Philadelphia Eagles: 15 greatest quarterbacks in franchise history

Nowadays when you think of the Eagles’ quarterbacking history, many tend to bring up Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham or even Ron Jaworski as some of the greatest. But the older generation knows just how great Sonny Jurgensen was.

Before the Super Bowl era, the NFL Championship was everything. The Eagles fortunately didn’t have a long drought of NFL Championships like they did with the Super Bowl.

Jurgensen helped the Eagles accomplish winning a ring in 1960, despite being the backup to Norm Van Brocklin. As always, football is a team sport, and Jurgensen happened to contribute that year. The following season, he was named the starter for the Eagles.

Though he spent more years with the Washington Redskins after a seven-year stint with the Eagles, he undoubtedly left his mark on the organization. At the age of 27, Jurgensen established himself as a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro with the Eagles.

He led the entire NFL in passing yards back to back in 1961 and 1962. He threw for over 9,000 yards during his time in Philly and finished off his Eagles’ stint with 76 touchdowns.

After his final season with the Eagles, they ended up trading him to Washington, in an attempt to replace him with Norm Snead. Had Jurgensen not suffered multiple injuries during his final season with the Eagles, he probably would’ve finished out his career in Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, the Eagles felt the end was near for his career when he struggled to stay healthy. Jurgensen finished up with 11 years in Washington, where he remained stable. But he wouldn’t reach the ultimate goal of winning a championship as he did in Philly. However, he did finish up his career with the highest solo honors by being selected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.