What’s there to say at this point? On Sunday afternoon, the Packers are beginning their (hopefully long, fruitful) Super Bowl with a Wild Card Round matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, who have seen a decent number of starting quarterbacks duck under center over the past 20 seasons…including three different dudes since Week 16.
Since we’ve done this for 10 other teams at this point, people seem to enjoy it, and we had a Packers-related interview fall through at the last minute, we figured we’d bypass the usual Wisconsin sports coverage this week in favor of ranking the 15 starting quarterbacks the Eagles have fielded since the 2005 season. Go Pack Go!
15. Kenny Pickett
The story likely isn’t over for Kenny Pickett as an Eagles starter, but for now, he’s sitting at the bottom after his 143-yard, one passing touchdown (and one rushing touchdown) performance against the lowly Cowboys in Week 17. There’s still time to climb the ladder, Kenny.
14. Vince Young
Following a tumultuous (and underrated) tenure in Tennessee, all-time collegiate great Vince Young concluded his NFL career with the Eagles in 2011. He played in six games that season—with three of those being starts—in which he managed 866 yards with four touchdowns and nine interceptions.
13. A.J. Feeley
Perennial backup A.J. Feeley got his most professional snaps with the Eagles. His time with the Birds extends beyond this 20-year window, but even when adding his 2001 and 2002 seasons into the mix, the numbers just aren’t there to warrant a higher spot for Feeley.
12. Tanner McKee
Call it recency bias if you’d like, but second-year quarterback Tanner McKee chasing an abbreviated two-touchdown day in relief of Pickett with another two-TD day…plus 269 yards and a completion percentage of 65 percent is pretty commendable. Especially for someone we didn’t know existed until, like, 19 days ago.
11. Mike McMahon
When Donovan McNabb went down with an injury partway through the 2005 season, Rutgers standout and longtime Lions backup Mike McMahon was tapped to lead the Eagles the rest of the way. He proceeded to go 2-5 in his starts that season, throwing for a total of 1,158 yards, five touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also had three rushing touchdowns, which is probably worth noting.
10. Kevin Kolb
Do these all need to have thorough write-ups? This is Kevin Kolb, people! If you absoluely need numbers: 3-4 record, 2,082 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Perfectly fine, not great, but still far better than any of us could do.
9. Mark Sanchez
After four so-so seasons with the Jets (where he was part of the infamous “Butt Fumble”), Mark Sanchez wound up playing in a total of 13 regular season games with the Eagles. During that two-season span (consisting of 10 starts), Sanchez led Philly to a 4-6 record. Along the way, he threw for more than 3,000 yards in addition to 18 touchdowns through the air compared to 15 interceptions.
8. Gardner Minshew
The charismatic 6th rounder who went 6-6 as a rookie with Jacksonville in 2019 eventually inked a deal to be Jalen Hurts’ backup in Philly in 2021. In very limited playing time (including four starts, where the Eagles went 1-3), the mustachioed QB managed 1,102 yards through the air, along with seven touchdowns and four picks. Add a rushing TD to the mix and Minshew did more in a limited sample size than Sanchez and everyone else you’ve already read about.
7. Jeff Garcia
Damn, has Jeff Garcia been on all of these quarterback lists?! It kind of feels like he has. Regardless, the journeyman QB was actually pretty darn good in two non-consecutive seasons with Philly. When combining snaps in 2006 and 2009, Garcia brought the Birds to a 5-1 mark, including 1,309 yards, 10 touchdowns, and just two interceptions.
6. Sam Bradford
In 2015, former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford was traded for Nick Foles (more on him later). He spent just one season with Philly, but what a year it was! Despite the 7-7 record the Eagles had with Bradford at the helm, he threw for more than 3,700 yards and 19 touchdowns. Sure, the 14 interceptions weren’t ideal, but what are you gonna do?
5. Nick Foles
Speaking of Nick Foles, the QB the Eagles initially drafted and traded to the Rams for Bradford later came back to fill in for Carson Wentz and lead Philly to a Super Bowl win over the Patriots (a game in which he caught a touchdown pass). To some, that would be enough for the top spot, but when factoring in stats, longevity, and other traceable metrics, Foles is relegated to the outer edges of the top five.
4. Carson Wentz
The man Foles replaced as a result of injury, former second overall pick Carson Wentz, more than did his part to help Philly reach the Super Bowl that “Big Dick Nick” ultimately finished. In that abbreviated 2017 season, Wentz had 33 passing touchdowns to just seven interceptions en route to an 11-2 record. In total, Carson’s days with the Eagles are good for fourth on the team’s all-time rankings for passing touchdowns, passing yards, attempts, and completions. So it’s only fitting he’s number four here, too.
3. Michael Vick
Say what you want about Michael Vick—such as he’s a convicted dog murder who did unspeakable things to animals—but strictly in terms of stats, he was good during the first stop of his redemption tour with the Eagles. From 2009 through 2013, Vick passed for just shy of 10,000 regular season yards, including 57 touchdowns (plus almost 2,000 rushing yards and 15 rushing TDs).
2. Jalen Hurts
Much like the guy in the top spot, Jalen Hurts led Philly to a Super Bowl (which they ultimately lost). The two-time Pro Bowler also ranks in the top 10 of most Eagles career passing categories. Oh, and he’s also second in Eagles career rushing touchdowns. There’s still time for Hurts to claim the number one spot, but he’s still sitting pretty at number two at the moment.
1. Donovan McNabb
Like it wasn’t going to be McNabb. The longtime Eagles starting QB ranks at the very top of the franchise’s major passing categories, including: attempts, completions, passing yards, and touchdowns. His 92-49-1 record is also far and away the best mark among Philadelphia quarterbacks of the last 20 years…and ever.