What's the difference between Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and New England Patriots QB Tom Brady?
When the game is played on the world's biggest stage (ie: the Super Bowl), Brady has clearly been the better player.
We all know that Brady has always been cool under pressure, since unlike what fans saw from Manning tonight, Brady has never thrown a critical and game changing interception that was returned for a touchdown during any of New England's four Super Bowl appearances.
As a matter of fact, looking back at each appearance, Brady has clearly outplayed him:
Super Bowl XXXVI:
Brady finished 16-of-27 for 145 yards and 0 INT's with a TD and a QB Rating of 86.2.
Super Bowl XXXVIII:
Brady finished 32-of-48 for 354 yards, 3 TD's with a QB Rating of 100.5 and 1 INT.
Super Bowl XXXIX:
Brady finished 23-of-33 for 236 yards, 2 TD's with a QB Rating of 110.2 and no INT's
Super Bowl XLII:
Brady finished 29-of-48 for 266 yards, 1 TD with a QB Rating of 82.5 and 0 INT's.
Meanwhile the numbers haven't been quite as good for Manning.
Super Bowl XLI:
Manning finished 25-of-38 for 247 yards, with 1 TD and a QB Rating of 81.8 with 1 INT.
In tonight's Super Bowl:
Manning finished 31-of-45 for 333 yards with 1 TD and a QB Rating of 88.5 and that critical INT for a touchdown.
So twice on the world's biggest stage Manning has turned it over each time, and while he escaped against a bad Chicago Bears team in 2006, he wasn't so lucky tonight.
Meanwhile Brady's been four times and thrown just one pick.
All in all, Manning drops to 9-9 in the postseason with one title, while Brady is 14-4 with 3 rings.
Needless to say the edge should go to Brady in the QB of the decade debate. They can keep the inflated stats, but when Manning's career finally comes to an end I'm sure he'd rather have some rings on his fingers, an honor that Brady has already accomplished.
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