Many NFL franchises don’t know what it is like to have a Hall of Fame quarterback. The Pittsburgh Steelers already have one and when Ben Roethlisberger retires will have a second quarterback in the HOF. But where do Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw fall in the pantheon of the greatest quarterbacks of all time?
This was a question NFL writer Elliott Harrison attempted to answer when he ranked the 25 greatest quarterbacks of all time. On his list he has Roethlisberger at No. 19 and Bradshaw at No. 17.
For Bradshaw, it’s all about the Super Bowls. Bradshaw was in the leader of four Super Bowl championship teams in the 1970s and often had his best games in the playoffs. Statistically, Bradshaw never jumped off the page as he played in an era that emphasized the run and with two HOF running backs behind him. But as Harrison pointed out, Bradshaw’s 11.1 yards per attempt in Super Bowls shows when Bradshaw needed to throw it to one of his two HOF wide receivers, he could.
Meanwhile, Roethlisberger has only been to three Super Bowls and boasts a 2-1 record. Roethlisberger also holds every major statistical record in franchise history. Some of this is easily attributed to the era he plays in but it’s important to note the sheer volume of HOF talent Bradshaw had on both sides of the football compared to Roethlisberger is significant.
But I want to pass the question off to Steeler Nation. Which quarterback is better and do you think the rankings are fair in comparison to the other players on the list?
