Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Top 10 Winningest Browns QBs

The Browns have had many starting quarterbacks over the years (and I'm not just talking about the last 10 seasons).

Of course, names like Otto Graham, Bernie Kosar and Brian Sipe all come to mind as some of the great ones. It got me thinking, though, about Browns QB winning percentage. So, I looked it up.

First, though, did you realize that in the entire history of the Cleveland Browns franchise there have been 43 different starting quarterbacks? Sure, 13 of them only started three games or less (included such notables as Mark Rypien, Ty Detmer and Hall of Famer Len Dawson).

I wanted to look mostly at win percentage, though. But, I focused on QBs with at least 10 starts — otherwise, guys like Don Strock, who started and won only two games, would be atop the list.

So, here you have it ... the Top 10 Winningest Browns Quarterbacks (with at least 10 starts).

Rank Name Seasons Record Percentage
10 Derek Anderson 2006-09 16-18 .471
9 Mike Phipps 1972-79 24-25-2 .490
8 Brian Sipe 1974-83 57-55 .5089
7 Bernie Kosar 1985-93 53-51-1 .5095
6 Vinny Testaverde 1993-95 16-15 .516
5 Milt Plum 1957-61 33-16-2 .667
4 Bill Nelson 1968-72 34-16-1 .676
3 Frank Ryan 1962-68 52-22-1 .697
2 Tommy O'Connell 1956-57 10-3-1 .750
1 Otto Graham 1946-55 57-13-1 .810

Any surprises to you on that list?

For the record, the winningest professional quarterback of all time (with at least 10 starts) is Otto Graham. The next closest is Tom Brady, who is 111-32 (.776 win percentage).

Go Browns!

6 comments:

  1. Otto's stats may be a bit skewed considering the Browns were an AAFC team until the NFL let them play in the "big league" starting with the 1950 season. Granted the Browns were very successful upon entering the NFL, but for all intents and purposes they were a minor league team until then.

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  2. Just another Steeler fan with a short-term memory and no respect for the history of the game ...

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  3. Just another Browns fan re-writing history, pining for days-gone-bye.

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  4. If by "re-writing" you mean, writing something that's already been written, then I am guilty as charged.

    Those stats are fact, whether you agree with them or not.

    Football did exist before the Steelers started winning ... Believe it.

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  5. I know far too well about the existence of football prior to the current dynasty. I just wanted Frank Ryan to get a little more credit, his stats are similar, but all of his games were NFL games, that should count for something.

    This is nothing an asterisk and footnote can't fix.

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  6. Good point about Frank Ryan ...

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