GOAT Index

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John Elway: the case for the GOAT

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    John Elway: the case for the GOAT

    QB · Broncos · Born 28 June 1960, Port Angeles, Washington, USA · Career 1983–1998

    Quarterback who played his entire career with the Denver Broncos, known for a cannon arm and fourth-quarter comebacks like 'The Drive'.

    Career highlights

    Why John Elway could be the GOAT

    Elway dragged modest Broncos rosters to three Super Bowls in the 1980s, then won back-to-back titles to finish his career. He started five Super Bowls, and his late-game heroics became legend. Few quarterbacks did as much with as little for as long.

    What fans say

    John Elway is #11 of 30 in the fan ranking, with a 3–2 head-to-head record from 76 NFL votes. See the full NFL GOAT ranking

    John Elway head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

    One vote per matchup per person. If you see a pairing again in another session your new answer replaces the old one, so nobody can stuff the ballot by repeating a matchup.

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      Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.