Analysis
6/21/22
3 min read
The Best NFL Player to Never Win a Championship? NFL Twitter Responds
While many of the greatest players to ever play the game of football have hoisted the Lombardi during their career, there are some great NFL players who have not won a championship.
The 33rd Team Twitter raised the question of who the best NFL player to never win a championship is, and here are the three most popular responses:
Who is the best NFL player to never win a champion?
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) June 11, 2022
QB - Dan Marino
The overwhelming response to who the best NFL player is to never win a championship was Dan Marino. Head Football Coach at Westminster College, Scott Benzel, and many other twitter users raised awareness to the greatness of Dan Marino.
— Scott Benzel (@coachbenzel) June 11, 2022
Marino is widely considered one of the best QBs of all time yet has never won a championship. Marino led the Dolphins to Super Bowl XIX and fell short to the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 38-16 in what was Marino’s lone Super Bowl appearance.
Despite never winning a championship, Marino’s career accolades speak for themselves. Marino is a former league MVP (1984), 3x First-Team All-Pro, 9x Pro Bowler, and was named Walter Payton Man of the Year in 1998.
WR - Randy Moss
Randy Moss was another popular response by twitter users such as The 33rd Team’s own, Brian Friedland.
— Brian Friedland (@BrianFriedland6) June 11, 2022
Moss, like Marino, is regarded as one of the best to play his position in NFL history. Randy Moss caught 10 or more TDs in nine seasons and had ten seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards. Moss still holds the record for most receiving TDs in a single season when he recorded 23 TDs in his 2007 season as a member of the New England Patriots. Moss finished his career ranking 3rd in career receiving yards, and 4th in receiving TDs.
Randy Moss had two Super Bowl appearances during his illustrious career: Super Bowl XLII with the New England Patriots and Super Bowl XLVII with the San Francisco 49ers. Moss’s teams fell short in both big games.
RB - Barry Sanders
Unlike Marino and Moss, Barry Sanders was never able to reach the Super Bowl during his career. However, Sanders was mentioned just as much as anyone when it comes to the best players to never win a championship.
Many consider Barry Sanders to be the best running back of all time, and his career statistics support that notion. Sanders rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his ten seasons with the Detroit Lions (1989-1998), becoming the first running back to ever achieve that feat.
His best year came in 1997 when he rushed for 2,053 yards and added 305 yards receiving. Sanders was named NFL MVP during this 1997 season.
Barry Sanders
— Chicago Warriors (@SFLWarriors) June 11, 2022
Other notable responses include: WR Calvin Johnson, TE Tony Gonzalez, DL Bruce Smith, and QB Philip Rivers
QB-Dan Marino
RB- Barry Sanders
WR-Randy Moss
TE-Tony Gonzalez
OL-Walter Jones
DL-Bruce Smith
LB-Derrick Thomas
DB-Champ Bailey— Haunting Spectre (@Solonoch55) June 11, 2022
Philip Rivers
— Josh Larky (@jlarkytweets) June 11, 2022
— Sebastian (@inactivelamp) June 11, 2022
— Alen (@alen_thinktwice) June 11, 2022
