Earlier this month, I made a list of the best rushing seasons in this century. I don’t know why expanding to different positions took me so long, but here we are. Quarterbacks and the passing game have only gotten more important since the forward pass rules in 1933, but it really took off after the 1980s.
Older players like Johnny Unitas, Fran Tarkenton, and Joe Namath have their fair share, but players like Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Jim Kelly, alongside the evolution of the passing offense (like the 49ers’ West Coast Offense), transformed the way the league viewed the game.
This only got bigger after the turn of the century, and there’s no reason to believe this will change. The league has a lot of great QBs, and having a great-to-elite one can be the reason a team goes all the way.
Of the ten seasons on this list, six were named MVPs, two helped lead their team to a Super Bowl appearance, and two others reached the AFC/NFC Championship Game. There’s only one QB here that didn’t play in the postseason, but it was absolutely not his fault.
We were blessed with a lot of excellent passing seasons since the turn of the century. It was hard to select just nine, and I had to make some tough choices, so please, don’t get mad at me.
#10: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (2024)
In my opinion, Jackson should’ve been the 2024 MVP. With 41 passing touchdowns and just 4 interceptions, he put up one of the most efficient seasons by a QB ever, with a rating of 119.6. He led the league in TD%, yards per pass, rating, and QBR. Most people credit his 2 MVPs to his ability to run, but this would’ve been undeniably due to his arm.
#9: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (2024)
Two QBs from last season and neither of them is the MVP winner. If I said Jackson should’ve been the MVP, Burrow would’ve been, if his defense wasn’t so bad. He had arguably the best season ever by a QB that didn’t qualify for the playoffs. Completing over 70% of his passes, he led the league with 4918 yards and 43 TDs, while throwing just nine interceptions. Even with the MVP always going to a playoff player (the last one was in the 1970s), Burrow still finished fourth in the voting.
#8: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (2011)
The 2011 season is considered the “Year of the QB”, with many reaching 5000 yards. Drew Brees is arguably the best QB to never win an MVP. He broke the then record for completion percentage and yards, and led the league in TDs. Sadly for him, the Associated Press thought someone was better, and he finished 2nd in MVP.
#7: Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2021)
The last non-MVP player in the list, Tom Brady had one of his best seasons (which is saying a lot) in 2021. He broke the 5000-yard mark for the second time in his career and led the league with 43 passing touchdowns. He did all that while leading 5 game-winning drives, tied for the best of his career. And he did all that at 44 years old. He was the MVP in my books.
#6: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (2020)
His third MVP and first of his back-to-back ones, Rodgers put up a clinic in 2020. He had one of the best TD:INT ratios of all time, with 48 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. Besides leading the league in TDs and INT%, he also led in completion percentage with 70.7%, QBR, and had a rating of 121.5, the second-best of all time.
#5: Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts (2004)
Manning put up a show to win his first MVP trophy. Already a runner-up, it looked like Manning knew he’d have to do something big. And he decided to break a record that seemed impossible: Dan Marino’s 48 passing touchdowns in 1984. Yes, it took 20 years for a QB to break Marino’s record. And he did it in only 15 games, as he basically sat out the last game of the season, attempting just one pass. His 121.1 passer rating was also a record at the time, only being broken 7 years later.
#4: Tom Brady, New England Patriots (2007)
It took 20 years for a QB to break Marino’s 48 TD record, and Manning had it for just three years. In 2007, leading arguably the best team in NFL History, Brady passed for 50 touchdowns. He did it without being careless with the football, throwing only 8 interceptions in almost 600 pass attempts. Brady also led the league in completion percentage (68.9%), yards (4806), yards per pass (8.6), QBR (87.0), and passer rating (117.2). This was the year when Brady stopped being labeled a “game-manager” and became the Tom Brady we know.
#3: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (2011)
One of the traits that best defines Rodgers is efficiency. His INT% is the fewest in NFL history, at 1.4%. He led the league in rating four times and holds the two best seasons rating-wise. In 2011, fresh off a Super Bowl win, Rodgers put the first stamp on a Hall-of-Fame resumé. With 45 touchdowns (he led the NFL in TD%), 4643 yards, and 9.2 yards per attempt, he threw only 6 interceptions. Rodgers finished the season with a rating of 122.5, still the best in league history.
#2: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (2018)
There’s no better way to introduce yourself than what Mahomes did in 2018. After sitting out his rookie season, Mahomes took the league by storm in his first year as a starter. With 5097 yards and 50 touchdowns, he was the second player ever to have a 5000/50 season. And he did that in his first season. Mahomes also had these numbers with “only” Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, as Sammy Watkins was third on the team with 519 yards. Patrick Mahomes is the reason defenses shifted to a more conservative approach, and he did that right off the bat.
#1: Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos (2013)
It has been 11 seasons since Manning shattered every QB record, and he’s still #1. Even with an extra game, no one has been able to touch his 5477 yards and 55 TDs. And he also had his second-fewest interceptions, showing how elite and efficient he was in 2013. He broke Brees’ 2011 record by one yard, and since then, the closest someone has come to it was Brady in 2021 with 5316. Touchdown-wise, Mahomes is the only player to reach 50 in a season since Manning.
For a QB to break Manning’s records and take the #1 spot on this list, he would have to average 323 yards and 3 touchdowns, and this is considering an extra game. To “truly” break the record, the player would have to average 342.3 yards and 3.5 TDs per game. For those who don’t want to do the math, the final number would have to be 5820 passing yards and 59 touchdowns.
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