No argument for either being HoF BUT, that doesn’t make Big ben’s 2005 season any good. He wasn’t but won a SB. Same thing with Peyton Manning, no question first ballot but his 2015 SB was the absolute worst season a QB has ever had and won the SB. He was awful that year.
Eli will get in, that doesn’t make him a superstar QB although that is a debated point. Kenny stabler and Joe Namath are HoFers, easily more than 1 tier down from say a John elway or joe Montana. Any given year, Eli was a top 10 QB was he ever really a top 5?
My point overall is there is a huge misunderstanding on how “mandatory” these top tier QBs are. We see it almost every year, a highly competitive team with a weaker QB or ever 2-3 years, a QB that doesn’t fit this superstar mold playing in the SB if not winning.
It’s been proven, multiple times, and recently, that you can win the SB without a top QB. What seems harder to prove is if you can win it with a weak Defense.
Protect a QB and marginal QB is all you “need”. Make even the best QBs uncomfortable, they are extremely beatable.
OL and DL are more important than QB.
Edit: also, dilfer was never mediocre. Brad Johnson really wasn’t either. I think Flacco is somewhat under rated but not great and rypien also had one of the greatest triplet WR corps of all time plus Byner rushing (and a GREAT OL).