Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders Top 5 Quarterbacks of All Time

Legendary Raiders coach/executive/owner Al Davis famously stated, “Just win, baby.” How many franchises have a singular quote that can identify them? That’s just one aspect that makes the Raiders a marquee NFL franchise. All of the winning also helps … the 3rd most wins during the 1970s (100), 5 Super Bowl appearances, and 3 Lombardi Trophies. The Raiders have been around since 1960, and this team has had multiple homes … starting in Oakland, then to Los Angeles, back to Oakland, and now in Las Vegas. Their rabid fan base is uniquely known for its savagery and passion. Visitors better avoid the Black Hole. Al Davis wanted winners, so he found a lot of good ones at quarterback. Let’s skip around the West Coast and uncover the top quarterbacks of all time for the Raiders.

For the first 11 years of his NFL career, Rich Gannon was a journeyman, backup quarterback. Then at age 34 he got to Oakland and became one of the top quarterbacks in Raiders history. From 1999 to 2002, Gannon started all 16 games for the silver and black and went to four straight Pro Bowls. In that period, this former Delaware Blue Hen never threw for less than 3,430 yards or 24 TDs in a season. His record was 41-23 as Oakland made the playoffs three times. The crescendo of Gannon’s career was certainly the 2002 season … he threw for a league-leading 4,689 yards with a 67.6 completion % … he was the NFL MVP … and the Raiders made their first Super Bowl appearance in almost 20 years. Although they lost Super Bowl XXXVII to the Tampa Bay Bucs, Rich Gannon proved he was an elite NFL quarterback. In only six seasons, this QB put up some all-time franchise stats: 2nd in completion % (62.6), 2nd in passer rating (91.2), 3rd in passing yards (17,585), and 4th in touchdown passes (114). Rich Gannon went from being a run-of-the-mill NFL signal caller to one of the top quarterbacks all time for the Raiders.

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Who was behind center for the silver and back when they played Lombardi’s Packers in Super Bowl II? Daryle Lamonica was that man, and he is also one of top quarterbacks ever for the Raiders. We know how Al Davis felt about winning, so Lamonica’s 62-16-6 record as the Oakland starting QB made his boss happy. From 1967 to 1969, the Mad Bomber and the Raiders were an am-I-seeing-this-right 36-4-1. He was twice a First-Team All Pro quarterback, twice led the league in TD passes (30 in ‘67 & 34 in ‘69), and three times threw for at least 3,200 yards. In the six years the Mad Bomber was the Raiders starting quarterback, they went to the playoffs five times and reached at least the conference championship game four times. Unfortunately, in the one Super Bowl Daryle reached, the Raiders were dominated by the Packers 33-14 (Super Bowl II). However, the following year in the AFC Divisional Playoff he threw for five TD strikes against the Chiefs. Amazingly, the very next year in the same round, Lamonica set a record with six touchdown passes (still tied for the all-time postseason mark) in a 56-7 demolition over the Houston Oilers. This former member of the Fighting Irish is 1st all time for the franchise in TD% (6.6) and 3rd in TD passes (148). Daryle Lamonica’s ability to ‘just win, baby’ makes him one of the best quarterbacks in Raiders history.

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The previous QB on this list won a lot but never the ultimate prize. This next guy won two Super Bowls to state his claim as one of the Raiders top quarterbacks of all time: Jim Plunkett. Before Plunkett became a Raider, he was a disappointing top overall pick that never panned out in New England or San Francisco. He initially was a backup in Oakland for a few seasons, but then in 1980, he stepped in for the injured starter and made history. The Raiders went 9-2 the rest of that year with Plunkett throwing for 18 touchdowns and nearly 2,300 yards. The top pick in 1971 helped make the Raiders the first Wild Card team ever to win the Super Bowl with four victories in a five-week span. This Stanford Cardinal soared in an MVP performance over the Eagles in Super Bowl XV: 3 TD passes and a 145 passer rating. A few years later with the Raiders in LA, the former Heisman Trophy winner had his best statistical season on the way to another title: 20 TDs, 2,935 passing yards, and a 60.7 completion %. During the 1983 playoffs, the Raiders won three games by a combined score of 106-33. In Super Bowl XVIII against the Redskins, Jim threw for a touchdown, 172 yards, and had a 97.4 passer rating as the Raiders collected their second Lombardi Trophy in four years. Jim Plunkett’s individual stats will not jump off the page, but winning two Super Bowl titles gets him a spot with the top Raiders quarterbacks of all time.

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At least from an individual statistical perspective, Derek Carr might be considered the top Raiders quarterback of all time. If you factor in team success, that’s when you’ll have a lot of debating. However, it is indisputable that Derer Carr is the Raiders all-time leader in several important categories: passing yards (35,222), passing touchdowns (217), passer rating (91.8), completion % (64.6), completions (3,201), and game-winning drives (33). In Carr’s nine years as a Raider, split between Oakland and Las Vegas, he threw for at least 3,200 yards every season and cracked 4,000 yards four times. His top touchdown-throwing season was 2015 when he had 32. Derek’s best campaign in silver and black, however, may have been 2016 as he led the Raiders to the playoffs with a 12-4 mark before suffering a late-season injury. He finished 3rd in MVP voting with 28 TDs to only 6 INTs, 3,973 passing yards, and a 96.7 passer rating. In 2021, #4 got the Raiders back to the playoffs with 4,804 yards in the air, 23 touchdowns, and a 68.4 completion %. Derek Carr’s career record for the Raiders was only 63-79, but since his passing numbers are so prolific, he certainly gets a place with the best Raiders quarterbacks ever.

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As far as popularity goes, this guy may be the fans’ choice as the top Raiders quarterback of all time: Ken Stabler. The Snake became the starter in Oakland during the 1973 season and sailed the Raiders to five consecutive AFC Championship Games. Stabler was the 1974 MVP with a league-leading 26 TD passes and a 8.4 TD %, but the Raiders lost to the Steelers in the AFC Title matchup. In 1975, the silver and black suffered another stinging defeat to Pittsburgh in the same round, but they got revenge in 1976. That season this lefty led the league in passing TDs (27), completion % (66.7), passer rating (103.4), and yards per attempt (9.4). In the AFC Championship battle with the Steelers, Stabler threw for two scores in a 24-7 victory. That dominance continued in Super Bowl XI against Minnesota when the Alabama boy had a TD toss and a passer rating of 111.7 to get the Raiders their first Super Bowl title. In the 1970s, Kenny set a mark at the time for most consecutive playoff games with a touchdown pass (10). His record as the Oakland starting QB was an astounding 69-26-1 and 7-4 in the postseason. That staunch resume of winning and solid play ultimately got Ken inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2016. His 19,078 passing yards and 150 TDs are both 2nd in Raiders team history. Ken Stabler provided plenty of wins and memories for the Oakland faithful, and that puts him firmly in the conversation for the best Raiders quarterback of all time.

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 1st, 2024 at 2:07 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.