BOSTON (CBS) — Last week, one writer made waves around the NFL world by ranking Tom Brady as the worst of the eight remaining quarterbacks still playing in the postseason. This weekend, we have a very different story.

Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman asked eight NFL personnel men (including several scouts and one GM) one question, protected under the safety of anonymity. The question: Who is the better quarterback — Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?

The results may surprise you.

Freeman reported that the results of his informal and unscientific poll overwhelmingly favored Brady, with seven of the eight participants choosing Brady.

Freeman asked them the same question but for last year, and the results were 6-2 in favor of Brady, whereas if it were five years ago, the group was split at 4-4.

Mind you, this is all coming after Manning set NFL records for passing yards and passing touchdowns, in the same season when Brady finished the season with his lowest touchdown total since 2006 and his worst completion percentage since 2003.

“Overall, there was a central theme among the voters: While Manning is a more physically gifted thrower, Brady is the better overall quarterback because he has done more with less,” Freeman wrote. “Please, do not read this as Manning bashing. It is not. In talking to an admittedly small pool of NFL team executives, there is awe at what Manning has done. It’s just that there is more awe at Brady’s accomplishments.”

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Brady and Manning, fortunately, will have the ability to turn this hypothetical argument into a tangible result on Sunday afternoon in the AFC Championship Game.

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