By admin 
Oh, the New York Jets. The most cursed franchise in all of football. And a team that, despite vowing them off year after year, keeps its fans coming back again and again.
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It’s odd to think that one full year of late-career Aaron Rodgers is in the top 10 among all Jets quarterbacks in passing yards, yet here we are.
Despite all of the strife, the Jets have been rather decent at forming solid defenses, and even have some pretty solid running backs to speak of, but the quarterback has been a perennial itch just waiting to be scratched.
The No. 1 on this list should be no surprise, but here are the top five Jets quarterbacks of all time.
5. Vinny Testaverde (1998-2005)
It’s enticing to put Mark Sanchez at this spot due to his back-to-back AFC Championship runs, but the subsequently bitter years, including the “Butt Fumble,” put Testaverde here just by proxy.
Testaverde’s first season as a Jet was among the finest ever produced by a quarterback, as he led the Jets to the AFC Championship after a 12-4 season under Bill Parcells; Testaverde was 12-1 in his starts.
His 29:7 touchdown/interception ratio was fantastic, and if not for the Jets blowing a second-half lead against the Broncos, they would’ve found themselves in their first Super Bowl since Joe Namath.
Testaverde came to town two years after a 1-15 campaign, and while the Jets would make and get bounced from the first round in 2001 and 2002, the renewed hope Vincent Priceless gave the city, and his nearly 12,500 pass yards, fifth-most in franchise history, land him squarely here.
4. Chad Pennington (2000-2007)
Like Testaverde, Pennington guided the Jets to the playoffs three different times, including in 2002, his first season as a starter after Testaverde.
With his 275 of 399 passes going for completions, Pennington still holds the single-season completion percentage record for a Jets quarterback. His 65.6% completion percentage is first among players on this list.
While Pennington would go 2-3 in the playoffs as the starter for the Jets, he amassed 13,738 passing yards and 82 touchdowns, good for fourth in franchise history.
3. Richard Todd (1976-1983)
One of a select few Jets first-round quarterback selections who panned out, the Alabama product Todd had the unenviable task of succeeding Joe Namath as Jets quarterback, but handled it with grace and brought the Jets back to their then-winning ways.
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A knee injury and broken collarbone sidelined Todd for most of the 1977 and 1978 seasons, but when he eventually took over in 1979, he put together a few solid campaigns (though don’t mention his 30 interceptions in 1980).
In 1981, he led the Jets to a 10-5-1 record, while in the strike-shortened 1982, the Jets went 6-3 and went to the AFC Championship game, losing in the infamous “Mud Bowl” against the Dolphins.
Still, it wasn’t so bad for a guy who had to take over the spotlight for one of the most effervescent lead characters in New York sports.
2. Ken O’Brien (1984-1992)
To O’Brien’s credit, much of the blemish on his resume is tied to the Jets infamously taking him over Dan Marino in 1984, but O’Brien wasn’t necessarily a slouch either.
Over nine seasons with the Jets (props to him for the longevity) O’Brien racked up the second-most passing yards (24,386), touchdowns (124), and longest touchdown in Jets history (a 96-yard catch to Wesley Walker against the Bills in 1985).
Speaking of 1985, O’Brien made the Pro Bowl that year in his first season as a starter and was voted AFC Player of the Year. The following year, O’Brien went toe-to-toe with Marino, with the two combining for 927 yards (479 of which came from O’Brien, who also threw four touchdowns against the Dolphins).
Later in 1986, O’Brien became the first quarterback to throw for 400 yards with a perfect passer rating, remaining so until Nick Foles in 2013.
1. Joe Namath (1965-1976)
Known often among beleaguered Jets fans as the man who may have sold his soul for a Jets Super Bowl win, “Broadway Joe” is the only Jets quarterback to reach the top of the mountain in his Super Bowl masterpiece against the Baltimore Colts.
Oh, and for all the hubris carried by everyday New Yorkers, Namath pushed all his chips into the middle when he assured Jets fans the team would beat the Colts despite being heavy underdogs, a win that proved not only the legitimacy of the Jets but the competitiveness of the AFL against the older NFL.
The year before that, Namath became then the first pro quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards, in the 14-game 1967 schedule. Namath was ahead of his time, with a vertical passing attack closer to today’s game than that of the late 1960s.
Ultimately, Namath will always be not only the top Jets quarterback but the team’s ultimate icon, and a beacon of hope in a seemingly endless tunnel of darkness that someday, one ridiculously confident quarterback can one day bring a title back to Gang Green.
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More New York Jets Essentials
- Every QB Drafted by the Jets
- 5 Best Quarterbacks in Jets History
- 5 Best Running Backs in Jets History
- 5 Best Wide Receivers in Jets History
- NFL’s Richest Owners: Where Does the Johnson Family Rank?
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 1:00 PM.