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The Franchise QBs: Final rankings of the top signal-callers in Cowboys history

We've identified the top all-time quarterbacks for every NFL team and asked our NFL Nation beat reporters -- and you, the fans -- to help us determine each signal-caller's place in franchise history.

What follows is the final ranking of the top quarterbacks in Dallas Cowboys history, both from our NFL Nation reporter and our final fan polling.

NFL Nation ranking:

1. Roger Staubach

2. Troy Aikman

3. Tony Romo

4. Danny White

5. Don Meredith

Aikman has one more Super Bowl win than Staubach, but Captain Comeback earns the top nod because of what he meant to a franchise that was "next year's champs" before he took over. Neither player is defined by their stats. Aikman had just one season with more than 20 touchdown passes. Staubach was a 57 percent passer. They were defined by wins. Romo has the statistics as the franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns, but he won just two playoff games. In his later years, however, the appreciation for his talents seemed to grow. White had the misfortune of being the first quarterback to take over for Staubach, and three straight NFC Championship Game appearances were not good enough for a fandom that wanted Super Bowls. Meredith felt the sting of expectations as well and retired early because of it, but he was the first star of the franchise and carried the team from expansion loser to winner, if not an NFL title. -- Todd Archer


Fan ranking:

All contextual numbers for each quarterback have been provided by ESPN Stats & Information.