Over the years, we’ve seen some great Super Bowls that featured Hall of Fame quarterbacks and some of the game’s best talent. Even with all the star power we’ve witnessed, there are still quite a few QBs that never played against each other in the big game. Let’s take a look at some of those potential matchups we missed out on over the past few decades.
This Super Bowl would’ve sold itself based on name recognition alone. A New York Giants-Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl in the early 2010s could have set all kinds of ratings records with this sibling rivalry. Well, at least we finally got this matchup in a big game with them coaching the AFC and NFC in the 2023 Pro Bowl flag football game and skills competitions.
A Super Bowl headlined by prime Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning would likely have been a high-scoring shootout full of big-time passes and eye-popping QB play. The best regular season QB in NFL history against the most skilled passer of the ball, according to many pundits. One of the all-time great games we missed out on, unfortunately.
Rodgers-Brady is a matchup we’ve actually seen in the past couple of years in the playoffs, but to have their teams face off in the Super Bowl when Tom was still in the AFC would’ve been epic. The NFL would have been in marketing heaven with these two in the biggest game of the year and two weeks to build up this battle.
The two winningest Super Bowl QBs from the 80s and 90s would have gone at had the Cowboys and Chiefs played in the Super Bowl. In Montana’s first year with Kansas City in ‘94, the Chiefs made it to the AFC title game, where they lost to Buffalo, 30-13. That was the same season Dallas captured back-to-back championships, so this mega fantasy matchup was close to playing out on the field.
Brady and Brees are the two most prolific passers in NFL history, and we never got a Super Bowl featuring them against each other. Brady and Brees rank one and two in yards, passing for over 80,000 in their respective careers. On the biggest stage in the game, these two probably could’ve combined for close to 1,200 yards passing.
In many people’s minds, Dan Marino is the best NFL QB to never hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy. While the Cowboys were on their way to winning three of four Super Bowls in the early 90s, the Dolphins were a mainstay in the AFC playoff picture and advanced to the AFC championship game in ‘92. That’s the same year Dallas won its first Super Bowl during the triplets dynasty. Aikman-Marino was close to happening and might have been the best Super Bowl QB matchup of the decade.
They’ve won six MVP awards between them and multiple Super Bowls.
Obviously, Brady won the majority, but these QBs overlapped in the league for a while, but we never got a Green Bay-New England Super Bowl during that time.
Favre’s only ring came against the Patriots in the 90s, but with Drew Bledsoe under center.
Manning-Favre is another big-time game we missed in the Super Bowl that should’ve happened. Favre was known as a gunslinger, and Manning is recognized for changing how the QB position is played. No doubt these two would’ve put on a show that NFL fans would’ve never forgotten.
This game would have been about making history as the first matchup of Black QBs in the Super Bowl. Back in the late 80s/early 90s, it would have been the biggest storyline in the Super Bowl. Doug Williams was the first Black QB to start and win a Super Bowl in Jan. ‘88. We’re just now at a point where we’re seeing two Black QBs go for it all against one another. To have Moon and Cunningham play in this game over 30 years ago would have been amazing. Neither guy ever got closer than playing in a conference championship game, but the historical ramifications of this matchup, plus the entertainment value, cannot be ignored.
McNair and McNabb weren’t just two of the best Black QBs in the NFL during the 2000s. They were two of the best overall, especially in that early part of the decade, and having these two face off in the Super Bowl would have been a historical game. Both players came extremely close to winning the ultimate prize. To have them play against each other would’ve been remarkable, like Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts in this year’s game.
Two of the more dynamic QBs of their era, a McNair-Vick Super Bowl was only possible on a John Madden video game in the 2000s. Vick was the most popular QB at one time due largely to his speed in real life and Madden. McNair’s Titans were in the mix for years in the AFC, reaching a Super Bowl and two AFC title games. Having these QBs battle for all the marbles is a treat we never saw.
Entering the 2022 season there was still some debate over who the best QB in the league was, with Rodgers having won two consecutive MVPs and all the success Mahomes has had over the past few years. Although Aaron fell off a cliff this year and Mahomes created a canyon of separation, this matchup was highly coveted just over a year ago. You’d better believe State Farm would get all the mileage out of this Super Bowl as humanly possible.
Another bout of heavyweights from their era could’ve been a highly touted QB matchup which we know the NFL loves. The Saints and Steelers may have run the ball 10 times combined in this Super Bowl, as both guys were known for flinging it all over the field.
There was an outside shot at these two facing off in the Super Bowl for the 2007 season, although it wasn’t really that close as the Steelers won their division but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. These legendary franchises met a couple of years later, but Aaron Rodgers had taken over in Green Bay by this time. While these certainly aren’t two of the more well-liked QBs, this game would’ve been a draw based on franchise branding alone.
Kurt Warner played in the Super Bowl with two different teams, just like Peyton Manning, but these two Hall of Famers never crossed paths in the big game. Whether it was Warner with the Rams or Cardinals, a matchup against Manning and the Colts would have been one of the best shootouts in Super Bowl history.
Two former No. 1 overall picks drafted in the 80s who won multiple Super Bowl rings in the 90s is how this game would have been billed. Headlined by Aikman and Elway, along with a host of Hall of Famers all over the field. The window was small here, but Dallas and Denver had stacked teams, and this could’ve been a battle for the ages.
Steve Young only started one Super Bowl and won it, but he was undoubtedly a big-time player during the same era as John Elway. A Super Bowl featuring these two dual-threat QBs who could also sling the rock could have been one of the more games that decade. Elway and the Broncos won two championships in the 90s, but it always felt like Young’s 49ers left at least one more trip on the table.