Not long ago I was marveling at Tom Brady’s historic staying power. Seems only fair to spend a little time gushing about Russell Wilson’s youthful accomplishments.
As I noted, Brady’s six Super Bowls with Patriots span 14 seasons, the longest such stretch for an NFL quarterback. But let’s not forget the Seahawks’ Wilson, who has a chance Sunday to become the second-youngest QB to win two titles, which would put him behind only . . . well, check out the chart:
YOUNGEST QUARTERBACKS TO WIN TWO NFL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Years | Quarterback, Team | Title No. 1 Age | Title No. 2 Age | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1940/41 | Sid Luckman, Bears | 24-017 | 25-023 | |
2013/14 | Russell Wilson, Seahawks | 25-065 | 26-064 (?) | |
2001/03 | Tom Brady, Patriots | 24-184 | 26-182 | |
1958/59 | Johnny Unitas, Colts | 25-235 | 26-234 | |
2005/08 | Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers | 23-340 | 26-336 | |
1952/53 | Bobby Layne, Lions | 26-009 | 27-008 | |
1992/93 | Troy Aikman, Cowboys | 26-071 | 27-070 | |
1934/38 | Ed Danowski, Giants | 23-070 | 27-072 | |
1974/75 | Terry Bradshaw, Steelers | 26-132 | 27-138 | |
1981/84 | Joe Montana, 49ers | 25-227 | 28-223 |
Quite a club. Only Danowski isn’t in the Hall of Fame — or headed there, in my opinion — and his is an unusual case. After all, he wasn’t the Giants’ main passer for most of that year; he took over at tailback (on a single-wing team) after original starter, Harry Newman, got hurt late in the season. But Eddie helped win the title game, the famed Sneakers Game, over the previous unbeaten Bears, so you certainly can’t leave him off the list.
In fact, here he is, ol’ No. 22, making a nifty throw under pressure that nearly went for a touchdown in that game:
Danowski, by the way, is the youngest quarterback to win the NFL title — in modern (1932-) times, at least. Wilson (25-065) comes in sixth in that competition, behind Eddie (23-070), Sammy Baugh (23-270), Ben Roethlisberger (23-340), Luckman (24-017) and Brady (24-184).
One last thing: Six of the 10 quarterbacks in the above chart won at least one other championship (Luckman 4, Brady 3, Unitas 3, Aikman 3, Bradshaw 4, Montana 4). That bodes well for Wilson, too — provided, of course, he and his mates can beat the Patriots.
Source: pro-football-reference.com