Tom Brady fun fact: Tom Brady is 2-5 against Archie Manning’s spawn in the playoffs, and it’s a 5 game losing streak.

Not gonna lie, pretty pumped to see Denver win that game, if solely for the fact that we won’t be subjected to a Patriots Super Bowl again till at least next year. Honestly Brady probably wanted this one so he could shove it in Goodell’s face but it can’t hurt that much when he has 4 rings and just won it last season.

I have a lot of respect for Brady as a player but Peyton will always be my #1 QB ever. It’s pretty much 1a and 1b, and honestly if someone thinks Brady is a better QB, I won’t hold that against them. If you go by postseason success and championships, I don’t think anyone beats Brady. He’s been to 6 Super Bowls, won 4, and got within a game of like 3 more. No QB is ever going to touch that kind of success.

But for me at least, I don’t put as much value on postseason wins and championships for individuals. Wins, and especially postseason wins, are a team accomplishment. It feels weird to give Peyton all the blame for things like Vanderjagt missing kicks while giving Brady all the credit for Vinatieri making them. Peyton does seem to have a tendency to play worse in the playoffs where Brady doesn’t, but still. Peyton always seemed to drag the Colts kicking and screaming into the playoffs but you can only carry a team by yourself so far. It’s telling that Peyton’s one ring came on a year that the Colts actually played defense. Brady had a good defense each time he won the Super Bowl, especially the first 3. Brady as we know him didn’t really seem to become Tom Goddamn Brady until 2006-2007. Before then he was just a good to great QB. since 2007, he’s been one of the best ever. Peyton has been Peyton pretty much every year since he came into the league (outside this season and half of last year).

My argument for Peyton is pretty much this:

-Tom Brady has had the benefit of the same coach (who is the best coach ever) for his entire run. That kind of consistency is something players dream of. Him and Belichick probably don’t even have to talk at this point, they just know each other so well. Peyton has never been afforded that level of consistency. He’s gone to the Super Bowl 4 times now, with two teams, and a different coach every single time. He can win with anybody, he’s proven that. We don’t know if Tom can. He’s never had to. He’s had the best organization one could ask for behind him every step of the way.

-Peyton has a reputation as a playoff choker but he’s still right behind Brady in most postseason categories. He has a lot of negative stats, but when you go to the playoffs all the time you’re gonna rack up losses too.

-Eli has two rings, does anyone actually legitimately think Eli is better than Peyton? That Dilfer is better than Marino? So why does Tom Brady’s postseason success get used as a barometer against Peyton?

-Peyton has actually won the majority of head to head matchups in the playoffs. For being called a “regular season QB” he comes out on top of Brady in the playoffs. If you want to count wins and directly compare the two that way this has to count for something. He’s 3-2, 3-1 in the AFCCG and Brady hasn’t actually beaten Peyton since the 2004 season playoffs. Also, the home team has always won. I feel like that sort of stat goes in favor of it being a team game, which also bolsters Peyton’s argument. Brady has a lot of post-season success but he rarely has to travel. In a home field like Foxboro, that matters.

-Peyton has won the MVP 5 times compared to Brady’s 2. MVPs are probably a better direct individual comparison point than team sport championships. In this case the ratio is flipped. Brady has 3 more rings, Peyton has 3 more MVPs.

-Peyton has thrown an obscene amount of TDs and Yards.

-The Broncos collapse against the Seahawks was bad but I don’t think that Patriot team beats the Hawks either. I think it’s funny that both previous record setting offenses (2007, 2013) actually lost in the Super Bowl.

-Brady is much better at taking care of the ball, I’ll give him that

-Peyton has more rush TDs lol that’s hilarious to me actually

Point is, if your main reason why Brady is better is because he’s won more Super Bowls, and that’s it, you should take a longer look at the wider context. I think Peyton’s been in tougher positions with his teams, and he serves as a better example of how hard it is to win everything in a team sport, even when you are one of the best players to ever play the game. Peyton’s success mostly feels like his own accomplishments, where as to me Tom Brady’s success feels tied to the Patriots organization as a whole. The Patriots, under BB, are the best team of all time. We may sigh of relief now as they go home, but we all know they’ll be back next year, because they are the goddamn Patriots.

Also Peyton is going to lose in two weeks. Carolina is so good. I don’t think it’ll be the shellacking it was last time because this is a different Broncos team, but the Denver offense isn’t going to put up points on Carolina even if the Denver D can probably keep it close. But then again, three years ago so many people wrote off the good D mediocre O Seahawks and look what happened. I’m not picking Denver to win, but people aren’t giving Denver enough credit here.