Initially 6 quarterbacks pop into my mind. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan.
#6. The first of which Matt Ryan has been a fairly productive regular season quarterback, as well as a consistent 4th quarter quarterback. What Ryan did last Sunday against the Panthers is what he has done time and time again in the regular season. But that is where the issue lies. Ryan has never been able to perform under pressure in the post-season. The Falcons are known as the team who goes 14-2 in the regular season and ends up losing in the playoffs.
#5. The second is Peyton Manning. Peyton is an interesting case. In the past he would have been higher on the list, but as of this year he has not performed as well as the other quarterbacks on the list. Granted, both of the Broncos losses have come against undefeated football teams. Manning has been primarily a 2nd half quarterback this year, throwing 6 of his 8 touchdowns in the 2nd half. The biggest knock against Peyton has been his tendency to underperform in the postseason. He only has one Superbowl despite numerous playoff appearances. Peyton comes in 5th on the list.
#3. 3A and 3B are Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. There is no easy way to decipher between Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. Every single year, Drew Brees proves himself as a 4th quarter scoring machine, keeping the Saints in football games they otherwise would have lost. Rodgers is an interesting case, because it is hard to decipher whether or not he is clutch quart back, solely because he has not been in very many clutch football games. Last year in the 4th quarter, Rodgers and Brees had quarterback ratings of 108.5 and 108.7, respectively. The only difference is that Rodgers threwe 5 of his 7 interceptions last year in the 4th quarter. If question were most valuable player to his team, it is Drew Brees. If it were most gifted quarterback, it is Aaron Rodgers. Therefore, they tie.
#2. Tom Brady. Brady has won 3 superbowls and 16 out of 22 postseason football games. 10 of those 16 postseason wins have been decided by a touchdown or less. Tom Brady came on the scene during the 01-02 season by defeating the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl on a last second field goal. He duplicated that clutch performance against the Panthers a couple years later. Tom Brady was the definition of clutch. He defined the word clutch for all kids from ages 10-18. There would be nothing wrong with the decision to have Tom Brady lead a football team to win one game, except for one issue.
#1. TONY ROMO....HA! who am I kidding....
#1 Eli Manning. The anti-Tom Brady. The statement always goes, "They're the best until someone dethrones them (or something like that)." Such as is commonly done in boxing, Eli Manning took the "championship belt" from Tom Brady. Tom Brady defined clutch and Eli has redefined it. Last year in the 4th quarter, Eli Manning's in-game completion percentage increased from 59% to 67%. His accumulated yards in the 4th quarter equaled 2,054 yards, which is 500 more yards than any other quarter. FInally, 18 of Eli's 28 touchdowns came in the 4th quarter. There have been years where Eli has not performed in the regular season as well as he could or should have. However, when the game is on the line, Eli Manning knows how to win. He has a knack for it. He's done it on the biggest stage in the NFL, winning two SUper Bowls with game winning drives.
The difference between these quarterbacks is very small. You can't go wrong with almost any of them. But with the game on the line, Eli is better. ELi has beaten Tom Brady in two straight super bowls. His 4th quarter numbers and ability are incredible two watch.
If there was a "do or die" football game in the NFL, Eli Manning is the best choice to lead that team to victory.
