Editor’s note: As part of NFL’s Greatest Quarterback, fans will decide the best quarterback in team, division, conference and league history.
Other than the 49ers, the NFC West teams haven’t had a long history of legendary quarterbacks. They’ve piled up plenty of Pro Bowls, and the Rams even have two Hall of Famers, but names like Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin aren’t quite as well known as Joe Montana and Steve Young.
Montana beat out Young, John Brodie and Jeff Garcia for San Francisco in our polls. Montana finished with 71.38 percent of the vote to Young’s 22.12.
For the Cardinals, Paul Christman won with 78.85 percent. The quarterback who last competed in the 1940s was the only one among Jim Hart, Neil Lomax and Jake Plummer to lead the Cardinals to a championship.
Despite the fact that Waterfield and Van Brocklin are Pro Football Hall of Famers, Kurt Warner won for the Rams with 66 percent of the vote. Shockingly, Roman Gabriel finished second with 14 percent.
In Seattle, Matt Hasselbeck took the crown with 60.13 percent. Russell Wilson finished second, Dave Krieg third and Jim Zorn fourth. If Wilson can improve upon his impressive 2012 season, he could be topping this list the next time around.
Now’s the time to vote for the greatest quarterback in NFC West history. Will it be Montana, Christman, Warner or Hasselbeck. Check out their credentials and vote below.
Joe Montana: Montana is widely regarded as the best quarterback in NFL history. He led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories in 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1989. The 49ers were 100-39 under Montana, as he led them to the playoffs nine times.
“Joe Cool” threw for 35,124 yards, 244 touchdowns and 123 interceptions with the 49ers. He’s an eight-time Pro Bowler, six-time All-Pro and two-time MVP. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Paul Christman: Christman played for the Cardinals from 1945 to 1949. He led the team to an NFL Championship in 1947. The team won the NFL West in 1948 under Christman as well.
Christman was a two-time All-Pro with the Cardinals in 1946 and 1947. He threw for 7,294 career passing yards with 58 touchdowns and 76 interceptions. He ran for eight touchdowns as well.
Kurt Warner: The Rams had won NFL Championships in 1945 and 1950, but Warner led the team to their first Super Bowl victory. Warner came out of obscurity in 1999 to lead the Rams to a 13-3 record while throwing for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns.
Warner led St. Louis to another Super Bowl in 2001, but they lost to the New England Patriots. Warner was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Rams before getting released after the 2003 season. In 13 career playoff games, Warner ranks first all-time in completion percentage and yards per attempt.
Matt Hasselbeck: Hasselbeck is the Seahawks’ career leader in passing yards. He’s also the first Seattle quarterback to lead the team to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks lost to the Steelers in 2005.
Hasselbeck led the Seahawks for 10 years from 2001 to 2010. He threw for 174 touchdowns and 29,434 yards during that time and had a quarterback rating of 82.2. Hasselbeck was a three-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 2005. He led Seattle to the playoffs in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010.
