1. Earl Morrall

Top 10 Backup Quarterbacks of All Time

The thought of the ’72 Dolphins team conjures up many images, most of them with Bob Griese at the helm. But it was Morrall who was called up when Griese broke his leg during the fifth game of the season. Morrall started 11 games, leading the Dolphins all the way to the Super Bowl. Shula decided to play Griese after a shaky performance by Morrall in the AFC Championship Game, but the perfect season might not have been so perfect if it weren’t for one talented backup. (AP PHOTO)

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Top 10 Backup Qu... Behind almost every starting quarterback sits a backup quarterback the fans (Tebow Time!) think is better. Sometimes, that's turned out to be the case.

Check out our picks for the Top 10 backup QBs of all-time. (AP Photo)

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10. Frank Reich Frank Reich clocked only 20 starts during his 13 years in the NFL, so when he was called off the bench for a playoff game against the Oilers in 1993, fans didn't expect much. But they couldn't have been more mistaken. Reich miraculously led the Bills to the largest comeback in NFL history, erasing a 32-point deficit before winning in overtime. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)

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9. Doug Flutie A Heisman Trophy winner at Boston College, Flutie wasn’t highly regarded by the NFL. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound QB needed to prove himself in Canada before he was eventually picked up by the Buffalo Bills. In 1998, he rode the bench while Rob Johnson served as the starter. After a rocky 0-3 start to Johnson’s career as a Bill, he was forced out of the lineup with a rib injury. Cue Flutie, who led an amazing fourth-quarter comeback against the Colts the very next week. He then took the team to the playoffs and earned himself a spot in the Pro Bowl. (AP Photo/Chuck Robinson)

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8. Jeff Hostetle... Jeff Hostetler was brought in by the Giants in 1984 as a backup for Phil Simms. Hostetler didn’t see much playing time the next six years, but that all changed in 1990 when Simms broke his foot. The Giants were 11-2 at the time, and fans were worried they would collapse without their steady starting quarterback. Hostetler proved them wrong, winning the remaining two games of the regular season and leading the team into Super Bowl XXV. The Giants pulled out a miraculous win against the heavily favored Bills, thanks in part to a strong effort by their quarterback.

Hostetler retired with 16,430 yards, 94 touchdowns and 71 interceptions.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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7. Ty Detmer Detmer played for a total of six NFL teams over a 14-year career, much of which was spent as a backup quarterback. Because of his smallish build, Detmer was destined for a career as a backup, mostly behind Brett Favre in Green Bay. He later headed to the Eagles and took over after Rodney Peete suffered a knee injury. Detmer posted four wins right off the bat, eventually leading the team to the playoffs. He later spent a season as backup to Steve Young in San Francisco.

Detmer played in a total of 54 games (25 starts), totaling 6,351 yards passing with 34 touchdowns and 35 interceptions. (AP Photo/Tim Shaffer)

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6. Steve DeBerg Early in his career DeBerg came close to being the starter for San Francisco, but was replaced by Joe Montana. The same situation happened in Denver, until John Elway arrived. Despite playing second fiddle to some the game's very best QBs, DeBerg still had his moments. When he did see the field DeBerg passed for over 34,000 career yards, and ranks in the top 20 all-time for attempts, completions and yards passing. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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5. Don Strock Strock not only supported some of the best quarterbacks in the game during his 15-year NFL career (Bob Griese and Dan Marino, among others), he was one half of the “WoodStrock” duo with David Woodley. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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4. Steve Bono Bono started very few games, but was trusted to backup some of history's greatest quarterbacks (Tommy Kramer, Mark Malone, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner and Steve Beuerlein). Not too shabby. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

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3. Jim Plunkett Plunkett’s career started off strong, winning the Rookie of the Year award for his first season with the New England Patriots. The next six seasons were not so successful, and he was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 1978 as a backup. He barely played for two seasons, but was called up in 1980 when starting QB Dan Pastorini broke his leg. After a shaky start (five interceptions in his first game), Plunkett was off and running. He led the Raiders all the way to Super Bowl XV, making the team the first Wild Card in history to win the big game. But that's not the all. Plunkett helped the Raiders win the Super Bowl again in 1983 when he was called off the bench to take over for Marc Wilson. (AP Photo)

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2. George Blanda The late George Blanda was a successful starting quarterback for the Houston Oilers, but the majority of his 26-year career was spent as a reliable backup QB. When the 1970 Raiders needed to replace an injured Darlyle Lamonica, Blanda stepped up and led the team to four dramatic wins. (AP Photo)

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1. Earl Morrall The thought of the ’72 Dolphins team conjures up many images, most of them with Bob Griese at the helm. But it was Morrall who was called up when Griese broke his leg during the fifth game of the season. Morrall started 11 games, leading the Dolphins all the way to the Super Bowl. Shula decided to play Griese after a shaky performance by Morrall in the AFC Championship Game, but the perfect season might not have been so perfect if it weren’t for one talented backup. (AP PHOTO)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
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