With his second Lombardi in tow, Peyton Manning reached rarified air in NFL history, joining just a handful of quarterbacks to win two Super Bowls. For many, this has reignited the Manning/Brady debate over who is the greater quarterback. Obviously Manning just won his second title, but anyone watching the game would have to admit that he really did not have much to do with that. The Broncos did not want to put the game in Manning's hands, and one cannot even say that "at least he played mistake free football". After all, he threw one interception, fumbled twice - losing one - and had several other balls that could easily have been intercepted. In short, he was very bad on Sunday, yet his team won. So how should that win have been a plus in Manning's column?
Let's compare the two men in terms of their Super Bowl performances only. Here are the statistics:
Brady
SB 36 (W): 16-27, 145 yds, 1 td, 0 int, 86.2 rating, 0 turnovers
SB 38 (W): 32-48, 354 yds, 3 td, 1 int, 100.5 rating, 1 turnover
SB 39 (W): 23-33, 236 yds, 2 td, 0 int, 110.2 rating, 0 turnovers
SB 42 (L): 29-48, 266 yds, 1 td, 0 int, 82.5 rating, 0 turnovers
SB 46 (L): 27-41, 276 yds, 2 td, 1 int, 91.1 rating, 1 turnover
SB 49 (W): 37-50, 328 yds, 4 td, 2 int, 101.1 rating, 2 turnovers
TOTALS: 164-247 (66.4%), 1605 yds, 13 td, 4 int, 95.3 rating, 4 turnovers
In Wins: 108-154 (68.4%), 1063 yds, 10 td, 3 int, 100.3 rating, 3 turnovers
In Losses: 56-89 (62.9%), 542, 3 td, 1 int, 86.4 rating, 1 turnover
Manning
SB 41 (W): 25-38, 247 yds, 1 td, 1 int, 81.8 rating, 1 turnover
SB 44 (L): 31-45, 333 yds, 1 td, 1 int, 88.5 rating, 1 turnover
SB 48 (L): 34-49, 280 yds, 1 td, 2 int, 73.5 rating, 3 turnovers
SB 50 (W): 13-23, 141 yds, 0 td, 1 int, 56.6 rating, 2 turnovers
TOTALS: 103-155 (66.5%), 3 td, 5 int, 77.4 rating, 7 turnovers
In Wins: 38-61 (62.3%), 388 yds, 1 td, 2 int, 72.3 rating, 3 turnovers
In Losses: 33-47 (69.1%), 613 yds, 2 td, 3 int, 80.7 rating, 4 turnovers
If you rank these performances by passer rating, here's how they rank:
1. Brady (SB 39), 110.2
2. Brady (SB 49), 101.1
3. Brady (SB 38), 100.5
4. Brady (SB 46), 91.1
5. Manning (SB 44), 88.5
6. Brady (SB 36), 86.2
7. Brady (SB 42), 82.5
8. Manning (SB 41), 81.8
9. Manning (SB 48), 73.5
10. Manning (SB 50), 56.6
So Manning had only one game that was better than Brady's worst game.
Now, here are quick game capsules for what happened in the games, and how each QB did.
SB 36 - Brady, essentially a rookie, goes up against the #3 defense. After the Rams tie the game late in the 4th quarter, Brady, with no timeouts, drives the Patriots into field goal range, setting up the game-winning FG by Adam Vinatieri.
SB 38 - Brady lights up the #8 defense in football, but once again, the opponent scores late to tie the game. Brady drives the team into field goal range again, setting up another Vinatieri game-winning FG.
SB 39 - Brady dissects the #2 scoring defense in the league, and the Patriots control the game in the second half.
SB 41 - Manning, coming off a fantastic season, struggles all playoffs long (3 td, 7 int), faces the #5 defense in the league. He plays ok, but it's the defense and running game that carries Indy. It's a close game until Indy gets a pick-six in the fourth quarter to make it 29-17 and seal the deal.
SB 42 - Brady is hit often against a Giants' defense that ranked #7 in the league. The offense struggles all game long, but in the 4th quarter, Brady leads a late scoring drive, throwing a TD pass with just over two minutes left. Eli Manning leads a miracle last-minute drive to win the game for the Giants.
SB 44 - Manning goes up against the #25 defense in the league, and the offense struggles, scoring only 17 points. The Colts are down a touchdown late, and Manning has a chance for a signature drive, but with 3:12 left, Manning throws a 74 yard pick-six to Tracy Porter to seal the loss.
SB 46 - Brady once again faces the Giants, who come in with the #27 defense. The Giants' ball-control offense controls the game, but Brady gets the Patriots up 17-9 in the third quarter. The Giants chip away and the Pats fail to convert on some key third downs, and once again NY scores a late TD to win the game. A hail mary falls a yard away from Rob Gronkowski and the Patriots lose.
SB 48 - Manning, coming off a record-breaking regular season, faces the #1 defense in the NFL and it shows. Seattle pummels the Broncos offense from the first play of the game, and Manning is left to throw nothing but short check-downs. The stats aren't bad for Manning, but it's an atrocious performance and the Broncos are routed 40-8.
SB 49 - Brady faces Seattle, the defending champs, who come in with the #1 defense once again. Down 24-14 in the fourth quarter, Brady puts up the best fourth quarter in Super Bowl history, rallying the Patriots with two long TD drives to go up 28-24. The Patriots hang on to win when the defense makes the stop that they couldn't in both SB 42 and SB 46.
SB 50 - Manning is statistically the worst starting QB in the NFL during the year, and is benched for Brock Osweiler during the year, only to get the job back as Osweiler is equally ineffective. Manning, going up against the #6 defense, throws an interception and loses a fumble (has another one but Denver recovers), and the Denver offense puts up fewer than 200 total yards, but the Broncos' defense is dominant, and Denver beats Carolina.
In analyzing these 10 games, it's clear both from the eye test and from the statistics, that Brady's Super Bowl performances were significantly better than Manning's. Brady had a couple of bad mistakes (the INT against Carolina and then the first INT against Seattle), but Manning's pick-six against the Saints was one of the worst (given the moment) mistakes in Super Bowl history. Brady's best games dwarf Manning's, and Brady's worst games were on par with Manning's best games. Three times Brady put together winning drives in the 4th quarter, and on another occasion he put together a go-ahead drive late in the 4th quarter, only to see the defense surrender the lead in the waning moments.
In sum, Tom Brady has been, in nearly every way imaginable, a superior Super Bowl quarterback than Peyton Manning.
Let's compare the two men in terms of their Super Bowl performances only. Here are the statistics:
Brady
SB 36 (W): 16-27, 145 yds, 1 td, 0 int, 86.2 rating, 0 turnovers
SB 38 (W): 32-48, 354 yds, 3 td, 1 int, 100.5 rating, 1 turnover
SB 39 (W): 23-33, 236 yds, 2 td, 0 int, 110.2 rating, 0 turnovers
SB 42 (L): 29-48, 266 yds, 1 td, 0 int, 82.5 rating, 0 turnovers
SB 46 (L): 27-41, 276 yds, 2 td, 1 int, 91.1 rating, 1 turnover
SB 49 (W): 37-50, 328 yds, 4 td, 2 int, 101.1 rating, 2 turnovers
TOTALS: 164-247 (66.4%), 1605 yds, 13 td, 4 int, 95.3 rating, 4 turnovers
In Wins: 108-154 (68.4%), 1063 yds, 10 td, 3 int, 100.3 rating, 3 turnovers
In Losses: 56-89 (62.9%), 542, 3 td, 1 int, 86.4 rating, 1 turnover
Manning
SB 41 (W): 25-38, 247 yds, 1 td, 1 int, 81.8 rating, 1 turnover
SB 44 (L): 31-45, 333 yds, 1 td, 1 int, 88.5 rating, 1 turnover
SB 48 (L): 34-49, 280 yds, 1 td, 2 int, 73.5 rating, 3 turnovers
SB 50 (W): 13-23, 141 yds, 0 td, 1 int, 56.6 rating, 2 turnovers
TOTALS: 103-155 (66.5%), 3 td, 5 int, 77.4 rating, 7 turnovers
In Wins: 38-61 (62.3%), 388 yds, 1 td, 2 int, 72.3 rating, 3 turnovers
In Losses: 33-47 (69.1%), 613 yds, 2 td, 3 int, 80.7 rating, 4 turnovers
If you rank these performances by passer rating, here's how they rank:
1. Brady (SB 39), 110.2
2. Brady (SB 49), 101.1
3. Brady (SB 38), 100.5
4. Brady (SB 46), 91.1
5. Manning (SB 44), 88.5
6. Brady (SB 36), 86.2
7. Brady (SB 42), 82.5
8. Manning (SB 41), 81.8
9. Manning (SB 48), 73.5
10. Manning (SB 50), 56.6
So Manning had only one game that was better than Brady's worst game.
Now, here are quick game capsules for what happened in the games, and how each QB did.
SB 36 - Brady, essentially a rookie, goes up against the #3 defense. After the Rams tie the game late in the 4th quarter, Brady, with no timeouts, drives the Patriots into field goal range, setting up the game-winning FG by Adam Vinatieri.
SB 38 - Brady lights up the #8 defense in football, but once again, the opponent scores late to tie the game. Brady drives the team into field goal range again, setting up another Vinatieri game-winning FG.
SB 39 - Brady dissects the #2 scoring defense in the league, and the Patriots control the game in the second half.
SB 41 - Manning, coming off a fantastic season, struggles all playoffs long (3 td, 7 int), faces the #5 defense in the league. He plays ok, but it's the defense and running game that carries Indy. It's a close game until Indy gets a pick-six in the fourth quarter to make it 29-17 and seal the deal.
SB 42 - Brady is hit often against a Giants' defense that ranked #7 in the league. The offense struggles all game long, but in the 4th quarter, Brady leads a late scoring drive, throwing a TD pass with just over two minutes left. Eli Manning leads a miracle last-minute drive to win the game for the Giants.
SB 44 - Manning goes up against the #25 defense in the league, and the offense struggles, scoring only 17 points. The Colts are down a touchdown late, and Manning has a chance for a signature drive, but with 3:12 left, Manning throws a 74 yard pick-six to Tracy Porter to seal the loss.
SB 46 - Brady once again faces the Giants, who come in with the #27 defense. The Giants' ball-control offense controls the game, but Brady gets the Patriots up 17-9 in the third quarter. The Giants chip away and the Pats fail to convert on some key third downs, and once again NY scores a late TD to win the game. A hail mary falls a yard away from Rob Gronkowski and the Patriots lose.
SB 48 - Manning, coming off a record-breaking regular season, faces the #1 defense in the NFL and it shows. Seattle pummels the Broncos offense from the first play of the game, and Manning is left to throw nothing but short check-downs. The stats aren't bad for Manning, but it's an atrocious performance and the Broncos are routed 40-8.
SB 49 - Brady faces Seattle, the defending champs, who come in with the #1 defense once again. Down 24-14 in the fourth quarter, Brady puts up the best fourth quarter in Super Bowl history, rallying the Patriots with two long TD drives to go up 28-24. The Patriots hang on to win when the defense makes the stop that they couldn't in both SB 42 and SB 46.
SB 50 - Manning is statistically the worst starting QB in the NFL during the year, and is benched for Brock Osweiler during the year, only to get the job back as Osweiler is equally ineffective. Manning, going up against the #6 defense, throws an interception and loses a fumble (has another one but Denver recovers), and the Denver offense puts up fewer than 200 total yards, but the Broncos' defense is dominant, and Denver beats Carolina.
In analyzing these 10 games, it's clear both from the eye test and from the statistics, that Brady's Super Bowl performances were significantly better than Manning's. Brady had a couple of bad mistakes (the INT against Carolina and then the first INT against Seattle), but Manning's pick-six against the Saints was one of the worst (given the moment) mistakes in Super Bowl history. Brady's best games dwarf Manning's, and Brady's worst games were on par with Manning's best games. Three times Brady put together winning drives in the 4th quarter, and on another occasion he put together a go-ahead drive late in the 4th quarter, only to see the defense surrender the lead in the waning moments.
In sum, Tom Brady has been, in nearly every way imaginable, a superior Super Bowl quarterback than Peyton Manning.
