How did every NFL Hall of Fame QB fare in their final season?

After two dominant seasons back from a neck injury, the second involving records that still stand, Manning declined during the 2014 campaign's second half. He accepted a $4 million pay cut in 2015, with playoff incentives replacing salary. A shell of his peak version or his early-2010s self, Manning suffered a foot injury and missed six games. Gary Kubiak reinserted the 39-year-old legend into the lineup midway through Week 17, a win that gave the Broncos the AFC's top seed. An elite defense protected Manning in the playoffs. A win over the Patriots moved Manning to 3-1 against Tom Brady in AFC title games, and Super Bowl 50 brought another Broncos QB walk-off (and years of failed replacement attempts).

The Vikings signed Favre after retirement No. 2, with the Jets, and saw him overdeliver in an age-40 season. Favre's dominance could not quite drag Minnesota to Super Bowl XLIV, and he retired a third time. Three Vikings, including future Hall of Fame guard Steve Hutchinson, trekked to Mississippi to lure Favre back again. At 41, Favre could not keep pace. The Vikings went 6-10, and Favre missed three games, seeing a shoulder injury end his record-setting ironman streak at 297 starts. The Vikings reacquired Randy Moss via trade and then cut him not long after, and Favre finished his 20th season with an 11-19 TD-INT ratio.

Warner further burnished his Canton credentials in his 12th NFL season, coming back after the Cardinals' narrow Super Bowl XLIII loss and playing well at 38. Continuing to leave Arizona's Matt Leinart plan in the rearview mirror, Warner powered the Cards to a 10-6 record and a second straight NFC West title. A historic shootout commenced in the wild-card round, as Warner and Aaron Rodgers dueled in the desert. Warner was 29 of 33 for 378 yards, with five TD passes (and no INTs) winning out over the Packers in a 51-45 overtime classic. A week later, Warner became part of the Saints' Bountygate scandal, being knocked out of a divisional-round blowout loss in New Orleans.

Back trouble and a 10th reported concussion limited Aikman to 11 games in his 12th season. The future broadcasting mainstay had helped the Cowboys to their eighth playoff berth of the 1990s in 1999, but Dallas was worse under new coach Dave Campo. They went 5-11, and a LaVar Arrington hit concussed Aikman in a Week 15 game. The three-time Super Bowl champ threw just seven TD passes compared to 14 INTs, and the Cowboys cut the longest-tenured QB1 in team history before he was due a $7 million roster bonus. Aikman nearly reunited with Norv Turner on the Chargers soon after, but San Diego's Doug Flutie signing led him to retire. 

The Chiefs employed a 44-year-old backup quarterback in 2000, Elvis Grbac's fourth and final year with the team. After Rich Gannon left for Oakland in 1999, Kansas City signed Moon, who made one start in two seasons. The former Oilers, Vikings and Seahawks Pro Bowler started in a Week 3 game against the Chargers, who picked up their only win that season in a 17-16 game. Moon was just 12-for-31 in the road loss. As Grbac left in 2001, Moon retired after 23 professional seasons (the first six in Canada). Moon retired as the NFL's third-leading passer, behind Dan Marino and John Elway, and is the only Black QB in Canton. 

The last of the famed 1983 quarterback class to retire, Marino struggled in his 17th season. At 38, the Dolphins icon missed five games due to a shoulder injury and finished with a negative TD-INT ratio for the only time in his career. The NFL's then-passing kingpin did duel with second-year QB Peyton Manning in a late-season shootout loss, but the Dolphins went 1-5 after reinserting the 17th-year passer into their lineup. Nevertheless, Marino picked up a final playoff win -- a wild-card outing in Seattle -- before a historic blowout in Jacksonville ended things. The Dolphins cut Marino not long after a 62-7 loss, and while Vikings interest emerged, retirement followed.

Circumstances kept Young from becoming a full-time starter until age 30, but the pinpoint passer still did enough for Hall of Fame entry. The two-time MVP had directed the 49ers to the divisional round in 1998, after a game-winning dime to Terrell Owens downed the Packers , a punishing hit provided an abrupt ending to Young's career early in the '99 season. Cardinals Hall of Fame-bound DB Aeneas Williams decked Young on a blitz in a Week 3 game, and the famed southpaw missed the rest of the season with a concussion. Symptoms lingered, and the 49ers transitioned to ex-CFLer Jeff Garcia. Young retired as the highest-rated passer in NFL history.

After exorcising his Super Bowl demons via the Broncos' upset win over the Packers, Elway contemplated retirement. Urging from his family brought him back for a 16th season, and it doubled as the best team in franchise history. The Broncos started 13-0 and finished the regular season 14-2. This included a 4-0 mark under backup Bubby Brister, as Elway nursed a hamstring injury. Elway still threw 22 TD passes and posted a career-high 7.9 yards per attempt. The 38-year-old QB steered the Broncos to three double-digit playoff wins, punctuating his career with a 336-yard Super Bowl XXXIII showing that garnered him MVP honors. The Broncos remain the only team to see a QB retire after a Super Bowl win, with Manning bringing a recurrence during Elway's GM stay.

Kelly did not last too much longer as an NFL starter than Young, his one-time USFL opponent. The four-time Super Bowl starter commanded 11 Bills offenses and started 13 games in 1996, leading the Bills to their eighth playoff berth in his tenure. Kelly did see his INT count spike to 19, compared to 14 TD passes, and injuries became an issue. The pocket passer suffered a concussion during the Bills' wild-card loss to the second-year Jaguars franchise, which took out Elway's No. 1-seeded Broncos a round later. Kelly left Buffalo's first-round game and did not want to come back a shell of himself, retiring at 36. 

Montana accounted himself well with the Chiefs, producing the team's most memorable season between the Len Dawson and Patrick Mahomes periods. After the 1993 trade acquisition steered the Chiefs to their only playoff wins between Super Bowl IV and a 2015 wild-card game, he started 14 games in 1994. This was better than the injury-prone superstar's 11 1993 outings, and he added an eighth 3,000-yard passing season. The Chiefs went 9-5 in Montana's starts, one of them a victorious Monday-night duel with Elway that ended a lengthy Kansas City losing skid in Denver. A wild-card loss against Marino's Dolphins wrapped Montana's age-38 season and 16-year career. 

Going into his 15th season, Fouts and the Chargers engaged in contract squabbles, but the former Air Coryell pilot remained in the team's lineup for much of the 1987 slate. Fouts started 11 games during the strike-shortened season, which featured regulars primarily play only 12 contests. A shoulder malady kept Fouts off the field for San Diego's season finale. Coryell was gone by this point, and Al Saunders ran the show for a Bolts team that finished 8-7. Fouts' 6.9 yards per attempt was his lowest since his rookie season, and the once-prolific bearded star tossed just 10 TD passes. He hung up his cleats after the year, introducing a period of QB instability for the Bolts.

Best known for his Raiders years, Stabler finished his career with Bum Phillips on the Oilers -- after a one-for-one trade for QB Dan Pastorini -- and Saints. Stabler replaced Archie Manning as the New Orleans starter in 1982 and started 14 games in '83. The Saints acquired longtime Jets starter Richard Todd in exchange for a first-round pick in 1984, moving Stabler to the bench ahead of his age-38 season. Stabler completed 33 of 70 passes, five of those throws resulting in INTs, as a backup and fumbled late in a loss to the Cowboys. He then took the unusual step to retire in-season, leaving in October of his 18th year. Todd was out as the Saints' starter by 1985.

Bradshaw managed to play through an elbow injury throughout the 1982 season, starting all nine regular-season games during the strike-shortened year and then a shootout loss against the Chargers in the rejiggered playoffs' first round. In March 1983, Bradshaw underwent arm surgery and famously used the "Thomas Brady" alias at a Louisiana hospital in a failed attempt to keep it under wraps. The procedure did not allow for a return to start the season, and the four-time Super Bowl winner only played in one more game. Bradshaw threw eight passes in Week 15 against the Jets, reinjuring the elbow on a TD pass to Calvin Sweeney. That was it for the future TV mainstay, who retired at 35.

Still standing seven years after the Dolphins' second Super Bowl championship, Griese started only three games in his final season. Losing his job to Don Strock after Week 2, the three-time Super Bowl starter's return to the lineup in Week 5 introduced a shoulder injury that sidelined him for good. Griese sustained an injury on a hit against the Saints, bringing rookie and future Super Bowl XVII starter David Woodley into the lineup. Griese had not recovered in time to throw by summer 1983. Opting against a surgery that would have sidelined him for the season, the 14-year veteran retired at 36. 

Tom Landry urged Staubach to keep going, citing an improved play from the mid-1970s. It is true Staubach thrived at 37, throwing a career-high 27 touchdown passes compared to 11 INTs while leading the Cowboys to another NFC East crown. The NFL's passer rating leader, Staubach ended his final regular season with a thrilling comeback to snare the division title from Washington in the final seconds. Staubach's naval service stalled his NFL career until he was 27, and he did not fully take the Dallas reins until 1973. The two-time Super Bowl champ made the most of a truncated career and left the door open to coming back if Danny White sustained an injury. No comeback commenced.

Tarkenton retired 52 touchdown passes and nearly 7,000 yards in front of second place in the NFL record books, and he completed his career by coming back from a broken leg sustained midway through the 1977 season. The 1978 Vikings went 8-7-1 to win another NFC Central crown, and Tarkenton led the NFL with 3,468 passing yards in the first season of the 16-game era. He also paced the league with 32 INTs, averaging a career-worst 6.1 yards per pass. After a 34-10 wild-card loss to the Rams, the Vikings had Tommy Kramer waiting in the wings. Tarkenton retired following his 18th season and agreed to multiple TV deals, including a "Monday Night Football" gig. 

Numerous injuries interrupted Namath throughout his career, particularly during its second half. The spree of setbacks finally moved the Jets to cut the Super Bowl III MVP, leading him to the Rams in 1977. While a Los Angeles team unable to find a steady quarterback answer turned to the 34-year-old veteran, he made it through just four starts. A chest injury sustained during a Monday-night game against the Bears sidelined Namath, who became Pat Haden's backup upon recovering. Namath, who had battled knee and hamstring problems for years, threw four INTs that night and called it quits the following January.

Morten Andersen eventually matched Blanda by playing 26 seasons, but the latter made it that far by spending much of his career as a quarterback. The former Oilers MVP and two-time AFL champion, Blanda made the transition to kicker late in his career. The Daryle Lamonica and Ken Stabler backup had been a kicker throughout his career but transitioned away from a starting QB role upon joining the Raiders at age 40 in 1967. Blanda still saw spot QB duty but spent nine seasons as Oakland's primary kicker. Blanda made 13 of 21 field goals, including two overtime game-winners, at age 48. He remains the only NFLer to play at that age.

Dawson won three AFL titles as a starting quarterback, carrying his Dallas Texans promise to Kansas City. The Super Bowl IV winner played 19 seasons, finishing up at 40. The Chiefs had fired 15-year head coach Hank Stram after the 1974 season, but Dawson hung around despite not being the team's starter. Longtime backup Mike Livingston had taken the reins, starting for Paul Wiggin's team in Week 1. A shoulder injury sidelined Livingston for two September games, giving Dawson a final run. Dawson then played three more to close the season. While he went 1-4 as a starter that year, he led the NFL with a 66.4% completion rate.

Washington's 1974 team featured an intersection of eras at quarterback. Starter Billy Kilmer remained, but a 40-year-old Jurgensen teamed with Joe Theismann, who had migrated south from the CFL to begin his NFL journey. This created an interesting QB room, one Theismann would not lead for years. Battling through injuries, Jurgensen made four starts that season; Washington won three of them. Jurgensen's highwater mark in his finale came via a final-seconds game-winning toss to Larry Smith to down the two-time reigning champion Dolphins in Week 5. Washington cut Jurgensen after the season, and he retired soon after. 

Under new ownership in 1972, the Colts benched Unitas. They then traded the Baltimore icon for mere cash considerations. The Chargers were busy at QB in January 1973, first acquiring Unitas and then trading established starter John Hadl to the Rams. The Bolts then selected Dan Fouts in the third round of a draft then held January 30-31. A two-Hall of Famer QB room spawned, but Unitas -- at 40 -- did not last long as San Diego's starter. Though Unitas helmed a 34-7 rout of the Bills in Week 2, coach Harland Svare benched him in Week 4 -- the QB's first trip to his native Pittsburgh. Fouts took over. While Unitas attempted to stay on for the 1974 season, he retired early in training camp.

Starr hung around Green Bay for four post-Vince Lombardi seasons, but his final year brought an extended rehab period due to two summer surgeries. Starr underwent procedures to repair a damaged arm tendon in July and August that year, sidelining him for months. The five-time champion was back by late November, but he made it back in time only to make three starts -- two losses and a tie for rookie coach Dan Devine's team. Starr did not throw a touchdown pass in his final season, but the 38-year-old great aimed to play one more year. Arm and shoulder pain intervened, and Starr -- later a nine-year Packers HC -- took over as the team's QBs coach.

Benched for John Brodie in San Francisco, Tittle thrived as a late-career Giant. The aging passer took the team to three straight NFL championship games and set a single-season touchdown pass record (36) that stood for 21 years. Following that MVP 1963 season, Tittle regressed, throwing 10 TD passes and 22 INTs. He played through injuries, including a concussion, and a picture snapped after a pick-six in Pittsburgh remains an immortal NFL image. The Giants went 2-11-1 in 1964 and had benched Tittle for rookie Gary Wood. Tittle opted to retire rather than slide further into mediocrity, exiting at 38 with a then-NFL-record 176 games played.

The Lions discarded Layne before he turned 32, stunning the hard-partying quarterback by trading him weeks after he had recovered from the broken leg that ended his 1957 season early. Layne, however, stuck around for five more seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in 1959 and remained the Steelers' starter through the '62 campaign. Layne guided the Steelers to a then-franchise-best nine wins in 1962, though he only threw nine TD passes in 11 starts. The three-time NFL champion retired at 36, leaving the game as the all-time leader in TD passes (187) and passing yards (25,082). He may or may not have cursed the Lions for decades.

Although John Elway and Peyton Manning are the only QBs to retire after Super Bowl wins, Van Brocklin beat them to a championship exit before the NFL's ultimate game debuted. Van Brocklin retired after handing what became Vince Lombardi's only championship loss as Packers coach. A champion with the Rams early in his career, Van Brocklin finished with three Eagles seasons. He started every Eagles game, at age 34, in 1960 and earned All-Pro honors after throwing 24 TD passes. He lifted the home team to a 17-13 win over Green Bay to close the season, immediately becoming the Vikings head coach upon retiring. 

Before the 1954 season, Graham had determined he would leave after that year concluded. Graham completed a historic 3/3 game, with the six ground and aerial TDs coming in a 56-10 Browns rout of the Lions to avenge back-to-back championship losses. Prepared to devote more time to an insurance career, Graham left the door open for a 1955 return. Paul Brown signed off on a $25,000 raise to ensure it. The greatest QB of his era picked up a third MVP award in 1955 and lifted the Browns to a 38-14 win over the Rams to close the 1955 season. That completed a 10-for-10 run of championship appearances and gave Graham a seventh title, counting his four AAFC crowns.

Norm Van Brocklin had forced a timeshare with Waterfield, and the Rams deployed both their Hall of Fame-bound quarterbacks in a rare co-QB setup for years. This produced a 1950 season that still stands as the NFL's points-per-game pinnacle (38.8) and a 1951 championship. Waterfield had already won a title as a rookie, quarterbacking the Cleveland Rams in 1945, but he was riding shotgun to Van Brocklin by 1952. At 32, Waterfield said before season's end he would retire. Splitting starts with Van Brocklin, Waterfield threw three TD passes and 11 INTs. The five-time All-Pro threw for just 13 yards in the Rams' playoff loss to the Lions. 

Baugh made it known during his final season he would be done. This came during his 16th NFL slate, which was then a league record. Playing every season with Washington, Baugh said the team's season finale against Philadelphia would be his last. Baugh, 38 at the time and doubling as an assistant coach, did not play in the game. He had been Eddie LeBaron's backup at that point. After making nine starts and earning his final Pro Bowl honor in 1951, Baugh threw just 33 passes in '52. The two-time NFL champion retired with 50 more TD passes (187) and nearly 5,000 more yards than his closest contemporary. 

Supplanted as the Bears' primary passer by the younger Johnny Lujack, Luckman retired after his 12th season. Baugh's top rival had won four NFL titles and earned five first-team All-Pro honors running George Halas' machine. The Bears won four NFL championships from 1940-46, and Luckman was the triggerman in each of those seasons. Luckman's seven TD passes in a 1943 game remain tied for the NFL record. Lujack ate into his workload beginning in 1949, and Luckman threw just 37 passes in a zero-start 1950 season. The Bears' greatest QB retired and moved into the team's front office.