It’s not every day that a player passes three legends in the history books, but that’s exactly what Lions quarterback Jared Goff did during Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Goff passed Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks Troy Aikman, Y.A. Tittle and Steve Young on the NFL’s all-time career passing list. Goff, who entered Sunday’s game with the 45th-most passing yards in league history, is now 42nd all-time after passing that trio of Hall of Famers.
Each quarterback Goff passed left an indelible impact on the game.
Aikman led the Cowboys to three Super Bowls over a four-year span, was the MVP of Super Bowl XXVII and is one of just five starting quarterbacks to win at least three Super Bowls. Aikman also holds the Super Bowl career record for completion percentage.
Tittle is regarded as one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks during the league’s first half-century. His 1962 season was arguably the greatest season by a quarterback prior to the AFL-NFL merger. That season, the then-37-year-old Tittle paced the NFL in touchdown passes and completion percentage while leading the Giants to an NFL Championship Game appearance.
Young revolutionized the passing game like few others have. He led the league in passer rating a whopping six times from 1991-97. During that span, Young also won two league MVP awards and was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX. He threw for an Super Bowl record six touchdown passes in that game and was also the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to lead both teams in rushing.
Goff, who is currently enjoying an MVP-caliber season, will continue to climb up the career passing list as the 2024 season continues. The next quarterback that he is slated to pass is Phil Simms, the longtime Giants quarterback who led Big Blue to the franchise’s first Super Bowl win. The MVP of that game, Simms’ 88% completion percentage in New York’s 39-20 win over Denver remains a single-game Super Bowl record.
