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Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson both break Ben Roethlisberger's rookie passer rating record

It took eight years in a pass-heavy NFL for a rookie to best Ben Roethlisberger's 98.1 season passer rating set in his rookie season of 2004. Washington's Robert Griffin III and Seattle's Russell Wilson both topped 100 in 2012.

Rob Carr

It took over 20 years for a rookie quarterback to beat Dan Marino's rookie passer rating record of 96.0. Ben Roethlisberger topped it with 98.1 in his first year, leading the Steelers to a 15-1 record an an appearance in the 2004 AFC Championship game.

Just eight years later, concluding what will likely go down as the Year of the Rookie Quarterback, Washington's Robert Griffin finished his first year with a rating of 102.4, breaking Roethlisberger's record and finishing third in the NFL behind Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers (108.0) and Denver's Peyton Manning (105.8).

'He wasn't the only one, either. Seattle's Russell Wilson, a third round pick, has the second-highest rookie passer rating with 100.0, the highest non-first-round rating for a rookie in league history.

This season is the first in NFL history to see three rookie quarterbacks lead their teams to the playoffs - Griffin's Redskins and Wilson's Seahawks will square off in D.C. in the NFC Wild Card playoffs. The Colts, led by first overall pick Andrew Luck are the AFC's No. 5 seed, and will travel to Baltimore for a Wild Card game against the AFC North champion Ravens.

No rookie quarterback has ever won the Super Bowl as a starter. Roethlisberger (in 2004) and Baltimore's Joe Flacco (in 2008) lost conference championship games their rookie seasons.