Editor’s note: As part of NFL’s Greatest Quarterback, fans will decide the best quarterback in team, division, conference and league history.
Daryle Lamonica: Lamonica has the second-highest winning percentage — .784 — in NFL history and the highest — .900 — in AFL hisory. He led the Raiders to a 1967 AFL Championship but lost in Super Bowl II to the Packers.
Lamonica’s accuracy was certainly suspect during his football career, but he knew how to fling the ball and led the league in passing in 1969. He was the AFL MVP in 1967 and 1969 and was a three-time AFL All Star and two-time Pro Bowler.
Ken Stabler: It took Stabler five years to nail down the starting spot in Oakland, but once he did, he starred for the Raiders. Stabler led Oakland to its first Super Bowl championship in January 1977, when the Raiders beat the Vikings 32-14.
In that game, Stabler threw for 180 yards and a touchdown. Stabler is the Raiders’ all-time leader in passing yards. He was named to four Pro Bowls and led the league in passing efficiency in 1973 and 1976.
Jim Plunkett: Plunkett had one of the strangest careers in league history. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 1971 and was widely regarded as a bust as he faltered for both the Patriots and 49ers. He was picked up by the Raiders and was a backup until starter Dan Pastorini got injured in 1980.
Plunkett led the Raiders to a Super Bowl victory that season, defeating the Eagles 27-10. Plunkett then found himself as Marc Wilson’s backup in 1983 before the younger quarterback got injured. Plunkett led that Raiders team to another Super Bowl victory, this time over the Redskins, 38-9.
Rich Gannon: Gannon buoyed around the league for 11 years, never starting a full, 16-game season until signing on with the Raiders in 1999. In Oakland, Gannon rallied off four straight Pro Bowl seasons before getting injured in 2003 and 2004.
Gannon’s 2002 season was his best. He set a Raiders record with 4,689 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Raiders faced off against their old head coach Jon Gruden in the Super Bowl that season but faltered, losing 48-21 under Bill Callahan. Gannon threw five interceptions in that game, with three returned for touchdowns.
