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A brief history of Super Bowl backups: can Denver Broncos' QB Jarrett Stidham join an exclusive club?
Jarrett Stidham stands on the edge of one of the strangest career pivots in the NFL. With Bo Nix sidelined by a season-ending ankle injury, the Denver Broncos are preparing to hand the keys of a Super Bowl contender to a quarterback who has spent most of his professional life as a reserve.
If Denver reaches Super Bowl LX, Stidham will become part of a tiny and unpredictable fraternity: backup quarterbacks thrust into the sport’s biggest game.
Across Super Bowl history, only a small group of passers have begun a season as backups and later started on championship Sunday. The list is short, but the outcomes have varied wildly.
Here’s what history tells us about the quarterbacks who suddenly found themselves starting on Super Bowl Sunday.
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Earl Morrall
Morrall was one of the earliest examples. After replacing Johnny Unitas, he guided the Colts to Super Bowl V, though they lost. Morrall later resurfaced with the Dolphins, again stepping in when Bob Griese was injured and helping Miami reach Super Bowl VII.
Despite his success as a stopgap leader, Morrall never fully shed the label of elite backup and finished his career as one of the most accomplished relief quarterbacks in league history rather than a long-term franchise centrepiece.
Craig Morton
Morton followed a similar arc. He took over in Denver and started Super Bowl XII, but the Broncos were outmatched. Morton’s career afterwards was steady rather than spectacular, bouncing between teams and roles, respected as a veteran presence but never redefining his status beyond reliable starter material.
Jim Plunkett
Plunkett’s story was more dramatic. Once written off as a bust after early struggles, he revived his career with the Raiders. After beginning the season behind Dan Pastorini, Plunkett led Oakland to a Super Bowl XV win and later captured another title in Super Bowl XVIII.
Despite those championships, Plunkett was never treated as a long-term franchise saviour. Injuries and inconsistency followed, but his two rings cemented him as one of the most successful comeback stories of the era.
Jeff Hostetler
Hostetler’s run with the Giants remains one of the purest examples of postseason efficiency. Filling in for Phil Simms, he guided New York to victory in Super Bowl XXV with careful game management and timely throws.
He later earned a starting opportunity with the Raiders, posting solid seasons but never quite replicating his championship-level impact.
Kurt Warner
Warner's story still feels fictional. After starting the year as a backup with the Rams, he exploded into stardom, winning Super Bowl XXXIV and later adding MVP awards to his résumé.
Unlike most on this list, Warner turned his opportunity into sustained elite success, later resurrecting his career again in Arizona with another Super Bowl appearance. His rise remains one of the greatest talent-evaluation misses in league history.
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Tom Brady
Of course, any conversation about backup quarterbacks must eventually arrive at Brady. When Drew Bledsoe went down in 2001, Brady was a lightly regarded sixth-round pick. By season’s end, he was a Super Bowl champion.
What followed redefined the sport. Seven Super Bowl titles, multiple MVPs and two decades of dominance transformed Brady from a replacement starter into the greatest quarterback the league has ever seen. No backup-turned-starter has ever come close to replicating that level of long-term success.
Nick Foles
The most recent entry on the list, Foles, provided a different kind of magic. Taking over for Carson Wentz in 2017, Foles delivered one of the most iconic Super Bowl performances in history, outduelling Brady and earning Super Bowl MVP honours.
Yet, his career afterwards returned to instability. Brief stints as a starter were followed by injuries and bench roles, reinforcing just how fleeting these moments of postseason glory can be.
What's Stidham's outlook?
This uneven history is what makes Stidham’s opportunity so compelling. For every Brady or Warner, there are multiple cases where the Super Bowl stage represented a career peak rather than a launching point. Most backup quarterbacks who reach the game do not become long-term franchise pillars. They become part of NFL folklore instead.
Denver’s coaching staff believes Stidham’s preparation and familiarity with the offense can offset his lack of recent game reps. Still, the challenge is immense. Championship defenses expose hesitation and punish mistakes with ruthless efficiency.
If the Broncos make it to the Super Bowl, Stidham will not just be chasing a ring. He will be chasing something far rarer: the chance to change how the league sees him. History suggests the odds are long. But history also proves that when backup quarterbacks step into this spotlight, strange and unforgettable things sometimes happen.
