Professional Career
O'Brien played quarterback for over a decade in the National Football League. He was taken in the 1983 NFL Draft with the 24th pick of the first round by the New York Jets out of UC Davis; three picks before Dan Marino. O'Brien amassed over 25,000 yards in his 11-year career. In 1985, he was the highest rated quarterback in the NFL, finishing the season with a rating of 96.2. He also led the NFL with the lowest rate of interceptions in 1985, 1987, and 1988. After an 11-5 record in 1985, O'Brien helped his team open up with a 10-1 record in 1986. After ten games he was leading the NFL with a 111.1 rating (in fact he was the only NFL QB with a rating over 100). However his team lost the remaining five games because of his own broken finger and injuries to other key players (April 1990 Football Digest).
He retired after spending the 1993 season with the Philadelphia Eagles where he only started 4 games and mostly served as a backup for Randall Cunningham and Bubby Brister. He is the only quarterback to pass for 400 or more yards (431) in a game and earn a perfect NFL 158.3 rating, a feat he accomplished against the Seattle Seahawks in 1986. O'Brien was also the holder of another NFL record that lasted for 25 years when he combined for 927 (884 net) yards and 10 TDs passing with Dan Marino. The new record (achieved January 1, 2012) is 1000 yards passing with 11 TDs (the same amount of TDs with 63 more yards) in a game that featured the Detroit Lions vs the Green Bay Packers. O'Brien went to the Pro Bowl two times, in 1985 and 1991.
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