When a team wins big, everyone wants a piece of the glory. But let’s be honest, not every player who got the spotlight actually deserved as much praise as they received.
Some guys were just riding the wave of elite coaching, dominant defenses, or historic supporting casts. Today, we are setting the record straight and ranking 20 NFL players who got way too much credit for their teams’ success.
20. Mark Sanchez
Sanchez made a couple of deep playoff runs, but the Jets’ defense and ground game were doing the heavy lifting. He was basically the passenger on a team bus driven by Darrelle Revis and Rex Ryan.
19. Larry Brown
Brown got famous for picking off a couple of terrible throws in the Super Bowl, but the Cowboys’ dynasty was already well in motion. Let’s just say MVP trophies have never felt more awkward.
18. Jared Goff
Goff got showered with love during the Rams’ 2018 Super Bowl run, but Sean McVay basically puppeteered the whole offense. The second McVay took the training wheels off, things got ugly.
17. DeAngelo Hall
Hall had a knack for flashy pick-sixes and trash talk, but often got cooked in coverage when it mattered most. Somehow, he still kept getting Pro Bowl nods like he was a shutdown corner.
16. Kerry Collins
Collins led the Giants to a Super Bowl appearance, but that team was built on a rugged defense and a bruising run game. By the time they played the Ravens, he looked like a deer in headlights.
15. Doug Williams
Williams had one magical quarter in the Super Bowl, but Washington’s loaded roster was the real reason they won it all. Great moment, but let’s not pretend he was carrying that team all year.
14. Jimmy Garoppolo
Jimmy G got praised like a franchise savior in San Francisco, even though he mostly just handed the ball off and let the defense handle business. If anything, he perfected the art of “doing just enough.”
13. Joe Flacco
Sure, Flacco got hot during that one playoff run, but the Ravens’ defense and special teams basically made life a dream for him. Most of his regular seasons were just a sea of checkdowns and shrugs.
12. Matt Cassel
Cassel went 11-5, filling in for Tom Brady, and somehow parlayed it into a whole career. The real story was Bill Belichick turning a ham sandwich into filet mignon for 16 weeks.
11. Trent Dilfer
Dilfer loves reminding people he has a Super Bowl ring, but the 2000 Ravens defense would have won with literally any warm body at quarterback. He was more mascot than playmaker.
10. Tedy Bruschi
Bruschi was a solid linebacker, but he got treated like the face of the Patriots’ dynasty while Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were doing the actual heavy lifting. His leadership mattered, but come on.
9. James Starks
Starks turned a few decent playoff games into near-mythical status during the Packers’ Super Bowl run. Aaron Rodgers’ throwing lasers had just a little more to do with it.
8. Byron Leftwich
Leftwich won a Super Bowl as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup, and somehow his career narrative got a boost from it. Great clipboard work, but let’s not rewrite history.
7. Pierre Garçon
Garçon got a lot of credit for being a “key weapon” during some solid Colts and Washington seasons, but he mostly just benefited from playing with elite quarterbacks. His numbers were more inflated than impactful.
6. Chris Hogan
Hogan looked like a world-beater for about five minutes in New England, but that was just Tom Brady sprinkling fairy dust again. Once he left Foxborough, the magic disappeared fast.
5. Vince Young
Young’s “winning record” made him a hot topic early on, but it masked some brutally inefficient play. Steve McNair he was not, despite what the early highlight reels suggested.
4. Knowshon Moreno
Moreno was praised like a top-tier back during Denver’s big offensive seasons, but Peyton Manning’s historic passing game made any backfield look unstoppable. Right place, right time.
3. Santonio Holmes
Holmes had that iconic Super Bowl catch, but his overall impact was way smaller than people remember. One toe-tap catch shouldn’t erase a career full of ups and downs.
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2. Tony Romo
Romo piled up stats and had plenty of clutch moments, but he also oversaw a lot of December meltdowns. Dallas was always loaded with talent and somehow still found new ways to fall short.
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1. Blake Bortles
Blake Bortles nearly made a Super Bowl because Jacksonville’s defense was on another planet. He should send handwritten thank-you notes to every member of the 2017 Jaguars.
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