Every NFL quarterback to win a playoff game with two teams

While a number of quarterbacks have started playoff games for multiple teams, the list of those to have won games with two franchises is much smaller. From Hall of Fame-bound legends to a few journeymen seizing the moment, here are the passers to win postseason games with two teams.

Tom Brady (1 of 25)

Brady tacked on five additional playoff wins to his astonishing Patriots total. The player widely regarded as the greatest-ever picked up his first playoff win in controversial fashion — the "Tuck Rule" night — and finished his Patriots career with 30 postseason conquests. No. 1 as a Buccaneer came in Washington when a surprise Brady-Taylor Heinicke duel took place in the 2020 wild-card round. Brady received an assist in mounting a rare road run to a Super Bowl, with the COVID-19 pandemic either keeping fans away from stadiums or significantly limiting capacity. Brady's final playoff win, over the Eagles, came in the 2021 wild-card round.

Mark Brunell (2 of 25)

Taking over for Steve Beuerlein early in his Jaguars career, the former Packers draftee led upset victories over the Bills and Broncos in his second season (1996). The Jags tacked on two more playoff wins under Brunell and have largely faced tough sledding since his departure. Brunell's 2004 Washington arrival brought spurts of success. Aligned with easily the best head coach of the Dan Snyder years — the Joe Gibbs return — Brunell tallied his final postseason win as a starter, helping Washington to a road win in Tampa over Jon Gruden's Buccaneers. This 2005 wild-card triumph avenged a shootout loss weeks earlier .

Kerry Collins (3 of 25)

Moving out of the No. 1 overall slot in their first draft, the Panthers nabbed Collins at No. 5. Enjoying smoother expansion onramps compared to the Browns and Texans in future years, the Panthers steamrolled their way to the NFC Championship Game in Year 2. This involved Collins' team besting the defending champion Cowboys in the divisional round. Missing Michael Irvin, Dallas failed to reach the NFC title game for the first time in five years; the Cowboys still have not been back. Four years later, Collins added two wins quarterbacking the No. 1-seeded Giants to Super Bowl XXXV. The second of those featured a 41-0 battering of the Vikings.

Randall Cunningham (4 of 25)

The playoffs proved mostly unkind to Cunningham, his era's most electric player. Cunningham started 0-3 in the postseason, being benched for Jim McMahon in the 1990 wild-card round. The Eagles finally picked up a win in the 1992 wild-card round, toppling the Saints in New Orleans. Resurfacing in the postseason five years later — as a Brad Johnson injury replacement in Minnesota — Cunningham led the Vikings to a wild-card comeback win over the Giants. While a record-setting Vikings offense could not hold seed in the 1998 NFC Championship Game , the 15-1 team cruised past the Cardinals to reach that stage.

Trent Dilfer (5 of 25)

While Dilfer's role in unveiling the QBR metric at ESPN made more of an impact on the game, he is best remembered for the four wins the Ravens tallied during their defense-fueled path to Super Bowl XXXV. Replacing Tony Banks midway through the season, the former top-10 pick submitted sound game managerial work to power Baltimore to a championship. Dilfer's first playoff conquest came three years earlier. The Buccaneers, who chose Dilfer sixth overall in 1994, were still evaluating the Fresno State alum. The work sample included a 20-10 wild-card win over the Lions in Tampa.

Brett Favre (6 of 25)

Changing the Packers' fortunes upon arriving via trade from Atlanta, Favre notched his first playoff win on his first try — a 1993 wild-card game featuring a Favre-to-Sterling Sharpe game-winner in Detroit . After failing to guide the Jets to the playoffs in 2008, Favre sliced up the Cowboys in the 2009 divisional round. Keeping a dominant age-40 season going, the Vikings QB threw four touchdown passes in a 34-3 drubbing of the Tony Romo-led Cowboys. Three of those passes went to Sidney Rice, who scored a big contract on the back of an outlier season. Favre's second and final Minnesota slate did not produce a playoff berth.

Jeff Garcia (7 of 25)

Garcia started playoff games for three teams, but his 2007 Buccaneers squad became the eventual champion Giants' first postseason victim. The Giants played a regular role in Garcia's playoff career. After Steve Young's successor lost his first playoff tilt — a 2001 wild-card game in Green Bay — the 49ers won a shootout that featured a controversial ending that produced an NFL formal letter of apology sent to the Giants. In place as Donovan McNabb's backup on the 2006 Eagles, Garcia led Andy Reid's team to a 23-20 wild-card win over the Giants in Philly. While only amassing 153 yards, Garcia drove the Eagles into position for a 38-yard game-winning field goal.

Jared Goff (8 of 25)

Completing one of the better QB resurgences in recent memory, Goff extended the refueled Lions' turnaround season to the 2023 NFC Championship Game. This involved the 2016 No. 1 overall pick winning a duel with his Detroit QB1 predecessor (Matthew Stafford), with the Lions edging the Rams in the wild-card round before beating the Bucs in the divisional playoff. Goff racked up two playoff wins as a Rams starter, the second of which in historically controversial fashion. Two years after the no-call in New Orleans, the Rams upset the Seahawks in the wild-card round. Fresh off finger surgery, Goff came off the bench to replace a concussed John Wolford to help the visitors prevail.

Jeff Hostetler (9 of 25)

Twenty-seven years before Nick Foles authored a more statistically impressive version of the QB2-powered Super Bowl run, Hostetler blazed this trail . Taking over for Phil Simms in December 1990, Hostetler kept the Giants' SUV on the road in a blowout win over the Bears and a thrilling upset to deny the 49ers' threepeat bid. The Giants' Super Bowl XXV ball-control opus required Hostetler to overcome a first-half safety to beat the Bills. Less memorable but more action-packed: the Raiders' 42-24 win over the Broncos in a 1993 wild-card game. Hostetler and John Elway combined for six first-half TD passes; the '93 Raiders free-agent signing finished with 294 yards.

Ron Jaworski (10 of 25)

"Jaws" qualifies for this list because of work on both coasts. Before the famed TV tape grinder's better-known Eagles work, the Rams gave a young Jaworski a shot. Searching for QB stability throughout the 1970s, the Rams turned to Jaworski due to starter James Harris' shoulder injury. Harris warmed up but could not go in a 1975 wild-card game against the Cardinals, a 35-23 Rams win in Los Angeles. The 1973 second-round pick retreated to the bench for most of his remaining L.A. years; a 1977 trade to Philly brought Jaworski back to the forefront. He led the Eagles to a 1979 playoff win and two more en route to Super Bowl XV a year later.

Brad Johnson (11 of 25)

Johnson started for three franchises in the playoffs. While the Vikings draftee could not pull off a win over the Cowboys in 1996 as Warren Moon's backup, he fared better in Washington and Tampa. Joining Washington via trade in 1999, Johnson made the Pro Bowl and helped Norv Turner's team oust the 8-8 Lions in the wild-card round. Becoming the QB prize on the 2001 free agent market, Johnson chose the Bucs over the Ravens . Alongside a four-Hall of Famer defense, Johnson moved the needle for a Tampa Bay team banging its head on a glass ceiling. Johnson helped the Bucs to wins over the 49ers, Eagles and Raiders to give Tampa Bay its first title.

Peyton Manning (12 of 25)

Coming back from four neck surgeries, Manning immediately reignited the Broncos upon selecting Denver to wrap up a memorable free-agency journey. The Broncos' swoon following Manning's retirement reflects his impact, even as a physically diminished version compared to his Colts days. Guiding the Broncos to two Super Bowls, Manning notched two AFC championship wins over the Patriots -- in wildly different Broncos victory blueprints -- to give him the playoff edge (3-2) in games against his top rival. Before Manning's Colts toppled Tom Brady's Patriots in the 2006 AFC title game, Manning's first playoff win came as he shredded the Broncos in the '03 wild-card round.

Baker Mayfield (13 of 25)

Running his playoff record to 2-2, Mayfield accounted himself well to close out a comeback season in Tampa. He became the fourth QB to join the Bucs and become part of this two-team playoff QB club, following Tom Brady, Brad Johnson and Doug Williams. On only a $4 million deal, Mayfield dissected an Eagles team in chaos, finishing with 337 yards and three TDs. This was not as surprising as the scrutinized QB's first playoff outing. Kevin Stefanski contracted COVID-19, as the Browns dealt with a wave of cases in the 2020 wild-card round, leaving Mayfield without his play-caller. The Browns still stunned the Steelers after taking a 28-0 first-quarter lead.

Joe Montana (14 of 25)

While Patrick Mahomes reignited Kansas City as a football town -- with the Chiefs taking the baton back after a 2010s Royals spurt -- Montana's first season may have been the previous Chiefs prestige peak. The 1993 trade acquisition was basically a living legend by this point, creating distance between himself and his peers by piloting the Chiefs -- shut out in the 1992 wild-card round -- to comeback wins over the Steelers and Oilers. The latter outing halted an 11-game Houston win streak. This marked the Chiefs' only AFC championship game pre-Mahomes. As you probably recall, Montana received some acclaim for his 49ers years as well.

Earl Morrall (15 of 25)

Washing out with a few teams after disappointing as a former No. 2 overall pick, Morrall found himself in a career-defining stretch thanks to Hall of Famers' injuries. A Johnny Unitas ailment during the 1968 preseason prompted the Colts to acquire Morrall from the Giants. The trade went shockingly well for the Colts, with Morrall earning MVP acclaim and helping Baltimore to a rout of Cleveland in the NFL title game. Super Bowl III went less good for the veteran QB. After Don Shula relocated to Miami, he claimed Morral on waivers. Bob Griese's 1972 injury had not healed by the Dolphins' playoff opener, a Morrall-guided win over the Browns to keep Miami's unbeaten record intact.

Craig Morton (16 of 25)

Don Meredith retired after the 1968 season. Although Roger Staubach fulfilled his naval obligations, Morton operated as the Cowboys' starter for the next two seasons. He picked up his first two playoff wins in 1970, with the Cowboys beating the Lions (5-0) and the 49ers en route to a blunder-filled Super Bowl V loss to the Colts. Benched in 1971 and again during the 1972 playoffs, Morton resurfaced in playoff action five years later. The traded QB helped the upstart Broncos -- in their first playoff bid -- to wins over 1970s superpowers Pittsburgh and Oakland. Staubach's Cowboys prevailed in Super Bowl XII, but the '77 AFC playoffs represented quite the journey for Morton and the Broncos.

Jake Plummer (17 of 25)

At the controls when two streaks snapped, Plummer made his two postseason wins count. In his second season, Plummer rallied the 9-7 Cardinals to their first playoff win since the 1947 NFL Championship Game. Plummer threw TD passes to both his running backs -- Adrian Murrell, Larry Centers -- and Arizona upended Dallas in the wild-card round. That 1998 season proved fluky for the Cards, and Plummer left in free agency in 2003. After Peyton Manning's Colts blasted the Broncos in back-to-back wild-card games, Denver's 2005 edition became the first to topple the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady Patriots in the playoffs. Plummer and Co. ended a 9-0 streak via a 27-13 divisional-round conquest.

Tobin Rote (18 of 25)

The only QB to win both NFL and AFL titles, Rote totaled three playoff wins with the Lions and Chargers and put up some high scores in the process. Replacing Bobby Layne after the longtime Detroit starter broke his leg in December 1957, Rote led the Lions on a 17-point comeback to stun the 49ers in the Western Conference Playoff. Rote then turned in a masterpiece, throwing four TD passes in a 280-yard showing to lift the Lions past the Browns in a 59-14 demolition. After a CFL stint, Rote resurfaced as Sid Gillman's pilot in San Diego. The Chargers franchise peaked early, walloping the Patriots 51-10 in the 1963 AFL finale.

Jay Schroeder (19 of 25)

Given the first crack at replacing Joe Theismann following the latter's career-ending leg break, Schroeder was among the handful of Bobby Beathard Washington draft choices to become a QB regular. Predating the Mark Rypien and Stan Humphries selections, Schroeder (Round 4, 1984) started in Washington wins over the Rams and Bears in 1986. The Chicago outing featured an overmatched Doug Flutie starting for the oft-injured Jim McMahon. After Doug Williams supplanted Schroeder, Washington dealt him to Los Angeles. In a 1990 divisional-round game better known for Bo Jackson's career-ending injury, Schroeder led the No. 2-seeded Raiders to a win over the Bengals.

Alex Smith (20 of 25)

Illustrating the value quality coaching brings, Smith salvaged his career under Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid. The last part of the 49ers-to-Chiefs QB pipeline that brought Joe Montana, Steve Bono and Elvis Grbac to the Midwest, Smith first helped Harbaugh tally his first playoff win as a coach. A Smith-Drew Brees duel produced a 2011 divisional-round classic , and a Smith-to-Vernon Davis salvo sealed it for the 49ers in the final seconds. Traded in 2013 after Colin Kaepernick usurped him, Smith brought the Chiefs their first playoff win in 22 years. Kansas City shut out Houston in the 2015 wild-card round, though Smith's other playoff losses as a Chief led to Patrick Mahomes' arrival.

Vinny Testaverde (21 of 25)

A regular starter for five teams, Testaverde was in playoff position with two. Not ready to elevate a flawed Buccaneers team, Testaverde enjoyed his first crack at the playoffs with the Browns. In a 1994 wild-card game that pitted Bill Belichick against mentor Bill Parcells, the Browns fended off the upstart Patriots to give Belichick his only playoff win with Cleveland. Belichick and Parcells joined forces again in 1997, and Testaverde was in their plans soon. A post-June 1 Ravens cut in 1998 , the veteran gave the Jets their first AFC title game berth in 16 years by leading the No. 2 seed past the Jaguars. Larry David spoke fondly of Testaverde's performance .

Mike Tomczak (22 of 25)

Jim McMahon injuries are the main reason the 1980s Bears played in one Super Bowl instead of putting a dynasty in play. A knee malady sidetracked McMahon in his final Bears season (1988), but he was healthy by December. The Bears had turned to backup Tomczak -- a 1985 undrafted free agent -- by then. It was Tomczak, not McMahon, who started the "Fog Bowl," a 20-12 divisional-round win over the Eagles. Starting over Jim Harbaugh to give the Bears a 1990 wild-card win, Tomczak reappeared as a Pittsburgh bridge six years later. Still developing Kordell Stewart, the Steelers turned to Tomczak in 1996. In a wild-card Colts matchup, Tomczak edged Harbaugh's team.

Norm Van Brocklin (23 of 25)

The Rams utilized two Hall of Fame quarterbacks during their early-1950s heyday, keeping Bob Waterfield in the mix as Van Brocklin swiftly developed. While Waterfield was given the start in both Rams-Browns championship showdowns in 1950 and '51, Van Brocklin mixed in. The young QB did start in a Rams Western Conference Playoff win over the Bears in 1950. Traded to the Eagles in 1958, after multiple playoff losses post-Waterfield, Van Brocklin put a cap on his Hall of Fame career by winning MVP acclaim in 1960. In his final game Van Brocklin's 204-yard outing denied the emerging Packers a title , handing Vince Lombardi his only playoff loss as a head coach.

Kurt Warner (24 of 25)

We pushed for a Warner movie in this space years ago; clearly, that specific advice nudged the project past the goal line. The ex-Arena League star memorably capitalized on his first playoff opportunities, showing no jitters as he shredded the Packers secondary in a 391-yard, five-TD game largely overlooked due to the ensuing Warner postseason dominance. Following his two-Super Bowl St. Louis run, it took the 30-something seven years to have another crack at the playoffs. Warner did not disappoint, forming a lethal connection with Larry Fitzgerald. The two hooked up on a single-playoff-record seven TD strikes in 2008, the first of those coming in a 30-24 wild-card win over the Falcons.

Doug Williams (25 of 25)

Best known for orchestrating the most explosive quarter in Super Bowl history, Williams tallied a playoff win as the Buccaneers QB nearly a decade earlier. The No. 2 seed in an NFC playoff field that produced one of the most unusual conference title rounds in the Super Bowl era, the Bucs beat the Eagles in the 1979 divisional round. After a 132-yard showing in that game, Williams lost his final three Tampa Bay postseason tilts. He was readier in 1987, leading Washington to wins over the Bears and Vikings before his historic Super Bowl XXII event. The first Black QB to win a Super Bowl, Williams threw four second-quarter TDs in a fast-developing rout of the favored Broncos.