Teams
- Indianapolis Colts (1988-1989)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1990-1991)
- Phoenix Cardinals (1991-1993)
- Los Angeles Rams (1994)
- Houston Oilers (1995-1996)
- Atlanta Falcons (1997-2001)
- Chicago Bears (2002-2003)
- St. Louis Rams (2004)
Accolades
- 2x Pro Bowl (1997-1998)
“When we signed him, I told him we were going to stick our neck out because I thought he could win a Super Bowl for us. Now he’s one game away from doing that, and I think he’s good enough to do it.”
-Dan Reeves, former Head Coach, Atlanta Falcons (source)
When Chris Chandler stepped onto the gridiron on January 31, 1999 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, it was the 101st start of his 11-year NFL career. But this wasn’t like the previous 100 starts, because this was Super Bowl XXXIII and his counterpart across the field was future Hall-of-Famer John Elway who was making his 253rd and final start. Chandler had certainly taken the route-less-traveled when he took the field to face Denver. Atlanta was the sixth stop in his pro career, and he had yet to play more than two-and-a-half seasons in any city. But his patience, as well as head coach Dan Reeves’ faith, paid off as the Falcons were a win away from their first Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Following two years as starter at the University of Washington, Chris Chandler was taken in the third round (76th overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Initially backing up Jack Trudeau (who had taken the Colts to the postseason the previous year) and veteran Gary Hogeboom, Chandler was called into action after an 0-3 start. The rookie didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard (67.2 QB rating) but Indy won with their new field general, going 9-4 in their final 13 contests to finish at 9-7, and missing the postseason by only one game. However, head coach Ron Meyer wasn’t impressed. And after a 1-2 start to the 1989 campaign, Meyer went back to Trudeau and Chandler never took another snap for the team that drafted him.
The former Washington Husky was expendable once the Colts drafted Jeff George first overall in 1990, and so he was traded to Tampa Bay just prior to training camp. Primarily backing up Vinny Testaverde on a miserable Bucs team, Chris Chandler lost all six of his starts from 1990-1991 and throwing 14 INTs to just five TDs. He was cut by the Buccaneers mid-season and picked up by another suffering franchise, the Phoenix Cardinals. From the halfway point of 1991 through 1993, Chandler won only five of 17 starts and tossed as many interceptions as he did touchdowns (19).
A free agent during the spring of ’94, the L.A. Rams scooped up the 29-year old journeyman to back up new starter Chris Miller. This is where things finally seemed to click for Chris Chandler. Although he only won two of six spot starts, his abbreviated campaign resulted in a 93.8 passer rating with eight TDs and only two picks. Chandler’s maturation saw him find himself as the primary starter in Houston over the next two seasons. He played decently, if not exemplary, with 35 touchdowns to 21 interceptions in 25 starts. Yet, the Oilers were only 11-14 in Chandler’s starts. But it was no secret that Chandler had been grooming his replacement, former #3 overall pick Steve McNair, over his two years in Houston. And as the Oilers moved on to Tennessee after the 1996 season, they also moved on from Chris Chandler.
With Steve McNair ready to take over quarterbacking duties, the Oilers traded Chris Chandler for a couple draft picks in early 1997 to Atlanta. Perhaps motivated after being released from his fifth team, the Falcons’ new QB had his best season to-date, earning a Pro Bowl nod thanks to the league’s second-best passer rating (95.1). Making the leap from a 3-13 year in ’96 to a 7-9 season in ’97 was promising, but the “Dirty Birds” shattered expectations in 1998 with a dominating 14-2 record. Complemented by running back Jamal Anderson’s 2,165 yards from scrimmage, Chris Chandler made his second straight Pro Bowl while winning 13 of 14 starts. He dominated with the long ball, leading all passers in yards/attempt (9.6) and yards/completion (16.6) while ending up with the NFL’s fourth-best QB rating at 100.9. At 33 years of age, and playing in his first postseason, Chandler’s task was mighty as Atlanta hosted Steve Young and the 49ers in the Divisional Round. While Jamal Anderson ripped up the backfield, the Falcons’ veteran signal caller was steady with a 13-for-19 performance for 169 yards and a pick in a 20-18 victory over San Francisco.
But Chris Chandler’s finest moment as a quarterback came one week later, visiting a Minnesota team that had lost just a single game all season. After Vikings kicker Gary Anderson missed his first field goal all season, a would-be NFC title clinching 38-yarder, Chris Chandler went to work. Down by seven with just two minutes to play, he completed four of six passes, and added a nine-yard scramble, tying the game with a 16-yard TD pass to Terance Mathis. And on Atlanta’s second possession in overtime, backed up on their own 9-yard line, Chandler completed three more passes for 46 yards, and ran for another six, as Atlanta kicker Morten Anderson wrapped up the comeback with a 38-yard winner, 30-27. In an extraordinary showing, the guy who had been abandoned by five teams threw for 340 yards, three touchdowns, and no turnovers.
When Chris Chandler stepped onto the gridiron on January 31, 1999 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, it was the 101st start of his 11-year NFL career. Disappointingly, Super Bowl XXXIII did not go as well as start #100. A 3-0 lead evaporated into a 31-6 hole before the Falcons put up a couple late touchdowns. In his final game, John Elway won Super Bowl MVP as the Denver Broncos soundly defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 34-19. Chandler mustered 249 yards of offense and a late touchdown, but was also intercepted three times in the season finale.
Any hopes of a repeat in 1999 were dashed just two games into the season as Jamal Anderson was lost for the year with a torn ACL. The Falcons started 0-2 and never recovered. What was a Top 5 offense and defense the prior year, fell outside the Top 20 for both in ’99. Chris Chandler was decent, but unremarkable, going 4-8 while throwing for 16 TDs but 11 INTs. Over the first two seasons of the 2000s, he tossed as many picks as touchdowns (26 in total) and the Falcons won just ten of his 27 starts. Having taken Michael Vick with the #1 overall pick in 2001, Atlanta was eager to unleash their new weapon and Chandler was released prior to the 2002 campaign. He would go on to play three more mostly-uneventful seasons, the first two with the Chicago Bears, and a final year with the St. Louis Rams in 2004. Chandler started 15 games over his final three seasons, but only won five and never exceeded 250 passing yards in any of those games.
It took 17 seasons, 155 starts, eight cities, and seven franchises, to write the book on Chris Chandler. Stunningly, despite a nearly two-decade run in the NFL, he only made the postseason once as starter, although it nearly ended up in a Super Bowl ring. Forgive the cliché, but if you look up “Journeyman Quarterback” in the dictionary, there’s a good chance you’ll see a picture of the man mockingly nicknamed “Crystal Chandelier” (due to his injury-prone nature). Yet, the “chandelier” always bounced back and managed to serve as a primary starter in three different decades. After years and years of playing for miserable franchises, Chris Chandler finally got his chance to shine with a winner in 1998 and took full advantage of a golden opportunity.
Chart
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | -0.047 | -0.153 | -0.122 | 0.125 | 0.038 | 0.010 | 0.056 | -0.061 |
| Playoffs | 0.133 | 0.063 | -0.091 | 0.276 | 0.062 | 0.060 | 0.046 | -0.102 |
Longevity Bonus = 0.9 Title Bonus = 0.0
Index Score = 0.014 (average QB = 0.0)
Deviation Rank (out of 153)
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 124th | 140th | 122nd | 76th | 40th | 78th | 65th | 119th |
| Playoffs | T-16th | 31st | 83rd | 33rd | 36th | 30th | 45th | 104th |
Why isn’t he on the Top 100 list?
Chris Chandler sits outside the Top 100 in four of the eight categories, including a bottom 20 showing in total yards per game (#140). He also only shows up in the Top 50 in one category, average of yards/completion + yards/attempt. Nothing truly awful over 17 seasons, but nothing particularly impressive either.
But what made him good?
“Get the football downfield” was Chris Chandler’s mantra. His 9.6 passing yards per attempt in ’98 were nearly a full yard better than his closest competitor, and his yards per completion were an incredible 16.6, over two yards better than the second-best guy (MVP runner-up Randall Cunningham for both). This helped him reach #40 overall in career Y/C/Y/A. Also, he is buoyed by being a primary starter over nine seasons, helping him to an extra 0.9-point longevity bonus.
The Quarterback Project 