Drew Brees, Steve Young, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning. Sam Bradford? After switching teams just prior to the start of the season, Bradford set an unlikely league record, completing 71.6 percent of his passes.
Nobody has done that before. Only Brees has gone over 71 percent. And Bradford did it while playing for a team with all kinds of offensive line problems. Pretty impressive stuff.
Mike Zimmer says Bradford did enough that he’ll be the team’s 2017 starter entering training camp. The Vikings also have Teddy Bridgewater, who looked like a possible breakout quarterback in August last year before tearing his ACL.
“I think Sam has played great,” says Zimmer, in an article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I think he’s earned the right to be the starting quarterback.”
If Bridgewater outperforms Bradford, he’ll probably wind up in the lineup before long. But regardless, the Vikings have a nice one-two punch of capable quarterbacks – probably two of the top 20 quarterbacks in the league.
The only blemish on this record (in my eyes) is that it’s become remarkably easier to complete passes, given the way offenses and the rules have changed. All-time 33 quarterbacks have completed at least 68 percent of their passes; all but six are quarterbacks who’ve played in this century. (And of the six pre-2000, four were disciples of Bill Walsh, whose offensive concepts were way ahead of his time.)
Still, a nice accomplishment for Bradford. Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Philip Rivers and Tom Brady have all had only one season with 68-plus completion percentages.
Bradford was far more effective than I thought he was going to be back when that trade went down, just before the start of the season.
| COMPLETION PERCENTAGE LEADERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pct |
| 2016 | Sam Bradford, Min. | 71.6% |
| 2011 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 71.2% |
| 1982 | • Ken Anderson, Cin. | 70.6% |
| 2009 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 70.6% |
| 1945 | • Sammy Baugh, Wash. | 70.3% |
| 1994 | • Steve Young, S.F. | 70.3% |
| 1989 | • Joe Montana, S.F. | 70.2% |
| 2016 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 70.0% |
| 2014 | Tony Romo, Dall. | 69.9% |
| 2016 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 69.9% |
| 2015 | Kirk Cousins, Wash. | 69.8% |
| 2013 | Philip Rivers, S.D. | 69.5% |
| 2004 | Brian Griese, T.B. | 69.3% |
| 2004 | Daunte Culpepper, Min. | 69.2% |
| 2014 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 69.2% |
| 1993 | • Troy Aikman, Dall. | 69.1% |
| 2002 | Chad Pennington, NYJ | 68.9% |
| 2007 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 68.9% |
| 2007 | Chad Pennington, NYJ | 68.8% |
| 2009 | Peyton Manning, Ind. | 68.8% |
| 2001 | Kurt Warner, St.L. | 68.7% |
| 2012 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 68.6% |
| 2012 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 68.6% |
| 2013 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 68.6% |
| 2009 | Brett Favre, Min. | 68.4% |
| 2006 | David Carr, Hou. | 68.3% |
| 2011 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 68.3% |
| 2013 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 68.3% |
| 2015 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 68.3% |
| 2010 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 68.1% |
| 2015 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 68.1% |
| 1993 | • Steve Young, S.F. | 68.0% |
| 2015 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 68.0% |
—Ian Allan