Attempting to ‘rate’ players across eras is a daunting task that many see as a fool’s errand. Rules have change the game so dramatically that it’s impossible to seamlessly compare performances, let alone statistics, across era without accounting for the different on-field factors that the confines of the rulebook introduce.
Not that that’s ever going to stop people from making the attempt, and Elliott Harrison recently made a valiant one for the league’s website, endeavoring to compile a list of the 25 greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. It might not surprise you that the Pittsburgh Steelers had two names on the list, though you may be surprised by the order.