearances in those years. The Ruston Rifle was the league MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 1976 with 3,104 passing yards (led the NFL), 24 passing TDs, and a 60.3 completion percentage. This man from LSU had five seasons of 17 or more touchdown passes and three seasons of 3,000+ passing yards in Baltimore. Jones even added three years with over 200 yards rushing yards, and he had 14 rushing scores as a Colt. Believe it or not, this guy had a higher career completion rate (56.1%) than the famous QB with the flat top haircut. Bert sits 4th in both passing yards (17,663) and passing touchdowns for the franchise. Bert Jones may not have produced any titles, but his numbers are good enough to rank as one of the top quarterbacks in Colts history.

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Trivia time … who was the starting quarterback for the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III against the New York Jets? You know, the famous game where Joe Namath guaranteed and then delivered a victory. Earl Morrall is the answer, and he was the MVP of that 1968 season. Morrall only spent four years as a Colt, but his 22-3-1 record as a starter clinches him a spot with the best Colts quarterbacks of all time. Franchise icon Johnny Unitas got hurt in the 1968 pre-season, so Morrall stepped in and led the Colts to a 13-1 mark with an MVP season: 2,909 passing yards, a league-leading 26 passing TDs, and a league-leading 9.2 yards per attempt. We all know how that season ended, but that doesn’t diminish Morrall’s legendary year. Unitas returned as a starter from ‘69 to ‘71, but Earl still went 9-2-1 in his fill-in starts. He did get a ring as the backup on the Super Bowl V title team for Baltimore. Then after moving to Miami in 1972, he was a member of the perfect season Dolphins with a 9-0 record standing in for Bob Griese. Earl Morrall’s time and appearances may have been limited in Baltimore, but his accomplishments in limited duty make him an all-time great quarterback for the Colts franchise.

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Andrew Luck had one of the highest draft grades ever for a quarterback, so the Indianapolis Colts nabbed him with the first overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. Even though his career was shortened because of injuries, he went on to be one of the greatest Colts quarterbacks of all time. This tall Texan was smart, athletic, and had a hand cannon. Luck led the Colts to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons and got them to the AFC Championship Game in 2014. That season #12 led the NFL in TD strikes (40). In only six seasons, he posted 4,000+ yards passing four times and three seasons of 30+ TD passes. After missing the whole 2017 season, this Stanford man returned in 2018 to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award with a 98.7 passer rating, 4,593 passing yards, 31 TDs, and a 67.3 completion percentage. Luck’s ability to make plays with his legs resulted in 1,590 career rushing yards and 14 career rushing TDs. If you want to pinpoint a special game, in a 2013 AFC Wild Card Game, Andrew led the Colts back from a 28-point 2nd half deficit to shock the Chiefs (443 passing yards and 4 TDs). His numbers are good enough for 3rd in franchise history in both passing yards (23,671), passing touchdowns (171), and wins as a starting QB (53-33). There may be some what ifs when you think about Andrew Luck, but he still gets a spot with the best quarterbacks in Colts history.

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Certain names in sports history have a mythical aura … Babe Ruth … Wilt Chamberlain … Jesse Owens … Johnny Unitas. Johnny U is a bonafide NFL legend and maybe the greatest quarterback of all time for the Colts. When Unitas retired after the 1973 season, he was the all-time leader in completions (2,830), passing yards (40,239), and passing TDs (290) by a healthy margin. He now sits 38th, 23rd, and 17th in those respective categories. Most importantly, he won three NFL titles in Baltimore (‘58, ‘59, and ‘70). He became a folk hero with his performance in the 1958 NFL Championship Game against the New York Giants (a.k.a. The Greatest Game Ever Played). In the waning moments, Unitas led a clutch game-tying drive and then a victorious game-winning drive. The following year the Baltimore Colts repeated as NFL champs, and this Western Pennsylvania boy was the 1959 MVP with 2,899 passing yards, 32 passing TDs, and a 92 passer rating. Four times he led the league in passing yards and touchdown tosses. You can add 10 Pro Bowls, 5 first-team All Pros, and 3 MVP Awards to his impressive resume. He got his and Baltimore’s third championship with a win at Super Bowl V over the Dallas Cowboys. You can’t tell the story of professional football without mentioning Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas, and you can be sure he is in the debate for the top quarterback ever for the Colts. 

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Hall of Fame … 14-time Pro Bowler … 5-time NFL MVP … 2-time Super Bowl Champion … Super Bowl XLI MVP … 3rd all time in passing yards (71,940) and passing TDs (539) … hosted Saturday Night Live. Who might this be? It is Peyton Manning … possibly the greatest quarterback in Colts franchise history and definitely one of the top QBs ever. Manning was the first pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, and he quickly lived up to the hype. In 13 seasons in Indy, Archie’s son reached 4,000 passing yards 11 times and hit for at least 26 TDs every year. That includes setting the league record (for the first time) with 49 touchdown passes in 2004, a year where Peyton won his second of four MVPs for the Colts. After some early-career playoff disappointments, Manning and the Colts broke through in 2006. First, he led an epic comeback over Tom Brady and the Pats in the AFC Championship Game. Then he was the Super Bowl MVP as his Colts beat the Bears. As a Colt, #18 had 300+ passing yards in eight playoff games. That includes an otherworldly performance in a 2004 AFC Divisional Round romp over Denver: 458 yards in the air, 4 TDs, a completion % of 82, and a 145.7 passer rating. Although Manning finished his career in Denver, where he added another MVP Award, another Lombardi Trophy, and reestablished the single-season passing TD mark (55), he is the Colts all-time leader in virtually every passing category. Peyton Manning’s prolific numbers unquestionably make him an all-time great quarterback for the Colts and for the NFL.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 28th, 2024 at 3:50 pm and is filed under NFL History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.