Dan Marino's MVP season still a benchmark for QBs to chase

As far as best quarterback seasons go, Dan Marino's MVP season in 1984 is up there with the best ever. In just his second season in the NFL, the quarterback laid waste to the entire league and picked up the MVP award.

The only knock on Dan Marino is that he doesn't have the elusive Super Bowl ring to tie his NFL career into a neat bow. Still, without it, he is thought to be one of the best to ever do it at the elite level.

In total, he played 17 seasons, all with the Miami Dolphins. He went to the playoffs 10 times, which included a run of three straight appearances from 1983 to 1985.

For most quarterbacks, they are judged on what they do during the postseason. While Marino's 8-10 record doesn't scream Hall of Fame quality, it was what he did during the regular season that thrust him into Canton.

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Dan Marino's MVP season in 1984

Miami Dolphins v Chicago Bears

The 1984 regular season will go down as one of the best ever, personally for Marino. He played all 16 games for Miami and led them to a 14-2 record. He threw for 5,084 yards, 48 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also averaged 317 yards per game and had a rating of 108.9. On top of that, he was only sacked 13 times through 16 games, which is unheard of.

The Dolphins under Marino started off in hot form, steamrolling through the first 11 games and winning them all. The closest any team got to them was the Eagles on the 11th game. Miami won 24-23, but prior to that, the closest a team got was Buffalo in Week 3 (Miami won 21-17). Aside from that, it was a lot of double digit wins for Marino and his team.

Dan Marino's MVP season ended with Miami being the overwhelming favorites for the Super Bowl. Miami won the first two playoff games to make it to the penultimate game against the San Francisco 49ers, but lost 38-16, which was Miami's lowest score of the season.

While Dan Marino's MVP season was one for the record books, is it tarnished somewhat since he failed to win the Lombardi trophy?

Still, Dan Marino's MVP season in 1984 is the benchmark for quarterbacks today to chase, even if they might never get there.