The summertime journey around the NFL has ended, and Steve Cook presents you Top5 Washington Football Team Quarterbacks!

From 1982 to 1991, Washington won three Super Bowls. This gave me the impression that they would be a team I’d see often in Super Bowls going forward. That hasn’t happened. In fact, you won’t see any quarterbacks from after 1993 on this list. Those of you that have followed the exploits of the Washington Football Team after 1993 won’t be terribly surprised by this news.

It hasn’t all been bad though. Here are the five best football quarterbacks in Washington Football Team history.

5. Billy Kilmer

There’s something of a dispute whether Kilmer was a quarterback or halfback in college. Either way, he was effective for UCLA, and got drafted by the 49ers, where he spent his first five seasons as a running back. He became a quarterback in New Orleans, and got traded to Washington in 1971. He started as a backup for Sonny Jurgensen, but got the starting job when Jurgensen got hurt, and kept it for most of the next seven seasons when he was healthy.

Kilner’s best season was in 1972, when he led Washington to a Super Bowl appearance & led the NFL with 19 passing touchdowns. He split time with Jurgensen & Joe Theismann at quarterback before retiring in 1978. Washington had a winning record in games Kilmer started every season he played for the franchise.

4. Mark Rypien

Rypien was drafted in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft, and spent the next couple of seasons injured. Washington kept him around, which was a good thing when Doug Williams got hurt in 1988. Rypien became the starter in 1989 & had a breakout season with 3,768 passing yards & 22 touchdowns. For whatever reason, Rypien’s accuracy with deep passes was better than his accuracy with short passes. Fans love the deep ball, so Rypien was very popular during his time in Washington.

1991 saw Rypien lead Washington to a 14-2 victory & Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills, where he was named game MVP. Unfortunately, Rypien’s career went sharply downhill afterwards, and he was out of Washington after the 1993 season. However, he’s still fondly remembered in Washington as the quarterback of their most recent championship team.

3. Sonny Jurgensen

Hindsight being 20/20, the Philadelphia Eagles gave up on Jurgensen a little early. After leading the NFL in passing yards in 1961 & 62, Jurgensen struggled through 1963 due to various injuries. Deciding they didn’t need a banged-up QB heading into his 30s, the Eagles traded him to Washington in a trade which looked like two also-ran teams trading deck chairs on their respective sinking ships. Which it kind of was, as the Eagles & Washington had two winning seasons between them for the rest of the 1960s, and neither team would be a factor until the next decade.

On an individual level, Jurgensen had more in the tank. He led the NFL in passing yards three times and made four Pro Bowls while with Washington. He still has the second-most passing yards & touchdowns in franchise history. His best season came in 1967, when he threw for 3,747 yards & 31 touchdowns, both of which led the league. Coach George Allen preferred Billy Kilmer’s style of play to Jurgensen’s, so Sonny spent the last four seasons of his career coming off the bench. He had some high praise from experts of his era, including Vince Lombardi, who once remarked that if he had Jurgensen on his Green Bay teams, they never would have lost a game.

2. Joe Theismann

Most people of my age or slightly older remember Joe Theismann for one of two reasons: his lengthy announcing career or the Lawrence Taylor hit on Monday Night Football that ended his playing career. It’s always rough when your lowest moment is what you’re remembered for, but Theismann did have a very successful playing career. He still holds franchise records for passing yards, completions & quarterback wins. He was named NFL MVP in 1983 and was selected to two Pro Bowls.

Theismann had started his NFL career a bit late due to a contract dispute with the Miami Dolphins, going to the CFL for three seasons before his rights were traded to Washington. After becoming the permanent starter in 1978, Theismann played pretty consistently until finding another level in 1982 & 83. 1982 saw him lead Washington to a Super Bowl victory and a 8-1 record in a strike-shortened season. 1983 saw career highs with 3,714 passing yards & 29 touchdowns, along with another Super Bowl appearance. Unfortunately Theismann’s peak didn’t last too long, as he was struggling through the 1985 season before that Monday night game with the Giants.

Honorable Mention: Doug Williams

We recently discussed Williams’ run in Tampa, which came to an end too soon over money. After spending two seasons in the USFL, Williams signed with Washington in 1986 & served as backup for Jay Schroeder. Injuries led to Williams talking the helm for the 1987 playoffs, where he led Washington to a Super Bowl victory. Williams was named starter the season afterward, but fell victim to injuries himself and was overtaken by Mark Rypien.

I had to leave Williams just outside the Top 5 due to the fact he only started 14 games for Washington. He did make the most out of them though, and left his mark on the team’s history.

1. Sammy Baugh

Slinging Sammy did a little bit of everything for his teams. This was never on display more than in 1943, when Baugh led the NFL in three categories in three different phases of the game. Offensively, he led quarterbacks with 133 pass completions. He led defensive backs with 11 interceptions. When it came to special teams, he led punters with a 45.9 yard per punt average. It’s considered the greatest single-season performance by a football player, and it’s tough to argue. It’s not like Peyton Manning or Drew Brees were out there kicking field goals or making big defensive plays on the regular. Football was a different game back then, and teams needed players that could do more than one thing well. Baugh could do more than one thing great, which separated him from the pack.

Baugh led Washington to an NFL Championship in his rookie season, throwing for 335 yards against the Bears in the 1937 title game. That stuck as the most passing yards for a rookie in a playoff game until 2012. He added another championship in 1942. Baugh was selected to six Pro Bowls, led the league in passing yards four times, touchdowns twice, passer rating thee times, and led the league in completion percentage eight times. He played before the MVP award was instituted, but was named Player of the Year twice. Baugh changed the way the quarterback position was played, and helped make it the dominant force in a game it is now.

We’ve made it to the end! Thanks to everybody who followed along all the way or part of the way, hopefully you had as much fun reading as I did writing. Stay tuned to The Chairshot for more football-related content as the 2021 NFL regular season kicks off.