Winning a Super Bowl is one of the most difficult jobs for a quarterback in the NFL, as that’s a barometer for how a position is judged in the league. Just look at the great quarterbacks who have never captured a Super Bowl title (Dan Marino being one) and what their legacy is as an NFL signal-caller.

Thanks to Patrick Mahomes, there are plenty of great quarterbacks who have not captured a Super Bowl title yet. Joe Burrow was close to getting one, same with Jalen Hurts, but fell just shy of besting Mahomes (Burrow actually came back to beat Mahomes once). Hurts actually gets another chance to beat Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX. 

Josh Allen has lost to Mahomes in the playoffs, and so has Lamar Jackson. Mahomes has done a lot of ring blocking over the last seven years, as a lot of good quarterbacks have not hoisted a championship. 

Who are the best active quarterbacks who haven’t hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy? There used to be a three-year prerequisite for this list, but rookies are now eligible thanks to the outstanding first seasons of Jalen Hurts and C.J. Stroud. 

These quarterbacks are the top ones who haven’t won the Super Bowl title — and have the best chance to get off this list based on their regular-season and postseason accomplishments. 

Herbert still doesn’t have a playoff victory through five season, despite having two attempts at getting one. He has the most completions (1,945) and passing yards (21,093) after a player’s first five seasons, He also has the lowest interception rate (1.5%) through a player’s first five seasons (minimum 2,000 attempts). 

Defense and coaching has failed Herbert in the past, but he also has completed 52% of his passes, thrown for four interceptions, and has a 60.5 passer rating in his two playoff starts. Simply put, Herbert has a ways to go to get off this list. 

9. C.J. Stroud

Stroud has only been in the league two seasons, but has reached the divisional round in both of his seasons. The league leader in passing yards per game in his rookie season (273.9), Stroud has the sixth-most passing yards (7,835) after a player’s first two seasons. 

Even though Stroud had a sophomore slump in 2024, he still has 43 touchdowns to 17 interceptions in two seasons. Stroud has also completed 66.1% of his passes with four touchdowns to one interception in the playoffs and an 100.6 passer rating. His two playoff wins are also impressive given how little he’s been in the league. 

Purdy has played three seasons in the league and already has two conference championship games and a Super Bowl appearance. Already with four playoff wins and the lowest interception rate in NFL playoff history (0.6%), Purdy is 23-13 as a starting quarterback with 64 touchdowns to 27 interceptions and a 104.9 passer rating in his career.

The 49ers struggled in 2024, but history shows they’ll bounce back under Kyle Shanahan. Purdy will be under the microscope with a contract extension looming. 

One historic rookie season and Daniels is already on this list. Daniels threw for 3,568 yards and rushed for 891 yards this season, winning two playoff games and leading the Commanders to their first conference championship appearance since the 1991 season.

The Commanders won their most games in a regular season (12) since 1991 and consecutive playoff games on the road as a No. 6 seed. Daniels threw for 822 yards with five touchdowns and an interception this postseason for a 96.1 rating, while rushing for 135 yards and a score. 

The future is very bright with Daniels leading the Commanders, and he’s shown he can be a difference maker in the postseason. 

Prescott has an impressive regular-season record of 76-46 in his nine seasons, yet has failed to make it out of the divisional round of the playoffs despite making the postseason five times. Prescott’s 2-5 postseason record is tied for the worst among quarterbacks who have made at least five playoff starts. 

The Cowboys quarterback has 213 passing touchdowns to just 82 interceptions in the regular season with a 98.1 passer rating (eighth-highest in NFL history). Prescott needs a deep playoff run to advance into the upper echelon of the elite quarterbacks in the league. 

Time is of the essence for Prescott, however, as he turned 31 last year. 

Goff has been to the Super Bowl with the Rams and reached a conference championship game with two different teams in his nine NFL seasons. He’s developed into one of the game’s top quarterbacks with the Lions, making two Pro Bowls in his four seasons there.

Goff has completed 67.9% of his passes with 115 touchdowns to 39 interceptions in his four years with the Lions (100.2 rating), helping transform the franchise from doormats to conference title contenders. Goff has just four playoff wins and an 85.1 passer rating in the postseason (nine touchdowns, five interceptions), but has made deep playoff runs with two different teams. 

He’s good enough to win a Super Bowl. 

4. Joe Burrow

Burrow has never captured the MVP award (although he has a case this season), and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he wins one at some point in his career. The Bengals quarterback already has compiled a 5-2 postseason record and rallied to beat Mahomes at Arrowhead Stadium in an AFC Championship — but he also hasn’t been to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. 

Burrow has the highest career completion percentage in NFL history (68.6%) and has 140 touchdown passes to just 46 interceptions in his five seasons. He has the third-most touchdown passes through five seasons in NFL history and the sixth-lowest interception rate (1.8%).

Just 28 years old, Burrow is heading into the prime of his career. 

3. Jalen Hurts

Hurts already has taken the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances in his five seasons and is the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, rush for 70 yards, and rush for three touchdowns in a game — doing it in a Super Bowl. Of the active quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl, Hurts is the only one that will start in multiple Super Bowls. 

Already third on the all-time list in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (55), Hurts is the first quarterback to have 10+ rushing touchdowns in a season for four consecutive years. Hurts has a 5-3 postseason record, completing 65.8% of his passes with 17 combined touchdowns to just two interceptions in his career (93.1 rating). The nine rushing touchdowns Hurts ha sin the postseason are an NFL record. 

The Eagles have made the playoffs every year with Hurts as the starting quarterback and have a 46-20 record with Hurts as the starter. The .697 win percentage is fifth-best by a starting quarterback since the 1970 merger. 

Hurts is a winner, and has an excellent chance of getting off this list. 

2. Josh Allen

Allen is already one of the best quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl. Despite playing in just two conference championship games, Allen has the most total touchdowns ever for a player after his first seven seasons (262) and is on the verge of finishing top-two in MVP voting this year. 

Allen has the highest passer rating in a single postseason (149.0) and the sixth-highest in NFL history (101.7). Allen has 25 touchdowns to just four interceptions in the playoffs (33 total touchdowns) and five playoff wins. The stain on Allen’s resume? He’s 0-4 to Mahomes and the Chiefs in the playoffs, and has the most playoff wins without reaching the Super Bowl (seven). 

He’s still just 28 years old, so there’s time to get to a Super Bowl and win it. Allen is already one of the best quarterbacks of this era, but needs a Super Bowl to become one of the best ever. 

1. Lamar Jackson

Jackson is set to become a three-time MVP this season, adding to the resume of being one of the best quarterbacks to never win the Super Bowl (much less appear in one). The nine quarterbacks who have won multiple MVP awards have at least one Super Bowl title. 

Jackson is the only quarterback with multiple seasons of 3,000+ passing yards and 800+ receiving yards (three), and the only quarterback with 4,000 passing yards and 800 rushing yards in a season. He’s first in NFL history in rushing yards by a quarterback (6,173) and owns 14 games of 100+ rushing yards by a quarterback (also an NFL record). 

Still just 28 years old, Jackson has 20,059 passing yards, 6,173 rushing yards, 166 passing touchdowns, and 33 rushing touchdowns in his seven seasons. The 3-5 playoff record is what Jackson gets criticized for, even though he had a 121.0 passer rating this postseason — along with seven touchdowns to just two interceptions over the last two postseasons. 

Jackson has only made one deep playoff run, but he’s good enough to win a Super Bowl. The turnover issues in the playoffs are still a problem (four in four games over the last two years), but multiple MVPs are nothing to scoff at. 

One Super Bowl title will make Jackson one of the best quarterbacks ever.