Biggest One-Year Wonder QBs of All Time

from being written off as first round busts to leading their team to the Super Bowl these quarterbacks shot the world with Unforgettable Seasons but in the blink of an eye they went from Heroes to zeros here are the biggest one-year Wonder quarterbacks in NFL history Robert Griffin III's rookie season was so electrifying that even his biggest haters couldn't have predicted how his career would Crash and Burn it's a rookie year he was I mean off the charts every type of record he broke in Washington I mean that year was better than any Super Bowl years they had the jump from college to pro ball for quarterbacks is supposed to be one of the toughest out of any position but in 2012 RG3 made it look like Child's Play his dual threat ability was borderline Unstoppable on the keeper it's proofing and look out RG3 is going to outrace everybody we're here in goal to go and still perfect as he threw for 3 200 yards and 20 touchdowns to go with 815 rushing yards and seven rushing scores RG3 set records for the highest passer rating by a rookie quarterback at 102.4 and the highest touchdown to interception ratio at 4-1 is 6.8 yards per carry was also the highest in the league by nearly an entire yard he looked like Superman out there as he led a team to the postseason that had only won 15 total games in the previous three seasons for his heroics rg31 offensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl in what was otherwise a storybook first season its final chapter ended up being a nightmare during Washington's wild card game RG3 went to pick up a low snap before taking an awkward couple of steps and collapsing in excruciating pain having tore his ACL and LCL he rushed the recovery process to be ready for The Following season opener and was just never the same RG3's Elite athleticism and playmaking ability vanished as he also struggled to consistently stay healthy after going nine and six as a rookie he only added seven more career wins as a starter and while RG3 peaked in year one case keenum's career got off to a start that made it seem like he would never even have the chance to become somebody having gone undrafted Keenum spent his entire rookie season in the Texans practice squad in his second year he finally got the chance to prove himself but things didn't go according to plan in eight starts Keenum didn't win a single game while only throwing nine touchdowns and completing 54.2 percent of his passes over the next three seasons he served as a backup for three different teams heading into 2017 Keenum was set to be a backup again with the fourth team the Vikings but when Sam Bradford got hurt Keenum had a final chance to prove himself worthy of a starting spot in the NFL that year with the pressure on Keenum did the unthinkable and led Minnesota to a 13-3 record he threw for 3547 yards and 22 touchdowns with a passer rating of 9 98.3 but Keenum didn't only shine in the regular season under the postseason's bright lights he threw for over 300 yards and made one of the most iconic clutch plays in league history to send the Vikings to their first NFC Championship game in nearly a decade trailing by one with 10 seconds left in the ball on their own 39-yard line Keenum orchestrated the Minneapolis miracle we need a Minneapolis Miracle case on a deep drop steps up in the pocket Bill fire to the right side [Applause] it was the first playoff game to ever end in a touchdown As Time expired and although the Vikings fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in the conference title game Keenum had earned respect around the league so much so that he cashed in with a two-year 36 million dollar contract with the Broncos though I agree yeah this is the right move for the Broncos and I believe they always did an unbelievable job but unfortunately for both Keenum and Denver he didn't see the end of that contract with the team after going six and ten as the starter and throwing nearly as many interceptions 15 as touchdowns 18 the Broncos traded him to Washington there Keenum only started half the season as the team went 1-7 with him under Center he then spent the following three years as a backup in Cleveland and buffalo this off season in a full circle moment Keenum signed with the Texans where he will Mentor their young QB's CJ Stroud and Davis Mills being able to instill impart a little bit of that knowledge that wisdom that I've been taught into the next generation is is priceless like Keenum Derek Anderson was on his way to being nothing more than a backup until he shocked the World by lifting A team out of the gutter drafted in 2005 by the Ravens in the sixth round Anderson was waived before ever even taking his first snap the Browns immediately claimed him off waivers but he didn't make his debut until the following year in 2006 Anderson when Owen three as a starter while throwing eight interceptions to go with just five touchdowns that doesn't exactly scream starter material so heading into 2007 he was slated to be the Browns backup but in the season opener the starter Charlie fry was so bad that Cleveland had no other choice but to turn to Anderson again and what happened next nobody in their right mind would have predicted Anderson guided the Browns to a 10-5 record finishing with 3787 passing yards and 29 touchdowns which were fifth most in the league he also led the NFL in yards per completion at 12.7 despite the 10 wins not being enough to make the playoffs it was still Cleveland's most victories in a season since 1994 to show just how unexpected the season was Anderson was named AP comeback player of the year it seemed like him and the Browns had finally figured it all out but Anderson spent just two more seasons in Cleveland only winning six games as a starter after 2007 Anderson never started more than 10 games in a single season over the following 11 Seasons he added just 10 more career wins but Tim Tebow's story was nothing like that as a matter of fact his career is one of the most unique the game has ever seen he was one of the most dominant college football players of all time but fell in the 2010 draft to the Broncos at number 25. and with the 25th pick in the 2010 NFL draft the Denver Broncos select Tim Tebow quarterback Florida there were doubts about how his game would translate at the next level so as a rookie Tebow only started three games Denver went one and two as he completed only half of his passes not having done enough to win the job Tebow headed into 2011 as the backup behind Kyle Orton but following a 1 four start by the Broncos it was time to give Tebow another chance so in week six as Denver trailed Miami by 15 late in the fourth quarter their season looked all but over when Tebow rallied the troops to secure an 1815 overtime win he got it it was the start of something magical as he led the Broncos to seven wins in 11 games with his leadership and gritty play finishing at 8-8 Denver took advantage of a Down year in the AFC West and somehow won the division in their Wild Card matchup with the Steelers college version of Tebow showed up as he threw for a career-high 316 yards in an all-time Classic on the first play of overtime he hit demarius Thomas over the middle on a strike that resulted in an 80-yard game-winning touchdown Denver's fairy tale season came to an end the following week against the Patriots and one would assume Tebow was just getting started except Peyton Manning for the first time in his career hit the free agent market and the Broncos swooped right in to sign him with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time now on their roster the Broncos had no need for Tebow anymore so they traded him to the Jets that year in New York Tebow threw just eight total passes and was released the ensuing off-season although he later wound up signing contracts with the Patriots Eagles and jaguars Tebow never made another 53-man roster so as crazy as this sounds after leading a 1-4 team to a playoff Victory he only had eight more career pass attempts while Tebow Rose and fell in the blink of an eye Tommy maddox's Journey to the top was as far from a straight path as it gets maddox's career seemed so hopeless at one point that he even switched jobs the Broncos took him in the 92 draft with the 25th overall pick and as a rookie Maddox started four games Denver went 0-4 and he finished the season with only five touchdowns and nine interceptions following this disastrous start Maddox spent the next three seasons as a backup for the Broncos Rams and Giants he didn't start a single game after his rookie season and in 1997 the Falcons cut him so Maddox decided enough was enough and he became an insurance agent he didn't play another down of football until 2000 when he joined the Arena Football League Maddox played one year there and then another in the XFL his career got a second life once he was named VP of the XFL and the Steelers signed him to be their backup for the 2001 season in week four of 2002 Maddox became the starter after leading Pittsburgh to a dramatic comeback Victory and he never turned back he led the Steelers to a 7-3-1 record throwing for nearly 3 000 yards and 20 touchdowns or his effort getting Pittsburgh into the playoffs Maddox was named AP comeback Player of the Year in their Wild Card match up with the Browns he rose to the occasion by throwing for 367 yards and three touchdowns in a thrilling 36-33 win despite losing to the Titans in the divisional round Maddox had captivated the city and earned at the starting job moving forward but the following year he went 6-10 with 18 touchdowns and 17 interceptions before being relegated to a backup in 2004 and 2005. the Steelers released him and Maddox later that year tried out for the Raiders and cowboys but didn't make either team as roller coaster of a career was officially over and just as Maddox looked like a bust of a first round pick Rex Grossman was universally hated in Chicago until one magical moment in the 2003 draft the Bears took Grossman with the 22nd overall pick as a rookie he only saw playing time once Chicago was eliminated from post-season contention in those three games he completed just over half of his passes averaged under 150 passing yards and only through two touchdowns despite this extremely underwhelming start the Bears ahead of the 2004 season named him the starter that year Grossman never got the chance to prove his doubters wrong as in week three he suffered a torn ACL that prematurely ended his season then in 2005 what was supposed to be his big comeback campaign Grossman broke his ankle in a preseason game the injury sidelined him until week 15 when he came in and played the hero Grossman led the Bears to back-to-back wins which clinched the team a playoff berth but in the divisional round he struggled big time in a loss to the Panthers completing 17 of 41 passes for just one 192 yards with this mixed bag of results from Grossman Chicago decided to give him one more chance in 2006. Grossman went out and did something nobody saw coming he led the Bears to a 13-3 record while throwing for over 3 000 yards and 23 touchdowns then with his gunslinging playstyle Grossman somehow found a way to guide Chicago all the way to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1985 but in the big game with everything on the line his luck ran out the Bears fell to the Colts and Grossman didn't know it at the time but this would be the peak of his career over the next two seasons in Chicago due to a combination of injuries and poor play Grossman started just eight games he only won two of them as he finished with six touchdowns compared to nine interceptions Grossman then signed with the Texans and served as the team's backup for a year before signing with the Redskins in Washington he got one more chance to be a starter but fumbled the opportunity over the course of two years with him starting the team went 6-10 as he threw 20 24 interceptions Grossman signed a few more contracts but never played another down while Grossman will forever have to think about what could have been Mark Ripon was at least able to accomplish something that not a single other player on this list could as a sixth round pick in the 86th draft by the Redskins Ripon spent his first two NFL seasons on the IR with a bum knee and a bad back but once he finally got healthy he still had to sit behind franchise hero Doug Williams the two of them eventually split talked but the team didn't fully become ribbons until the 91 season with all eyes on him now he rose to the occasion and put the nation's capital on his back Ripon led the Redskins to a 14-2 record throwing for 3564 yards and 28 touchdowns which were respectively fourth and second most in the league as a merit of his outstanding play he came in fourth in MVP voting and was named to the All-Pro second team but legends aren't just made in the regular season in the playoffs Ripon took his game to another level and led Washington to the Super Bowl then on the game team's biggest stage he threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-24 win over the bills Ripon etched his name into the history books as he was named the games MVP after this fairy tale season for him and the Redskins everybody expected this to be the start of a dynasty but the next year Washington finished with a 9-7 record before losing in the divisional round That season ripon's passer rating fell from 97.9 to 71.7 while he threw more interceptions 17 than touchdowns 13. it turned out to be the beginning of the end for him as The Following Season he lost the starting job from 93 on Ripon won just five total games as a starter in addition to these seven players here are three more that we at least had to mention playing for six teams over a 17-year career Steve bauerline was nothing more than a journeyman except for one special season in 1999 at the age of 34 with the Panthers he set franchise records for most passing yards with 4436 and touchdowns with 36 having LED the league in passing yards our line was named to the Pro Bowl but after a disappointing Following Season Carolina quickly moved on from him and he only won two more career games Elvis gerbach's first five years in the league were also pretty forgettable as he never threw for more than 2 000 yards in a season until the year 2000 which was gerbach's coming out party with the Chiefs at the age of 30 when he somehow threw for 4169 yards and 28 touchdowns after making the Pro Bowl the Ravens signed him to a deal but gerbach reverted to his old ways the following year Baltimore cut him so gerbach then retired in the opposite fashion from gerbach and bauerland Don mikowski's Peak came very early in just his third year as a pro and first as a full-time starter Makowski set the league on fire he led the NFL in passing yards with 4 318 and was third in touchdowns with 27 on his way to coming in second in MVP voting and being named to the All-Pro second team but over the following Seven Seasons Makowski never won more than four games or through for more than 2 000 yards in a season he only threw for double-digit passing touchdowns on one occasion with just 10 of them but hey it's better to have been good ones and lost it than to never have been good at all or at least I think that's how the quote goes foreign

Channel: BLITZ

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Keywords: nfl, quarterback, one year wonder quarterbacks

Id: 9-f8KFYIZBk

Length: 14min 52sec (892 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 27 2023