Geno Smith snubbed from ranking of best NFL quarterbacks with no Super Bowl wins

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith remains one of the most under-appreciated at his position.

Tim Weaver | Feb 2, 2025

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 10: Geno Smith #7 of the Seattle Seahawks talks with Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers following the game at Lumen Field on October 10, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. / (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

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The best quarterback who never won a Super Bowl is hands-down Dan Marino. During his 17-year career with the Miami Dolphins he made nine Pro Bowl teams, earned three first-team All-Pro honors and won an MVP award. While they played 18 playoff games in the Marino era, Miami was never quite good enough to go all the way to win the Lombardi trophy.

Marino is hardly alone, though. Football is the ultimate team sport and also the most complex - and even some of the greatest players of all time have never come close to achieving that goal. There are at least a few future Hall of Famers in the league right now who have not yet won a Super Bowl - and given how things are going with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' dynasty, it's not a stretch to predict that it may never happen for Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson.

Those two names are naturally at the top of the list in Jeff Kerr at CBS Sports' recent ranking of the 10 best quarterbacks in the NFL who have never won a Super Bowl. Here's how his full top 10 went:

1. Lamar Jackson

2. Josh Allen

3. Jalen Hurts

4. Joe Burrow

5. Jared Goff

6. Dak Prescott

7. Jayden Daniels

8. Brock Purdy

9. C.J. Stroud

10. Justin Herbert

One name you don't see here is that of Seattle Seahawks starter Geno Smith, who remains one of the most under-appreciated quarterbacks in the game today.

We won't argue Smith is as good as most of these quarterbacks - but at the very least there are two who should never be ranked ahead of Geno. That would be Jared Goff and Brock Purdy. Both quarterbacks have enjoyed a lot of team success in the NFL, which is why you'll often see them ranked far, far, far ahead of their actual ability level. Most notaly, Goff happened to there when the Rams won a Super Bowl and Purdy was around when the 49ers almost did so last year.

The distinction has to be the amount of help that each quarterback has - and in that department these two are light years ahead of pretty much every other name on this list, and a few that aren't on it, including Geno Smith.

There was a game this year when Goff threw five intereptions and the Detroit Lions still managed to win. Now just try imagining the Seahawks winning a game with five picks from Geno - or how Purdy would perform playing for literally any other playcaller in the NFL.

Quarterback will always be the most important piece of the puzzle, but context is always important. If you were to put Smith on either the Lions or the 49ers they'd be far more formidable than they are in their current form. Period.

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