10 Backup NFL Quarterbacks Who Finally Got Their Chance and Owned the Moment

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Backup for: Drew Bledsoe (2001)

Career stats: 51,541 YDS, 381 TD, 96.1 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: 3-time Super Bowl champion, 2-time NFL MVP, 9 Pro Bowl selections, 2-time First Team All-Pro

No one on this list has a story that's as crazy as Tom Brady's. The Patriots selected him in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft and, initially, he was New England's fourth-string quarterback. Very few people ever expected him to be a starter in the NFL.

But after working his way up the ladder in 2000, Brady got the chance to play in Week 2 of the 2001 NFL season after Bledsoe took a devastating hit during a game against the New York Jets. And while he wasn't all that great in his first few starts, he got the hang of playing starting QB quickly and eventually led the Pats to the postseason and a stunning Super Bowl win over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. He was named the MVP of the game and has been leading the Patriots on the field ever since.

Backup for: Phil Simms (1990)

Career stats: 16,430 YDS, 94 TD, 80.5 QB rating

Biggest accomplishments: 2-time Super Bowl champion, Pro Bowl selection

During a 2007 episode of America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, "Hoss" admitted that he was ready to quit playing football at the end of the Giants' 1990 season. The Giants had drafted him in the third round of the 1984 NFL Draft, but he hadn't played much during his first few years in the league because he was buried on the depth chart behind Phil Simms. 

However, when Simms went down with a foot injury in December 1990, Hostetler got the opportunity to play and he made the most of it. He lost in his first game as a starter, but he went on to win two regular season games before leading the Giants on a playoff run that ended with New York beating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.

Backup for: Jim Kelly (1993)

Career stats: 6,075 YDS, 40 TD, 72.9 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: Led the Bills to largest comeback in NFL history during 1993 NFL Playoffs

After getting drafted by Buffalo in the third round of the 1985 NFL Draft, Reich spent the majority of his first nine years in the league sitting behind future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. But despite this, he did earn several key victories for the Bills during his career. For example, in 1990, when Kelly went down with an injury, Reich helped the Bills win the AFC East and clinch home-field advantage. And most memorably, he helped the Bills beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in a wild card playoff game in 1993 after trailing 35-3 early in the third quarter. He then led his team to a victory the following week against the Steelers.

Reich was eventually selected by the Carolina in the 1995 expansion draft and started for the Panthers for several weeks during the 1995 NFL season. But his most memorable NFL moments came as a backup.

Backup for: Trent Green (1998)

Career stats: 32,344 YDS, 208 TD, 93.7 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: Super Bowl champion, 4-time Pro Bowl selection, NFL MVP, 2-time First Team All-Pro

Remember how we said that no one on this list has a story as great as Tom Brady's story? We might have been wrong, because Warner has a story that's every bit as good as Brady's. After spending the first few years of his pro career playing arena football (he was famously a grocery store stock boy before that), Warner earned a spot on the Rams' roster and made an impact almost immediately. In his second year with the team in 1999, he was forced into action after starting QB Trent Green went down with a torn ACL in the preseason. He responded by throwing for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns that season and turned the Rams into "The Greatest Show on Turf." He won the MVP that year, led the Rams to a Super Bowl win, and was ultimately named the Rams' starting QB for the next four seasons.

Backup for: Dan Pastorini (1980)

Career stats: 25,882 YDS, 164 TD, 67.5 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: 2-time Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl XV MVP, 1980 NFL Comeback Player of the Year

During his first six years in the NFL, Plunkett actually started for both the New England Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers. But after signing with the Oakland Raiders in 1978, he was named the backup to Pastorini, and, at the age of 33, wasn't expected to play much. He was forced into the starting role five weeks into the 1980 NFL season, though, after Pastorini suffered a fractured leg. He helped guide Oakland to nine wins in their final 11 games that season. It resulted in them clinching a spot in the playoffs, and Plunkett then led the Raiders all the way to Super Bowl XV, where they defeated the Eagles. He was given the MVP award after the game.

Amazingly, Plunkett did the same thing in 1983. After starting off the season on the bench, he was forced into action due to an injury to starting QB Marc Wilson and eventually led the Raiders all the way to a Super Bowl XVIII win against the Redskins.

Backup for: Rob Johnson (1998)

Career stats: 14,715 YDS, 86 TD, 76.3 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: Pro Bowl selection, 1998 NFL Comeback Player of the Year

When he first entered the NFL back in 1986, Flutie started for the Chicago Bears and then the New England Patriots. But after struggling to find much success in the league, he spent eight seasons playing in the CFL before Buffalo agreed to sign him in 1998 as their backup. He didn't remain the backup for very long, though, as an injury to Rob Johnson forced him into an NFL game for the first time in almost a decade. And he performed better than almost anyone expected, winning eight games that season and leading the Bills to the playoffs.

Flutie was controversially pulled from the starting lineup for the Bills' first and only playoff game that season, but he still managed to earn a Pro Bowl nod and elongated his career (he later started for the Chargers in 2001) by putting up impressive stats as a starter.

Backup for: Tony Banks (2000)

Career stats: 20,518 YDS, 113 TD, 70.2 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: Super Bowl champion, Pro Bowl selection, 2002 Bart Starr Man of the Year award

A lot of people might not remember that, back in 2000, Dilfer was not the starting quarterback for the Ravens at the beginning of the season. He had started off his career as the starting QB with the Buccaneers, but when he joined Baltimore in 2000, he was named Banks' backup. That changed midway through the 2000 season, after the Ravens failed to score a touchdown for five straight weeks.

Banks was put on the bench, Dilfer was inserted into the starting lineup, and although he didn't exactly light up the scoreboard, Dilfer did prove to be a great game manager and led the Ravens to a 7-1 record on his watch. It helped them qualify for the playoffs and allowed them to advance all the way to Super Bowl XXXV, where they knocked off the New York Giants. And that's why he's dropping truth bombs like this on national television these days. 

Backup for: Johnny Unitas (1968) and Bob Griese (1972)

Career stats: 20,809 YDS, 161 TD, 74.1 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: 3-time Super Bowl champion, 2-time Pro Bowl selection, NFL MVP, 2-time First Team All-Pro

Not many NFL fans know the name Earl Morrall, and that's a real shame considering all of the success that he enjoyed as a backup in the NFL. In both 1968 and 1970, Morrall filled in admirably for Johnny Unitas after Unitas got injured. In 1968, he compiled a 13-1 regular-season record for the Baltimore Colts and led them to Super Bowl III, where they lost to the Jets. Just two years later, he filled in for an injured Unitas again, leading the Colts to a victory during Super Bowl V.

Believe it or not, neither of those seasons were Morrall's best as a backup. In 1972, he did the unthinkable by taking over the Dolphins’ starting QB position after Griese got hurt, and helped lead Miami to the one and only "perfect season" in NFL history. Griese did return to the Dolphins' lineup during the AFC Championship Game that year though. But prior to that, Morrall played a big role in helping the Dolphins stay undefeated and was rewarded with the AFC Player of the Year award.

Backup for: Tom Brady (2008)

Career stats: 15,674 passing yards, 96 touchdowns, 80.1 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: Pro Bowl selection

Unlike every other quarterback on this list, Cassel wasn't only a backup QB in the NFL, he was also a backup QB all throughout college while playing at USC. He started his college career as the backup for Carson Palmer and then later served as a backup for Matt Leinart. 

Despite this, the Patriots selected him in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft, and, after serving as a backup for Tom Brady for several seasons, he was forced into the starting lineup when Brady tore his ACL and MCL in New England's 2008 season opener. No one expected him to do much in the starting role, but Cassel excelled. He led the Pats to an 11-5 record that year, and, although they didn't qualify for the playoffs, Cassel turned himself into a hot commodity around the league by performing so well. He was eventually traded to the Chiefs in 2009 and became a starter for the next few seasons.

Backup for: Don Majkowski (1992)

Career stats: 71,838 YDS, 508 TD, 86.0 passer rating

Biggest accomplishments: Super Bowl champion, 3-time NFL MVP, 11-time Pro Bowl selection, 3-time First Team All-Pro

Today, Favre is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL, but back in the early 1990s, there were some people who didn't think he'd ever amount to anything in the league. The Falcons drafted him in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft, but Atlanta head coach Jerry Glanville refused to play him, and he eventually was traded to the Packers in 1992.

Favre spent the beginning of the 1992 NFL season on the bench in Green Bay, too. After Majkowski struggled during the Packers' second and third games of the season, Favre got his chance to start. Although he wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, he started a streak that season that still stands today. Between 1992 and 2010, Favre started in 297 consecutive regular season games to set an NFL record. And while he was setting that record, he also set a bunch of other records—including the record for all-time touchdown passes, which was recently broken by Peyton Manning—and became one of the most revered QBs in Green Bay history. And to think, like so many other guys on this list, he almost didn't even get his chance to start.