In a September 2007 regular season game vs. the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Jennings in the first quarter; with that touchdown pass, Favre broke Dan Marino’s then-record of 420 career passing touchdowns to sit atop the NFL record books. Though they have both since been surpassed by Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning, Favre and Marino remain near the top of most career passing records, including yardage and touchdowns. As two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, with numerous passing records and MVP awards between them, let us pose the question:
Any discussion of the greatest running backs in NFL history usually centers around a couple of names, in particular Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns and Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears. Though Emmitt Smith has held the league’s career rushing yards record since 2002, that distinction had previously belonged to Payton since 1984, who in turn had broken Brown’s record. With both legendary running backs recently being selected to the NFL 100 All-Time Team, it naturally begs the question:
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the St. Louis Rams featured perhaps the most lethal offense the NFL had ever seen up to that point – led by back-to-back MVPs in quarterback Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk, “The Greatest Show on Turf” also featured a pair of outstanding wide receivers in Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Both were consistent 1,000-yard receivers and equally dangerous in the passing game; in fact, over the course of their respective careers, each receiver accumulated 900+ receptions, 13,000+ receiving yards, and 70+ receiving touchdowns – given their similarly prolific numbers lining up together in the Rams’ offense, it is only natural to ask the question:
Note: Updated for Charles Woodson’s 2021 Hall of Fame selection.
On the defensive side in football, arguably the most important position after having a dominant pass rusher is a lockdown cornerback – by shutting down half the football field or the other team’s best wide receiver, an elite cornerback can effectively disrupt an opposing team’s entire offense. For well over a decade in the 2000s and early 2010s, Champ Bailey and Charles Woodson were two of the NFL’s elite cornerbacks (before Woodson made a seamless transition to ballhawking safety) on their way to the Hall of Fame in Canton. Between these two great defensive backs, with their essentially overlapping careers, an apt question to ask is:
As members of the NFL 100 team, Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas are rightfully recognized as two of the best to ever play the quarterback position; in fact, until Tom Brady came along, the mantle of greatest quarterback ever usually centered around these two names. From Unitas being the first great modern quarterback with the Baltimore Colts in the 1960s to Montana’s Super Bowl brilliance with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s, each player won MVPs and championships while leaving an indelible mark on the game of football. With a century of professional football behind us, now is an opportune time to consider the question:
