The Most Powerful Arm in NFL History

From his iconic throws to his unforgettable comebacks, explore why Elway is often considered to have the most powerful arm in NFL history.

[MauMauBinghi]

Elway is arguably the physically gifted QB ever and is criminally underrated. One of the best arms ever, could run for the 1st down and was known for being clutch in the 2 minute drill. He was a complete QB. He overachieved with less talented teams and he dominated and went back to back once he got talented teams. As a complete package, he's arguably the best ever.

[adambomb]

I totally believe if John Elway and Dan Marino played today in the NFL they would throw for 6000+ yards a season.

[leodrosia]

Elway threw a football like it was a baseball

[kenstevens]

That pass at Standord from the 40 on the right side of the field to 3 yards in the endzone at the middle of the field was an absolute missile.

[timothym.johnson]

No Broncos fan here. I live in the mile high. It's been 25 years and I still miss him playing on Sunday.

[johnwilliams]

As I remember he was the only quarterback I saw run completely to one side the field, his right, and throw a dart to the other side while still running. The ball looked like it had been shot from a cannon when he threw it

[dannyzuehlsdorf]

Elway had a cannon for sure. Ridiculous velocity and accuracy. I cried when he got that first superbowl win and feel blessed to have seen him play the game.

[jonmolina]

He had the cowboy walk because of his left knee. John was still strong in the gym, could bench 300lbs and squat 400lbs.

[ARod-brui]

Warren Moon definitely deserves an honorable mention in this debate.

[LatrellSprewell]

Cowboys fan over 40 years, Elway was my idol as a kid. My fav player of all time

[TheSuperGenius]

I saw Elway warm up at Stanford by throwing a ball 50 yards, ON HIS KNEES!

[thebeebyboys]

Best gunslinger of all time. Sundays growing up in Denver were amazing.

[quincyjones]

Randall Cunningham had a very strong arm too!

[MattLight-uuie]

Marino, Elway, and Favre are all top 10 quarterbacks in my book. All of them had legendary arms!

[mikemccormick]

We used to say a short hard pass was a “bullet”. Elway could throw a 30 yard bullet.

[michaell]

As much as Joe Montana was considered to be the greatest quarterback of the 1980s, one can make an argument for John Elway. Montana played for one of the most brilliant head coaches of all time, always played behind a solid OL, and had terrific weapons of which to throw the ball to, including the likes of Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Roger Craig, and Freddie Solomon. The 49ers also had a much better defense than the Broncos’ teams Elway played with. Elway’s comebacks had everything to do with him and his command on the field. Montana’s comebacks was his calm and cool never panic under any situation demeanor plus pinpoint accurate throws behind terrific play calling with extraordinary talented players

[samplermike]

Would have been the GOAT if he played on a better team

[Aggie]

Elway was the team until the end of his career

[Gamevet]

A friend of mine got us front row seats at a Cowboys game against the Broncos in the mid 90s. Every time John threw the ball, you could hear a freakish sound of the ball ripping through the air. One time, when the Dallas D forced him to run towards the sideline, he threw a missile at the Cowboys bench. It was like hearing a bomb go off, when the ball hit the Dallas bench seats.

[BigKahuna-esso]

I saw him throw a 60 yard out pattern vs. the Steelers