Nov 20, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts former quarterback Peyton Manning holds the Lombardi Trophy at halftime of a game against the Tennessee Titans to honor the 10th anniversary of the 2006 Super Bowl championship team at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

After winning his fifth Super Bowl in incredible fashion, most consider the greatest NFL quarterback of all time to be Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr. Drafted out of Michigan in the sixth round in 2000, Brady became the starter and turned the Patriots into a dynasty, spanning over the past decade and a half. Tom Brady has the rings, and the head to head advantage over the best quarterback of all time in my opinion, Peyton Manning, eleven games to six. With all of these advantages, how could Manning possibly be better than Brady? Well, here are the reasons.

Stats

The most obvious reason that Manning is the better quarterback is sheer statistics. Manning has not only had the better statistical career than Brady, but of any other quarterback. Peyton has 71,940 career passing yards compared to Brady’s 61,582. 539 touchdowns to 456, 65.3 to 63.8 completion percent, five MVPs to two, the list goes on. According to raw stats, Peyton Manning is the greatest quarterback, or maybe even the greatest player, to ever step on a football field.

Records

The amount of records Manning has amassed over his career is downright unbelievable. Most MVPs in a career, most passing yards, most touchdowns, most yards in a season, most 300 yard playoff games, and most game winning drives in a career. The 14 time pro bowler is also one of two quarterbacks to defeat all of the teams in the NFL, along with Brett Favre. Brady has a few records, but none that compare to Manning’s.

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Football is a Team Game

If you ask any person why Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time, nine times out of ten they will say “rings”. Many forget about the 52 other players on the team, the coaching and managing staff, and the greatest quarterback ever, Bill Belichick. In Belichick’s system, which consists of staying in the pocket and throwing short passes, career backup Matt Cassel went 11–5.

Story continues

Tom Brady is not the primary reason for most of their super bowl victories. The Tuck Rule allowed Brady to reach the super bowl in 2002, where his defense held the Rams’ “greatest show on turf” to 17 points, and Adam Vinatieri hit the game winning field goal. Against the Panthers, Vinatieri won the game from 41 yards with seconds remaining, and against the Eagles, the defense held them to 21 points. Against the Seahawks, the Pats won due to a bad play call and an improbable last second interception by Malcolm Butler. And last season against the Falcons, Julian Edelman made maybe the most incredible catch ever off of an errant Brady throw. Brady failed to defeat the Giants with arguably the best team ever, finishing 18–1, and many say the 2017 Patriots are even more stacked than the 18–1 squad.

Peyton’s Struggle

Peyton Manning never had Bill Belichick. Peyton never had an elite defense until his final season, where he won the title. Throughout his tenure in Indianapolis, Manning’s defense ranked in the bottom half in the league for over half of the seasons. Despite this, Peyton led the Colts to two super bowls, and won one. Peyton has four different coaches: Jim Caldwell, Tony Dungy, John Fox, and Gary Kubiak.

Peyton has had his share of unfortunate breaks in big games. Mike Vanderjagt, in 2005, missed a potential game winning field goal in the divisional round. His receivers dropped important passes in super bowl XLIV against the Saints. His defense gave away many wins, including a hail mary to Baltimore in the 2012 divisional round. If Peyton had a better defense, he may have three or four rings.

Play styles

What do Tom Brady, Troy Aikman, and Terry Bradshaw have in common? They were all excellent game managers with a masterful head coach, an insurmountable defense, and a potent running game. For most of his career, Manning had none of this. Matt Cassel excelled in the Patriots system. It was Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett who led the Patriots to a 3–1 start in 2016.

In 2011, led by Curtis Painter, the Colts finished 2–14 without Peyton. Peyton made everyone around him better. He read defenses and made last second audibles to pick up blitzes as if he was taking place in some kind of spygate scandal. His impeccable deep balls and precision touch passes were never replicated by Tom Brady, or anyone for that matter. With his innumerable and ever-changing signals for receivers and the rest of the offense, nobody could ever know what he was doing. Manning played football like nobody ever has, and nobody ever will.

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are two incredible players. They are both inexplicably great, and both of them changed football for the better. Manning is completely deserving of the ring of honor ceremony at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 8th, where his jersey will be retired and his statue erected the day before. Despite the incredible resume that Tom Brady has and still is putting on, Peyton Manning is the greatest quarterback, and the greatest football player of all time.

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