The 25 Most Criticized Quarterbacks in NFL History

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All NFL players—from running backs and wide receivers to long snappers and kickers—are subjected to criticism at one time or another. But no one, and we do mean no one, faces the amount of criticism that quarterbacks face on a week-in, week-out basis. Even when QBs are playing well and winning games, they're still forced to deal with critics who think they should be playing better and winning games more decisively. It comes with the territory when you line up under center for an NFL team.

Some quarterbacks get it worse than others, though. For example, Donovan McNabb—who turns 38 today—once said, "Nobody has been criticized as much as I have," during a 2012 appearance on ESPN First Take. And while we don't necessarily agree with his assessment of him being the most criticized QB ever, he certainly faced his fair share of criticism during his days with the Eagles—from getting booed by Philadelphia fans during the 1998 NFL Draft to having his heart questioned following Philly's loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

So to help "celebrate" McNabb's born day, we put together a list of The 25 Most Criticized Quarterbacks in NFL History. Playing QB in the NFL clearly isn't always all that it's cracked up to be.

25.Geno Smith

Years: 2013-Present

Team(s): New York Jets

Career stats: 4,416 passing yards, 19 TDs, 31 INTs

His critics say: "He's as good at playing football as he is at telling time."

Even though he hasn't even spent two full seasons playing with the Jets yet, the former West Virginia quarterback has been picked and prodded by NFL analysts and fans alike for the last two years. They started criticizing him before he even got selected in the 2013 NFL Draft—Smith sat in the green room with a puss on his face after he didn't get picked in the first round—and have continued criticizing him ever since, mostly because he's been a bust so far with the Jets. There's a chance he could turn things around in New York if he gets another opportunity to do so. But as of right now, he doesn't seem to have much of a future with the Jets and is going to have to have one hell of a second act with the team if he wants to get any love in the New York area.

24.Peyton Manning

Years: 1998-Present

Team(s): Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos

Career stats: 68,522 passing yards, 525 TDs, 228 INTs

His critics say: "He's just not clutch when it counts."

We debated over whether or not to include Manning and/or Tom Brady on this list. And while we ultimately left Brady off of it—despite the fact that he's received a lot of criticism for all kinds of things over the years—we decided to include Manning because, for all that he's accomplished, he's also been saddled with criticism for almost his entire career. It hasn't been quite as noticeable this season since he broke Brett Favre's all-time touchdown passes record earlier this year, but throughout his career, Manning has been criticized for not winning more playoff games, for not winning more Super Bowls, and for coming up short in a lot of clutch situations (see his performance in last season's Super Bowl). There's no doubt that Manning is going to go down as one of the greatest QBs to ever play the game of football. But even still he has been criticized over and over again, proving that NFL QBs really do get criticized more than any other athletes in the country.

23.Andy Dalton

Years: 2011-Present

Team(s): Cincinnati Bengals

Career stats: 13,773 passing yards, 92 TDs, 59 INTs

His critics say: "The Bengals gave him a contract worth how much?!?"

Dalton has made Bengals fans forget all about Carson Palmer. He's put Cincinnati back on the map in the NFL and turned the Bengals into a true playoff contender over the course of the last few seasons. However, he's also played very poorly during some of the Bengals' biggest games. From his terrible performance during Cincinnati's playoff game against the Chargers last January to his abysmal showing during Cincinnati's recent Thursday Night Football game against the Browns, Dalton seems to save his worst games for the biggest stages. And that has left a lot of people to wonder whether or not he deserved the six-year, $115 million contract the Bengals gave him back in August.

22.Jim McMahon

Years: 1982-1996

Team(s): Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers

Career stats: 18,148 passing yards, 100 TDs, 90 INTs

His critics said: "This guy is a real $^%&*#@!"

From his flamboyant headbands to his brash behavior on the sidelines to his love for nightlife, McMahon was certainly an interesting character during his days in the NFL. But the way that he acted rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. And he didn't really seem to care that people didn't approve of the way he acted, either, which made him that much more unlikable to a lot of NFL players, analysts, reporters, and fans.

"The one thing about Jim McMahon, which was his curse and also maybe the one thing that made him tolerable was, as obnoxious as he was, he was unrepentant," reporter Rick Telander once said about McMahon during an ESPN Classic SportsCentury interview. "He knows he's a jerk and he doesn't care that you know he's a jerk and he's not going to say, 'Whoops, I made a mistake.'"

Basically, McMahon gave no fux. And while that was great for the teams he played for, he caught a ton of criticism for it and probably didn't always get the respect he deserved because of it.

21.Joe Flacco

Years: 2008-Present

Team(s): Baltimore Ravens

Career stats: 24,066 passing yards, 138 TDs, 86 INTs

His critics say: "NOT ELITE!"

A couple years ago, the NFL world became obsessed with discussing whether or not certain NFL quarterbacks were "elite." And while guys like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning were obviously given the elite label, analysts and fans couldn't seem to decide whether or not players like Flacco also fit that mold. It led to a ton of debate, both online and during NFL-related TV shows, and ultimately led to Flacco catching a ton of flack(o) from those who didn't think he deserved to be labeled "elite." It's a discussion that rages on today—even though Flacco continues to try and downplay the label.

20.Colin Kaepernick

Years: 2011-Present

Team(s): San Francisco 49ers

Career stats: 7,405 passing yards, 45 TDs, 16 INTs

His critics say: "Why won't he just turn his damn hat around?"

Forget the fact that Kaepernick led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in his second season with the team. Forget the fact that he's changed the way that quarterbacks scramble around on the field. And forget the fact that he's likely going to be a great NFL quarterback one day. HE WEARS HIS HAT BACKWARDS AND THAT IS NOT WHAT NFL QUARTERBACKS SHOULD DO!

It's such a strange argument to make against a guy. But believe it or not, Kaepernick has a lot of haters who dislike him simply because of the way he carries himself off the field. He wears Beats By Dre headphones to his press conferences. He rarely steps out in a traditional suit. And yes, he wears hats that are, in fact, backwards more often than not. And because of it—and not because of his play on the field—he's one of the most criticized QBs in the league right now.

19.Doug Flutie

Years: 1986-89, 1998-2005

Team(s): Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers

Career stats: 14,715 passing yards, 86 TDs, 68 INTs

His critics said: "Why is he so short?"

Flutie only grew to be 5-foot-10. And unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it during his time in the NFL. So he became the standard for short quarterbacks in pro football and was constantly criticized for being "too short" to play the game—despite the fact that he was successful in college. He eventually shut a lot of people up later in his NFL career (he spent 1990 through 1997 playing in the CFL) by winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 1998 and making a Pro Bowl. But of everyone on this list, he's the one player who was consistently criticized for something that he couldn't actually control. And it impacted the way that people perceived him both on and off the football field.

18.Eli Manning

Years: 2004-Present

Team(s): New York Giants

Career stats: 37,840 passing yards, 247 TDs, 182 INTs

His critics say: "NOT ELITE, EITHER!"

Joe Flacco has had to deal with the "Is he elite?" question on numerous occasions over the last few seasons, and so has Eli Manning. The problem with Manning, though, is that he's won two Super Bowls so it's kind of hard for people to say that he's not one of the best QBs in the league. But he's also struggled quite a bit in recent years—and shown off his "Manning Face" one too many times—so people have struggled to argue on his behalf. It's left him open to a lot of criticism and, unless he somehow manages to win another title, people are going to continue to say that he's "not elite" when it comes to quarterbacking the Giants.

17.John Elway

Years: 1983-98

Team(s): Denver Broncos

Career stats: 51,475 passing yards, 300 TDs, 226 INTs

His critics said: "He doesn't love football as much as he should."

Elway is a bonafide NFL legend at this point. But it's worth noting that, once upon a time, he was one of the most criticized players in the league. The criticism started when he was drafted by the Colts and refused to play for them, but it followed him into his early years with the Broncos as well. Because he owned several car dealerships in the Denver area and because he struggled mightily during the 1989-90 season, Broncos fans questioned his commitment to football and wondered aloud whether or not he was cut out to lead Denver to championships. He, of course, answered that question later on in his career and erased the doubts about how good he was. But it wasn't always easy proving himself early on and he had to deal with plenty of critics.

16.Cam Newton

Years: 2011-Present

Team(s): Panthers

Career stats: 13,691 passing yards, 76 touchdowns, 52 interceptions

His critics say: "Look at his awful body language."

Every time Newton throws an interception or gets sacked on a play, he holds his head and looks like he's upset with one of his teammates for something they did wrong. He's also become notorious for sitting by himself on the sidelines during games and for having very little interaction with his teammates. That was all well and good during his first year or two in the league, when he was throwing and running all over the field. And last year, he led the Panthers to the playoffs, which saved him from being criticized too often. But this season has been a disaster for him and people are back to criticizing him for the same things that they used to criticize him for. They just can't come to terms with the way he handles failure.

15.Todd Marinovich

Years: 1991-92

Team(s): Oakland Raiders

Career stats: 1,345 passing yards, 8 TDs, 9 INTs

His critics said: "We told you he'd be a terrible NFL player!"

Marinovich was born and raised to be a professional athlete. From the time he was young, his dad trained him—and trained him hard—so that one day he would grow up to play a pro sport. He was successful, too, but Marinovich got so much attention from the media during his high school and college years (Sports Illustrated published a piece about him called "Bred to Be a Perfect Athlete" in Februrary 1988) that he was basically set up to fail. And when he started to struggle during his time with USC and the Raiders due to substance abuse issues, the press turned on him and eventually labeled him a "bust." His story only got sadder once his brief NFL career ended. And while it seemed as though he'd gotten his life back together in 2011 when he appeared in an ESPN documentary called The Marinovich Project, he's endured his fair share of failures over the years.

14.Ben Roethlisberger

Years: 2004-Present

Team(s): Pittsburgh Steelers

Career stats: 37,375 passing yards, 243 touchdowns, 128 interceptions

His critics say: "He's no Peyton Manning."

The Steelers have been pretty inconsistent during Roethlisberger's reign in Pittsburgh. They went 15-1 during his rookie campaign and won the Super Bowl the following year after going 11-5 during the regular season. But since then, they have endured some really mediocre seasons (they went 8-8 in 2006 after winning a title) and some really solid seasons (they won another Super Bowl in 2008 after going 12-4). During this time, Roethlisberger has dealt with some issues off the field as well. He's been accused of sexual assault twice, gotten into a bad motorcycle accident, and been suspended for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. So while his stats would indicate that he should be considered one of the league's best QBs, he doesn't always get the same respect that his peers do.

13.Joe Namath

Years: 1965-77

Team(s): New York Jets, St. Louis Rams

Career stats: 27,663 passing yards, 173 TDs, 220 INTs

His critics said: "He goes a little too hard off the field."

Long before Johnny Manziel stepped on to the NFL scene, Broadway Joe was the league's resident party boy. He was the quarterback for the Jets and he enjoyed everything that came along with playing QB in the Big Apple. In fact, he enjoyed the nightlife so much that, in the late 1960s, he opened a bar called Bachelors III in New York City and planned on opening other locations before the league forced him to part ways with his investment. He eventually agreed but not before publicly going at it with Commissioner Pete Rozelle. And many people wondered if Namath could have been an even better player than he was if he'd focused on football.

Since retiring, Namath has continued to receive criticism from the media. Some people criticize him for being too vocal while criticizing the Jets on certain occasions, while others have criticized him for supporting Manziel and saying that he'd "love him on [his] team." But people continue to talk about him to this day, even though he retired more than 30 years ago. And something tells us that's just fine with him.

12.Tim Tebow

Years: 2010-12

Team(s): Denver Broncos, New York Jets

Career stats: 2,422 passing yards, 17 TDs, 9 INTs

His critics said: "Is that really how he throws?"

Where do we even start with Touchdown Timmy? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he's the most polarizing NFL player of the last decade. While some NFL fans loved everything that he stood for during his brief time in the league—his will to win, his knack for making big plays in the final minutes of games, "Tebowing"—there are others who just couldn't stand the guy. Part of that was because ESPN First Take personality Skip Bayless talked about him so much that people just got tired of Tebow. Part of it was because Tebow seemed to be everywhere in 2011. And part of it was because Tebow wasn't really good enough to warrant all the coverage that he got. His throwing motion was awful and his stats weren't all that good.

But regardless of the reason, Tebow was subjected to ridiculous levels of hate and criticism. And while he's revamped his image as a college football analyst and become more bearable, it's still hard not to cringe when Skip Bayless randomly brings up his name on First Take.

11.Don Meredith

Years: 1960-68

Team(s): Dallas Cowboys

Career stats: 17,199 passing yards, 135 TDs, 111 INTs

His critics said: "He's good…but not good enough."

Stop us when this starts to sound familiar. Back in the 1960s, Meredith was a quarterback for the Cowboys who received numerous Pro Bowl selections, won an NFL MVP, and was considered one of the best QBs in the league. However, he could never seem to get the Cowboys over the hump and never won a Super Bowl with the team, which upset a lot of Dallas fans. He was, well, Tony Romo long before Tony Romo ever existed. He was beloved by Cowboys fans later on in his life, but during his playing days, they criticized him for not performing better and for never winning a title with the team. Seems to be a familiar tale in Dallas.

10.Robert Griffin III

Years: 2012-Present

Team(s): Washington Redskins

Career stats: 7,272 passing yards, 38 TDs, 20 INTs

His critics say: "He does everything wrong, doesn't he?"

Remember how much everyone loved RGIII back in 2012 after his rookie season? There were actually people who thought he was going to revolutionize the quarterback position. But those same people are singing a much different tune in 2014 now that he's struggling. They have found so many things to criticize him for; at this point, it's actually gotten a little bit ridiculous. From the way he throws the ball to the way he leads the Redskins to the way he wears a sleeve and a glove during games, the nitpicking of RGIII comes from all angles…and it doesn't seem like it's going to let up. What are people going to start criticizing him for next?

9.Jeff George

Years: 1990-2005

Team(s): Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Career stats: 27,602 passing yards, 154 TDs, 113 INTs

His critics said: "He needs to grow up!"

Although the former No. 1 draft pick is considered a bust by some people, he actually had a pretty respectable NFL career. Sure, he played for eight teams during his time in the league, which technically makes him a journeyman quarterback, but he had some quality years in the NFL. That being said, George never really lived up to the hype that he generated when he first came into the league and, at one point in 1996, he was stuck riding the bench for the Falcons and was catching criticism from those both inside and outside of the NFL. Fans saw him as a selfish player who preferred to pad his stats over getting wins for his team, while NFL executives, coaches, and players didn't like his "me first" attitude on the field. It got so bad that George himself questioned why he was receiving so much hate during an interview with Sports Illustrated.

"I'm bewildered," he told SI. "How did I get to be so evil all of a sudden?"

Fortunately, his career didn't end there. But the criticism of him continued. And even today, his name gets brought up when NFL analysts talk about guys like Jay Cutler, who have all the tools to succeed but just can't seem to make the leap from average quarterback to elite.

8.Brett Favre

Years: 1991-2010

Team(s): Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings

Career stats: 71,838 passing yards, 508 TDs, 336 INTs

His critics said: "Is he ever going to retire? We're tired of seeing him throw so many interceptions!"

Favre set several key records—including consecutive games played and touchdown passes thrown—during his time in the NFL. So you'd think that he would get a pass from the critics. But that wasn't the case. Favre was known as a "gunslinger" and, especially towards the end of his career, he took way too many chances with the football. It really hurt his teams on a number of occasions—see: the interception he threw against the Saints in the 2009 NFC Championship Game—and cost him the chance to win more Super Bowls than he did.

Towards the end of his career, that wasn't most peoples' biggest pet peeve when it came to Favre, though. Him slinging the ball around was annoying, but everyone tolerated it because it was just a part of his competitive spirit. But what they couldn't tolerate was the "Hmmm…Should I retire?" routine that he pulled out every summer. He spent his last few years in the league debating that question and people got tired of it. It turned him into a punching bag amongst many NFL fans and analysts, and put a blemish on the end of his career.

7.Mark Sanchez

Years: 2009-Present

Team(s): New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles

Career stats: 13,279 passing yards, 75 TDs, 75 INTs

His critics say: "Butt fumbleeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Once upon a time, Sanchez—or "The Sanchize" as he was called by some Jets fans—was seen as the second coming of Joe Namath. He was going to bring the Jets back to their glory years. And while he led them to two AFC Championship Games at the beginning of his career, things took a turn for the worst in 2011 when Sanchez started to really struggle with his accuracy. His struggles got even worse in 2012 when Sanchez completed less than 50 percent of his passes during four straight games and, eventually, Jets fans started calling for their team to play backup Tim Tebow over Sanchez. The Jets stuck with him and planned on playing him last season, even though they drafted Geno Smith. But the writing was on the wall for the oft-criticized Sanchez and, after he suffered a serious shoulder injury during the preseason, it was clear that his days in New York were limited.

He's hoping to turn things around with the Eagles this year and has looked good at times. But he still has a ways to go before fans forget about his infamous "Butt fumble" and let him move on.

6.Donovan McNabb

Years: 1999-2011

Team(s): Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings

Career stats: 37,276 passing yards, 234 TDs, 117 INTs

His critics said: "He can't win big games."

McNabb did a lot of great things with the Eagles. He made six Pro Bowls, led his team to five NFC Championship Games in a decade, and took one trip to the Super Bowl. But if you ask any Eagles fan what comes to mind when they think about McNabb, there's a good chance that they'll say, "He never won a title." They're right, but it's amazing how a guy who did so much for the city of Philadelphia doesn't get more love and respect than he does.

5.Michael Vick

Years: 2001-2006, 2009-Present

Team(s): Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets

Career stats: 21,459 passing yards, 128 TDs, 84 INTs

His critics say: "He just can't stay healthy. Oh, and we didn't like that whole dogfighting thing, either!"

Michael Vick has been in the NFL for 12 seasons now. Yet, he's only managed to play 16 games in one of those years. Throughout his career, he has struggled with durability issues, due in large part to the fact that he's a fairly slender player who tries to scramble a lot and takes a ton of hits. It's been the biggest knock on him as a player over the years.

Of course, it's not the biggest criticism, though. The one thing that people will come back to time and time again when talking about Vick is his involvement in a dogfighting ring during the mid-2000s. Vick paid the ultimate price by going to jail and missing two full NFL seasons for taking part in the ring. But no matter what he does, or how many times he apologizes, or what he accomplishes on the field, he's always going to have critics. And those critics are likely going to be there until the day he dies.

4.Jay Cutler

Years: 2006-Present

Team(s): Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears

Career stats: 26,762 passing yards, 177 TDs, 124 INTs

His critics say: "Smokin' Jay Cutler > Real Jay Cutler."

Even though we're sure that, deep down, Cutler really cares about his team and the sport of football, he has a hard time showing it. Whether he's throwing touchdown passes or getting sacked and fumbling the ball away, Cutler always has the same nonchalant look on his face. It doesn't look good when he's playing poorly and, unfortunately for him, he's played poorly a lot in recent years. He's a guy who has all the talent in the world and seems to have what it takes to win a Super Bowl. But as of right now, a Super Bowl seems like a pipe dream for him, so people have been very critical of what he brings to the Bears and why they should seriously consider getting rid of him.

3.Ryan Leaf

Years: 1998, 2000-01

Team(s): San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys

Career stats: 3,666 passing yards, 14 TDs, 36 INTs

His critics said: "People thought this guy was as good as Peyton Manning?"

There have been plenty of great college quarterbacks who have been gigantic busts in the NFL. Just one year after Leaf was drafted, Tim Couch and Akili Smith were selected in the 1999 NFL Draft. Both of those guys turned out to be terrible pro players. But the reason why Leaf is on this list instead of them is because, at one time, there was actually a debate over whether the Colts should have selected Peyton Manning or Leaf in the 1998 NFL Draft. And once it became clear that Leaf wasn't anywhere near Manning's level, he got destroyed by the media and continues to be one of the biggest NFL pariahs in the history of the league. He's taken so much criticism over the years that it's hard not to feel pity for him.

2.JaMarcus Russell

Years: 2007-09

Team(s): Oakland Raiders

Career stats: 4,083 passing yards, 18 TDs, 23 INTs

His critics said: "Al Davis should have known better."

The former LSU quarterback looked like he should be a successful NFL player when he was drafted in 2007. He was big and strong and could throw the football a mile down the field. It's why the Raiders were OK with giving him a massive $61 million contract with $32 million guaranteed when they signed him. But he only won seven games during his brief NFL career and, at times, looked really lost on the field. He could throw the deep ball with the best of them, but he had accuracy issues and packed on a lot of pounds between 2009 and 2010. It's why he was eventually cut by Oakland—and why he became a laughingstock in NFL circles. To this day, he's considered one of the biggest busts, if not the biggest bust, in NFL Draft history and is seen as one of the reasons why the NFL no longer allows rookies to negotiate ridiculously large contracts.

1.Tony Romo

Years: 2004-Present

Team(s): Dallas Cowboys

Career stats: 32,084 passing yards, 230 TDs, 107 INTs

His critics say: "He's a mistake waiting to happen."

One day, Tony Romo—a.k.a. "Tony Oh-No"—might win a Super Bowl. And if he does, all of his critics will be forced to leave him alone. Much like LeBron James did when he finally won an NBA title, Romo will be able to shake the reputation that he has of being a guy who can't come up big in the clutch. But until that day, NFL fans and analysts are going to continue to expect Romo to make mistakes at the worst possible times. And they're going to call him out for making them, poke fun at them, create memes about them, and make Romo out to be the worst quarterback in NFL history.

The funny thing is that, based on his stats alone, Romo deserves the "elite" title more than a lot of other QBs in the league. But his inability to win when it counts, coupled with the fact that he plays for the Cowboys, has been his undoing. And until he's able to win a Super Bowl, he's going to continue to be the NFL's version of the 2010 LeBron James.