Denver Broncos’ Quarterback, Peyton Manning, recently broke the all-time passing touchdowns record, passing for his 509th score against the San Francisco 49ers on October 19. Since setting that record, it has been widely discussed and debated whether Manning is the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL. We asked the Sports Editing team, do you think Peyton Manning is the best quarterback to ever play?

Dave

Joe Montana? Tom Brady? John Elway or Dan Marino? Once you throw a name into a mix next to these football icons, especially when trying to determine who the best to ever play the sport is, I start to wonder if there really is a “best quarterback ever.”

Joe Montana, surrounded with talent, exploited defenses with the tools he had at his disposal and put together a perfect Super Bowl record at 4-0, going 16-7 in the post season.

Always the hero, John Elway put on display some of the wildest and most impressive fourth-quarter comebacks in the history of the game. He accomplished the impossible time and time again, playing to five Super Bowl championships with some of the heroic passing performances the NFL has ever seen.

Tom Brady has been the best player on his team since he entered the league. Despite being surrounded with mediocre talent for many of his NFL seasons he has picked up as many Super Bowls as the great Elway, and has the first undefeated regular season since the 1972 Dolphins. His competitive spirit has placed him in the top tier of great quarterbacks.

Dan Marino led his team to 36 fourth-quarter comebacks, and put on shockingly accurate passing displays for much of his career.

None of these football greats are the best to ever play the game, however.

That title falls to Peyton Manning, the magician and mastermind who has taken the game and dominated it physically and mentally since the Colts drafted him No. 1 overall in 1998. He has led two different teams to the playoffs and averaged 13 wins per season in his career, far and away the best of any QB ever.

The five-time MVP has set NFL records in single-season touchdowns with 55, yards with 5,477 and holds the largest touchdown-to-interception differential with 272.

The one flaw in his career is his postseason play. Manning is11-12 in the playoffs, with an 89.2 passer rating. He did win a Super Bowl in 2006, a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. But even his less talented brother Eli has won more Super Bowls, with two.

Having said that, the Broncos have been on an absolute tear since Peyton took over under center. In my opinion Denver is the best team in football this year, and if the 38-year-old icon can stay healthy I predict he will see the playoffs not only this year but multiple more times in the seasons to come. If there is any question of the gunslinger’s place in football lore, he has the time and resources to answer his critics and immortalize his status in NFL history.

Cale

First, I think you have to acknowledge that Peyton Manning is one of the best players that has ever played in the NFL. Manning has dominated during the regular season with both the Indianapolis Colts and his current team, the Denver Broncos, and has a chance to become the first player to ever throw 600 touchdowns. He has won an MVP in both uniforms, and led both teams to the Super Bowl. Essentially, Manning is the Derek Jeter of football, meaning that he is one of the most recognizable faces in sports.

Yet, I don’t believe Manning is the greatest quarterback that’s ever played. The best indicator of great player is how they perform in clutch situations, and Manning hasn’t always been the best player on the biggest stage. Manning only has one Super Bowl title, and has suffered two devastating losses in the title game, including a blowout loss this past year against the Seattle Seahawks. In fact, Manning’s own brother, Eli, has more Super Bowl titles. Besides Eli, there are 10 other quarterbacks that have won more titles than Manning.

If you delve deeper into Manning’s statistics, you find that he is the career leader in postseason losses with 12, and has the most career losses in the first round of the playoffs. Yes, that means that Manning has been consistent enough to get to the playoffs for many years, but he isn’t able to replicate the same success when he gets there.

As of right now, I still believe that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Joe Montana, or current New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, are better players than Peyton Manning. However, with both Brady and Manning still active players, this situation is very fluid and can change. For Manning to be considered the greatest to ever play, I believe he must win another Super Bowl title. No matter what his regular season accomplishments are, Manning’s postseason record will hold him back, unless he is able to add to it.

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