Of the 10 former BYU quarterbacks who’ve ever played in an NFL regular-season game, three of those QBs have gone on to win a Super Bowl championship.
Steve Young, Jim McMahon and Marc Wilson have won a combined seven Super Bowl titles — they were never on the losing end. But only two of those three actually served as a starting quarterback in a Super Bowl.
What BYU quarterbacks have played in the Super Bowl?
Steve Young
Super Bowl rings: 💍💍💍
- Super Bowl XXIII (San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16).
- Super Bowl XXIV (San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10) .
- Super Bowl XXIX (San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 26).
After being the backup to Joe Montana during his first two Super Bowl appearances, and completing 2 of 3 passes for 20 yards in his second title game, Young finally was the starter in Super Bowl XXIX.
The Hall of Famer had a signature, historic night in the 49ers’ blowout win: His six touchdown passes against the Chargers still stands as the single-game Super Bowl record.
Young completed 24 of 36 passes for 325 yards in that game, while also running for 49 yards on five carries.
He got San Francisco off to a fast start in Super Bowl XXIX, throwing touchdown passes of 44 yards to Jerry Rice and 51 yards to Ricky Watters in the game’s first five minutes, capping a pair of drives that took under two minutes each.
Young ended up throwing three touchdown passes to Rice, who had 10 catches for 149 yards.
Young, who was named the NFL MVP during that 1994 season, was also named the Super Bowl MVP for his record-breaking effort. His six touchdown passes eclipsed Montana’s record of five set five years earlier.
Jim McMahon
Super Bowl rings: 💍💍
- Super Bowl XX (Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10).
- Super Bowl XXXI (Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21).
McMahon started under center and helped lead the Bears to a championship in his fourth season as a pro.
In Super Bowl XX, he completed 12 of 20 passes for 256 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.
McMahon did have two rushing touchdowns — capping long scoring drives in the second and third quarters, respectively — to help the Bears build a 44-3 lead heading into the final quarter.
During one stretch from early in the second quarter to early in the second half, McMahon led three scoring drives (two touchdowns, one field goal) in four possessions. He completed 8 of 11 passes for 159 yards on those three scoring drives and the Bears went 5 of 6 on third down.
His second Super Bowl title came late in his career, when McMahon was serving as a backup to Brett Favre in the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI win.
Marc Wilson
Super Bowl rings: 💍💍
- Super Bowl XV (Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10).
- Super Bowl XVIII (Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington 9).
Unlike the other two, Wilson never started a Super Bowl. He also never threw a pass in the NFL title game.
Wilson, instead, won his pair of Super Bowl rings as a backup behind Raiders starter Jim Plunkett in Super Bowls XV and XVIII.
While he didn’t play at all in his first Super Bowl, Wilson, who started 50 regular-season games over eight seasons for the Raiders, did come in as a substitute during Super Bowl XVIII, according to league records.