Ranking the 10 best Denver Broncos quarterbacks in franchise history

4. Craig Morton (1977-1982)

Regular season record: 41-23
Playoff Record: 2-3

No. 3 All-Time Broncos passing yardage: 11,895

For 10 years, Craig Morton was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. The fifth overall selection in the 1965 NFL Draft, he won the starting job in 1969 when Don Meredith retired. At the time, he was able to beat out Roger Staubach and went 18-5-1 in his first two seasons and was 32-14-1 overall while going 5-5 in the playoffs including a loss in Super Bowl V against the Baltimore Colts.

Morton was a part of their Super Bowl team following the 1971 campaign, although he never got to play in that game since he had lost his job to Staubach by then. He did take back over in 1972 when Staubach was injured but before long was sent to the Houston Texans of the World Football League, who wound up sending him to the New York Giants.

He had a few rough seasons with the Giants but then in 1977, he joined the Denver Broncos and turned his career back around. At 34 years of age, Morton threw for 1,929 yards with 14 touchdowns and led Denver to a 12-2 mark.

For his return to prominence, Morton won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. He then led them to wins over Pittsburgh and Oakland in the postseason, setting himself up to face his old team in Super Bowl XII. He was the first-ever quarterback to start for two different teams in the Super Bowl but unfortunately lost this one as well.

Denver came up short, 27-10, and Morton threw four picks while completing just four passes for 39 yards.

Despite his rough outing in the Super Bowl, Morton spent five more seasons with the Broncos and had them in the playoffs two more times, although they never got another win. He retired following the 1982 season and remains third all time in team history with 11,895 yards and is third with 74 touchdowns.