1988. Boomer Esiason
En route to leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl, Esiason was near the top of every QB leaderboard. Esiason threw 28 touchdown passes — second in the NFL — and finished fourth with 3,572 yards. Esiason led the Bengals to a 12-4 record and two playoff victories, eventually falling short in the Super Bowl in a 20-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Jim Everett also had a great season for the Los Angeles Rams, but Cincinnati’s overall success gives Esiason the slight edge.
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1989. Joe Montana
One of the two or three greatest quarterbacks of all-time, even a 33-year-old Montana proved to be the best player in the league. Coming off a championship, Montana captured MVP honors in 1989, leading the NFL with a 70.2 completion percentage and finishing fourth in touchdown passes (26).
Montana threw an NFL-low eight interceptions for the 14-2 49ers. Montana missed three games due to injury (Steve Young was a passable backup) and eventually rolled through the postseason — 41-13 over Minnesota, 30-3 over the Rams, and 55-10 over Denver in the Super Bowl.
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