History says Cowboys’ Romo has three more shots at Super Bowl
Tony Romo turned 35 in April.
History suggests the Dallas Cowboys have three more legitimate chances to reach the Super Bowl with him as their starting quarterback.
Why?
John Elway remains the oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. He was 38 when he carried the Denver Broncos to their second consecutive championship in Super Bowl XXXIII.
In fact, only 11 quarterbacks have started a Super Bowl aged 35 or older. Of those 11, six have gone on to win the game.
Romo is hoping to join that company this season, and build off a career year in 2014. At least things are trending in the right direction, it would seem.
The past two Super Bowls have featured 37-year-old starting quarterbacks — Denver’s Peyton Manning two years ago and New England’s Tom Brady last year. Going back further than that, the Cowboys have won a Super Bowl with a 35-year-old quarterback — Roger Staubach was 35 in Super Bowl XII.
Here’s a look at the 11 quarterbacks who have started the Super Bowl aged 35 or older:
Player | Team | Age | Super Bowl | Result | Comment |
Johnny Unitas | Baltimore Colts | 37 | V | W, 16-13 over Cowboys | Unitas left with injured ribs in the second quarter in a game remembered mostly for sloppy play and 11 turnovers. |
Fran Tarkenton | Minnesota Vikings | 36 | XI | L, 32-14 to Raiders | This completed a trifecta of Super Bowl losses for Tarkenton. |
Roger Staubach | Dallas Cowboys | 35 | XII | W, 27-10 over Broncos | Second championship for Staubach, who threw a 45-yard TD pass to make it a three-posssession game in third quarter. |
Roger Staubach | Dallas Cowboys | 36 | XIII | L, 35-31 to Steelers | Staubach and the Cowboys’ late fourth-quarter charge came up short. |
Jim Plunkett | Los Angeles Raiders | 36 | XVIII | W, 38-9 over Redskins | Plunkett won a second Super Bowl title, but most of the credit went to Marcus Allen. |
John Elway | Denver Broncos | 37 | XXXII | W, 31-24 over Packers | Elway, making his fourth Super Bowl appearance, finally won a championship. But RB Terrell Davis earned MVP honors. |
John Elway | Denver Broncos | 38 | XXXIII | W, 34-19 over Falcons | Elway repeated his championship, and this time took home MVP honors as well. |
Rich Gannon | Oakland Raiders | 37 | XXXVII | L, 48-21 to Bucs | Gannon put up the best numbers among QBs in the regular season, although he couldn’t finish it. |
Kurt Warner | Arizona Cardinals | 37 | XLIII | L, 27-23 to Steelers | Warner led another downtrodden franchise to the Super Bowl but fell just short of a title. |
Peyton Manning | Denver Broncos | 37 | XLVIII | L, 43-8 to Seahawks | Manning reached the Super Bowl for the third time in his career but found himself with a lopsided loss in the end. |
Tom Brady | New England Patriots | 37 | XLIX | W, 28-24 over Seahawks | Brady’s sixth career Super Bowl and fourth win came with a baffling coaching decision at the end by the Seahawks. |
Drew Davison, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 3:46 PM with the headline "History says Cowboys’ Romo has three more shots at Super Bowl."