List of Denver Broncos starting quarterbacks
These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. They are listed in order of the date of each player's first start at quarterback for the team.
Starting quarterbacks
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The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right:
Regular season
[edit]† In Week 12 of the 2020 NFL season against the New Orleans Saints, backup quarterback Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID-19 and all of Denver's quarterbacks were ruled ineligible due to being close contacts with him. As a result, practice squad receiver Kendall Hinton, who had some experience at quarterback, was activated to play in the game as the Broncos' primary passer. However, as the Broncos lined up in wildcat formation with running back Phillip Lindsay under center for the first four plays, Lindsay technically started the game at quarterback.[1] However, Hinton became the first non-quarterback to play significant snaps at the position in an NFL game since running back Tom Matte with the Baltimore Colts in 1965.[2]
Post-season
[edit]| Season | Quarterback(s) |
|---|---|
| 1977 | Craig Morton (2–1) |
| 1978 | Craig Morton (0–1) |
| 1979 | Craig Morton (0–1) |
| 1983 | Steve DeBerg (0–1) |
| 1984 | John Elway (0–1) |
| 1986 | John Elway (2-1) |
| 1987 | John Elway (2-1) |
| 1989 | John Elway (2-1) |
| 1991 | John Elway (1–1) |
| 1993 | John Elway (0–1) |
| 1996 | John Elway (0–1) |
| 1997 | John Elway (4–0) |
| 1998 | John Elway (3–0) |
| 2000 | Gus Frerotte (0–1) |
| 2003 | Jake Plummer (0–1) |
| 2004 | Jake Plummer (0–1) |
| 2005 | Jake Plummer (1–1) |
| 2011 | Tim Tebow (1–1) |
| 2012 | Peyton Manning (0–1) |
| 2013 | Peyton Manning (2–1) |
| 2014 | Peyton Manning (0–1) |
| 2015 | Peyton Manning (3–0) |
Most games as starting quarterback
[edit]These quarterbacks have the most starts for the Broncos in regular season games (through the 2023 NFL season).
| Name | |
|---|---|
| GP | Games played |
| GS | Games started |
| W | Number of wins as starting quarterback |
| L | Number of losses as starting quarterback |
| T | Number of ties as starting quarterback |
| Pct | Winning percentage as starting quarterback |
| Name | Period | GP | GS | W | L | T | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Elway | 1983–1998 | 234 | 231 | 146 | 80 | 1 | .645 |
| Craig Morton | 1977–1982 | 72 | 64 | 41 | 23 | — | .641 |
| Peyton Manning | 2012–2015 | 58 | 57 | 45 | 12 | — | .789 |
| Jake Plummer | 2003–2006 | 59 | 54 | 39 | 15 | — | .722 |
| Brian Griese | 1998–2002 | 53 | 51 | 26 | 24 | — | .520 |
| Charley Johnson | 1972–1975 | 54 | 41 | 20 | 18 | 3 | .524 |
| Frank Tripucka | 1960–1963 | 44 | 39 | 13 | 25 | 1 | .346 |
| Jay Cutler | 2006–2008 | 37 | 37 | 17 | 20 | — | .459 |
| Kyle Orton | 2009–2011 | 34 | 33 | 12 | 21 | — | .364 |
| Steve Tensi | 1967–1970 | 41 | 32 | 10 | 21 | 1 | .328 |
| Steve Ramsey | 1971–1976 | 53 | 31 | 14 | 17 | — | .452 |
| Russell Wilson | 2022–2023 | 30 | 30 | 11 | 19 | — | .367 |
| Trevor Siemian | 2015–2017 | 26 | 24 | 12 | 11 | — | .522 |
Team career passing records
[edit]Through the 2023 NFL season
| Name | Comp | Att | % | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Elway | 4,123 | 7,250 | 56.9 | 51,475 | 300 | 226 |
| Peyton Manning | 1,443 | 2,170 | 66.5 | 17,112 | 140 | 53 |
| Brian Griese | 1,044 | 1,678 | 62.2 | 11,763 | 71 | 53 |
| Jake Plummer | 944 | 1,596 | 59.1 | 11,631 | 71 | 47 |
| Craig Morton | 907 | 1,594 | 56.9 | 11,895 | 74 | 65 |
| Jay Cutler | 762 | 1,220 | 62.5 | 9,024 | 54 | 37 |
| Kyle Orton | 720 | 1,194 | 60.3 | 8,434 | 49 | 28 |
| Frank Tripucka | 662 | 1,277 | 51.8 | 7,676 | 51 | 85 |
| Russell Wilson | 589 | 930 | 63.3 | 6,594 | 42 | 19 |
| Charley Johnson | 517 | 970 | 53.3 | 7,238 | 52 | 52 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "New Orleans Saints at Denver Broncos - November 29th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ O’Halloran, Ryan. "Broncos rookie receiver Kendall Hinton to get chance to shine … at quarterback". Denver Post. Retrieved December 1, 2020.