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- Mar 19, 2019
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NFL.com Lists Tarkenton as All-Time Franchise QB
Franchise quarterbacks … teams either have them or are looking for them.
And those who become franchise quarterbacks usually go down as some of the most beloved players in team history.
Ali Bhanpuri of NFL.com is going through each division and looking at the all-time franchise quarterback for each team. He tackled the NFC North earlier this week, and it was no surprise Bhanpuri went with Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton as the man in Minnesota.
In order for to qualify, a player must have 48 starts with one team and meet two of the following three requirements:
1) Winning regular-season record
2) Minimum passer rating of 75.0
3) At least one Pro Bowl selection
Bhanpuri said Tarkenton's legendary play and ability to help the Vikings get to three of the team’s four Super Bowls puts him at the top of the Vikings list.
Bhanpuri wrote:
Tarkenton’s accomplishments in his first go-around with the Vikings (1961-66) aren’t applicable to this exercise, but he’s more well-known for the feats he achieved in his Vikings return, anyway. After re-joining the team in 1972 following a five-year stint with the Giants, Tarkenton guided Minnesota on an incredible run that included six straight postseason trips and three Super Bowl berths in four years.
Though the Vikings never captured football’s ultimate trophy during that span — and they still haven’t — no other QB in franchise history provided as much stability and sustained winning as he did. Had Randall Cunningham’s 1998 squad finished off the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game and finally captured a championship for Minnesota, I wonder if his Vikings tenure might’ve turned out differently. Would his name be the fourth on the Vikes’ list?
Based on the above criteria, Bhanpuri also had Daunte Culpepper and Wade Wilson as candidates for the Vikings.
Tarkenton, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, started 170 career games in Purple, going 91-73-6 with Minnesota.
Tarkenton was the NFL’s all-time passing leader with 47,003 yards when he retired in 1978. He currently ranks 11th in that category, and threw 342 career touchdowns.
As for the rest of the NFC North, Bhanpuri went with Jim McMahon in Chicago, current Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and former Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who finished his career with the Vikings.