Steve McNair, the passer, had such a good pass that he became known as Air McNair. The three-time Pro Bowl champion played between 1995 and 2005 for Houston, The Tennessee Oilers, The Titans, and The Baltimore Ravens. He was one of the top players back at his college in Lorman, Mississippi, and had a distinguished track record throughout more than two decades in the game.
With an average of over 194 yards passing per game, Steve McNair was named Football Nation’s thirty-fifth greatest quarterback of the NFL’s post-merger era. Unfortunately, the quarterback retired in 2008 and didn’t get a chance to enjoy his post-NFL life, as he was fatally shot by his mistress the following year. Each of his four children was given more than a quarter-million dollars from his estate.
Vinny Testaverde
The iconic Italian quarterback Vinny Testaverde is one of the NFL's most accomplished quarterbacks, with a history of over 21 seasons in the league and a total of eight teams played. Despite being quite a controversial quarterback, he somehow managed to retire in the top 10 in various stats, from career passing yardage to career touchdown passes.
Testaverde began his football career playing for the Miami Hurricanes football team after receiving a scholarship to attend the University of Miami. His career included more than 70 touchdown passes, a record that was only broken by Tom Brady last year. He was inducted into the College Football and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013 with more than 275 touchdowns, 46,000 passing yards, and a whopping 267 interceptions.
Dave Krieg
Dave Krieg is one of the ultimate underdog quarterbacks in the NFL. Where most players often exude a sense of charisma and grandeur as their leading traits of greatness, Krieg had mostly his heart to show for it. During his 19-year NFL career, he had a chance to play for the Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, and Tennessee Oilers. Krieg won three Pro Bowl championships throughout his career and was inducted into the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor in 2004.
In 1998, the successful quarterback retired after playing one year for the Tennessee Oilers, where he replaced McNair, who was injured at the time. Although the latter recovered during the season, Krieg’s performance was so good that they chose to let him take the lead until it ended. He retired with various top-20 stats and a proud record.
Dan Fouts
Unlike many of the iconic NFL quarterbacks on this list, Dan Fouts played for only one team, the San Diego Chargers. Fouts was the first-ever quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards for three seasons in a row. Although he never reached the Super Bowl, Fouts helped the Chargers win 6 Pro Bowl championships in a row from 1979 to 1983 and then again in 1985.
Fouts is still one of the leading NFL quarterbacks for various different stats. With over 43,000 passing yards and 254 passing touchdowns, he really was one of the NFL’s best throwers. The talented quarterback also had an incredible average of 237.8 passing yards per game, making him one of the top 20 in the world for that category even today.
Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe helped win Super Bowl XXXVI along with his team, the New England Patriots. He also won the Pro Bowl four times, in '94, '96, '97, and three years later in 2002. The Super Bowl winner spent most of his NFL career as a quarterback for the New England Patriots and only played for a relatively short time with the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys.
Bledsoe was the youngest quarterback in NFL history to surpass 10,000 passing yards until he broke his own record with a 20,000 yards record as well. He accumulated an incredible 44,611 passing yards in just 14 seasons, with over 250 touchdowns, making him the 21st-best in that category.