Philadelphia is a different breed of football town. If you play quarterback for the Eagles, you aren't just an athlete; you’re a civic lightning rod. People here remember a backup’s completion percentage from a random rainy Sunday in 1994 like it was their own kid’s birthday. When we look at Eagles QBs all time, it’s not just a list of stats. It is a chaotic, emotional, often heartbreaking timeline of guys who either became gods or got run out of town on a rail.
Some franchises have a "type." The Packers have a lineage of stoic, back-to-back Hall of Famers. The Eagles? They’ve had everything from a nimble scrambler who changed the game forever to a guy who won a Super Bowl off the bench and then had a statue built for him. It's weird. It's Philly.
The Foundation: Van Brocklin and the Pre-Modern Era
Before the jersey colors turned midnight green and before the Linc existed, there was Dutch Van Brocklin. Honestly, if you don't know "The Dutchman," you don't know Eagles history. He’s basically the only reason the 1960 team beat Vince Lombardi’s Packers for the NFL Championship. That was Lombardi's only playoff loss. Ever. Think about that. Van Brocklin was a grumpy, elite field general who walked away at the top.
Then you had Sonny Jurgensen. Most people associate him with Washington, which frankly hurts to say, but he started in Philly. He was a pure slinger. The guy could throw a ball behind his back. But the team around him was, to put it mildly, a mess. The 60s and early 70s were a dark tunnel for the quarterback position in this city. We're talking about a rotating door of guys like Roman Gabriel and Pete Liske. Gabriel had a monster 1973 season—leading the league in yards and touchdowns—but his knees were essentially held together by tape and prayers.
The Jaworski Years and the Birth of Hope
Then came Ron Jaworski. "Jaws."
Before he was the guy breaking down film on ESPN with a clicker, he was the heartbeat of Dick Vermeil’s turnaround. Jaworski wasn't the most talented guy to ever lace them up, but he was tough as nails. He started 116 straight games. That kind of durability in the 70s and 80s, when defenders were allowed to basically decapitate you, is insane. He led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance in 1980. They lost to the Raiders, and yeah, that three-interception game still stings for the old-timers, but Jaws stabilized a franchise that had been a joke for a decade. He finished his Philly career with 175 touchdowns.
Randall Cunningham: The Human Highlight Reel
If you want to talk about the most influential Eagles QBs all time, Randall Cunningham is the conversation. Period.
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He was doing things in 1988 that Patrick Mahomes does now, except Randall was doing it while getting chased by LT and Reggie White. He was the "Ultimate Weapon." He once unleashed a 91-yard punt. He ducked under Carl Banks and threw a touchdown pass to Jimmie Giles that defied physics. But here’s the thing: the Buddy Ryan era was lopsided. The defense was legendary, but the offense was basically "Randall, go make a play."
He didn't have a conventional pocket presence. He took too many sacks. Critics at the time—and there were many—complained he couldn't read a defense. They were wrong, or at least, they were looking at it through a boring lens. Randall was a pioneer. Without him, we don't get the mobile quarterback revolution. The 1990 season was his masterpiece: 30 passing touchdowns and 942 rushing yards. In 1990! Those are video game numbers for that era.
The McNabb Era: Excellence and Friction
Then we get to the most polarizing figure in Philly sports history. Donovan McNabb.
Drafted to boos—which, let's be fair, were directed at the front office for not picking Ricky Williams—McNabb became the winningest quarterback in team history. Five NFC Championship games. One Super Bowl appearance. He owns almost every major passing record for the franchise.
- Passing Yards: 32,873
- Passing Touchdowns: 216
- Wins: 92
So why is there always a "but" with McNabb? It was the "worm-burner" passes on third down. It was the air of perceived arrogance. It was the drama with Terrell Owens. Honestly, the T.O. season in 2004 was the highest level of quarterback play the city had ever seen until that point. They were unstoppable. Then the Super Bowl XXXIX happened, the "puke-gate" rumors started, and the relationship between the fans and Number 5 never quite recovered. But make no mistake: McNabb is the gold standard for longevity and success in this jersey.
The Backup Who Became a Legend
You can't write about the history of this team without a massive section on Nick Foles. It shouldn't make sense.
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Foles had a 27-touchdown, 2-interception season under Chip Kelly in 2013. Then he fell off a cliff. He went to St. Louis, almost retired, and came back to be Carson Wentz's backup. When Wentz tore his ACL in 2017, the season felt over. Instead, Foles went on a heater for the ages. The NFC Championship game against Minnesota was a clinic. The Super Bowl against Tom Brady? 373 yards and the "Philly Special."
Foles is the only guy on the list of Eagles QBs all time with a statue outside the stadium. He wasn't the most consistent. He wasn't the most talented. But he was the one who delivered the Lombardi Trophy. That earns you eternal life in Philadelphia.
Carson Wentz and the "What If"
Carson Wentz is a complicated chapter. For 13 games in 2017, he was the best player on the planet. He was making throws through tight windows and escaping certain sacks like a magician. Then the knee gave out. Then the back gave out.
The decline of Carson Wentz is a case study in how fast things can change in the NFL. By 2020, he was a shell of himself, leads the league in turnovers, and eventually gets traded to Indy. It's a sad story, really. He was supposed to be the guy for 15 years. Instead, he was a shooting star that burned out before the celebration even ended.
The Jalen Hurts Ascension
And now we have Jalen Hurts.
People doubted him at every turn. "He can't throw the deep ball." "He's just a runner." All he did was work. In 2022, he put up a performance in Super Bowl LVII that would have won 95% of the Super Bowls ever played. 304 yards passing, 70 yards rushing, 4 total touchdowns. He is the modern prototype: a power runner with a cerebral approach to the game.
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What sets Hurts apart from many on this list is his composure. He doesn't get rattled by the Philly media or the boo birds. He’s the first Eagles QB since McNabb to really feel like the undisputed franchise pillar for the long haul.
Who Actually Ranks at the Top?
If we are being objective about the best Eagles QBs all time, you have to weigh different factors. Is it rings? Is it stats? Is it "vibes"?
- Donovan McNabb: You can't argue with the volume of work. He was the face of the most successful era of Eagles football.
- Randall Cunningham: The raw talent and the cultural impact. He made the Eagles "cool" on a national scale.
- Nick Foles: Because of the ring. You can't put him at #1 because of the inconsistency, but you can't put him lower than #3 because he did the impossible.
- Ron Jaworski: The iron man who brought the team out of the basement.
- Jalen Hurts: He's climbing. A ring puts him at #1 or #2 instantly.
The Misconception of the "Philly Fan" and their QBs
There is a myth that Philly fans hate their quarterbacks. That’s not true. Philly fans hate indifference.
They loved Bobby Hoying for three weeks because he showed a spark. They loved Jeff Garcia because he was a scrappy underdog who "got it." They even loved Michael Vick during that 2010 "Monday Night Massacre" game against Washington because he played with a level of ferocity that matched the city’s energy.
The common thread among the greats—Van Brocklin, Jaws, Randall, McNabb, Foles, and Hurts—is that they all had a "signature." They weren't just guys under center. They were characters in a long-running drama.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the history of Philadelphia signal-callers, don’t just look at the Pro Football Reference pages. The stats don't tell the whole story.
- Watch the 1960 Championship highlights: Seeing Van Brocklin operate in the mud against Lombardi gives you perspective on how the game has changed.
- Study the 1990 Randall Cunningham season: Look at the "duck and run" plays. It explains why the city was so obsessed with him.
- Acknowledge the backups: This franchise, more than any other, relies on QB2. From Frank Reich to Jeff Garcia to AJ Feeley to Nick Foles, the backup is always the most popular guy in town until he has to play.
- Respect the McNabb era: Don't let the end of his tenure cloud the fact that for a decade, the Eagles were a threat to win it all every single year.
The history of the position in Philadelphia is a mirror of the city itself: tough, slightly eccentric, prone to occasional brilliance, and always, always loud. Whether it's a scrambler or a pocket passer, the next guy to take the snaps will have a massive shadow to step out of. That’s just how it works in the 215.