There's a serious argument to be made that Dan Marino is the greatest NFL quarterback of all time. No one in the 1980s stacked up to the Miami Dolphins great who as a second-year quarterback won the 1984 Most Valuable Player and then led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns for three consecutive seasons from 1984-1986.
Marino made incredible throws throughout his career. Of course, no one can forget about his famous fake spike that worked to perfection, either. Despite the 61,000 yards and 420 touchdowns he amassed on the field, his most impressive throw might be a 40-yard pass behind his back in practice.
I'm not even sure Patrick Mahomes could do this.
Dan Marino's 40-Yard Behind-The-Back Pass
This 40-yard-behind-the-back @DanMarino pass is UNREAL ??? (September 10, 1988) (via JoeSchilp/YT) pic.twitter.com/zwZlSlQ79L
— NFL Throwback (@nflthrowback) September 7, 2018
RELATED: Dan Marino's Net Worth: No Super Bowl Rings? No Problem
OK Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers, let's see you guys try to do that. John Elway and Joe Montana could never.
According to Bleacher Report, Marino decided to show off his ridiculous arm in this vintage clip during a walk-through practice in Buffalo in 1988.
You can tell this is during the 1980s because why on Earth would there be a giant Marlboro billboard in the stadium? And we need to point out Marino's all-teal track suit as well as that receiver's impeccable combination of a crop top, short shorts and knee-high white socks.
Times were different back then.
This isn't the only of such throws. Hall-of-Famers Sonny Jurgensen once did this in practice and even hit his receiver in stride. Then he went and pulled it off in a freakin' game.
Baker Mayfield did this in college before a game too.
We saw Baker Mayfield's behind the back pass in Rose Bowl pregame. Let's remember the great Sonny Jurgensen who set the Redskins' single-season record for passing touchdowns with 31 in 1967 at the age of 33. #HTTR pic.twitter.com/rtd7jfvb23
— David Menassé (@Frekiwolf) February 9, 2018
This goes without saying, too, but Dan Marino was one cool cat back then. We know from his hilarious 80s commercial this was true. A 40-yard pass behind his back simply cemented that fact.
That season, Marino's 4,434 passing yards led the league. The Dolphins limped to a 6-10 record, however.
If a video like this emerged today, you just know it would be computer-generated and there'd be some story about Dan Marino partnering with Marlboro to try to go viral. But back then, things were simple. Marino just wanted to show off that cannon.
Marino never won a Super Bowl, which is a damn shame considering we could've seen something like this on the world's biggest stage.
