Peyton Manning Isn’t an All-Time Great QB

Is Peyton Manning NOT an all-time great QB? Our featured writer Sean says that’s the case. (Credit Opertinicy)

Peyton Manning may very well be the best regular season QB of all time. But when it comes to the post season, Manning is, without question, the worst post season QB in the history of the NFL. Don’t believe me or agree with me? Name another QB who made it to the postseason 14 times, and has succeeded only once. That’s right – Peyton Manning FAILED 13 out of 14 times.

I argue that each and every one of these great QB’s is a MUCH better option then having Peyton Manning as your starting QB in the post season. No one can argue Peyton’s regular season numbers. Manning has a bevy of passing records including most TD’s in a season, most yards in a season, and is set to become the leader in many others. Manning hold’s the 2nd spot in the following categories: career passing yards, career pass attempts, career passing TD’s, and career passer rating. All of these look great on paper, but let’s be honest – what counts, and what people remember, is what you do in the post season. And as of the end of Super Bowl XLVIII, it’s clear to me and the rest of the world that Peyton Manning is just a fantastic regular season QB, nothing more.

You want to discuss the top QB’s of all time? Here’s a list that virtually everyone can agree on. You can place them in whatever particular order you want, but I think we can universally agree that the list below is filled with some of the top talent ever.

Joe Montana

Tom Brady

Steve Young

John Elway

Brett Favre

Terry Bradshaw

Aaron Rodgers

Drew Brees

Let’s look at their playoff stats and see how they stack up to Peyton Manning:

Playoff Statistics Of All-Time Great NFL Quarterbacks

Joe Montana:

23 Games

16-7 record (69.5%)

460 of 734 (62.67% completions)

5,772 yards

45 Touchdowns

21 Interceptions

4 Super Bowl Titles (NEVER LOST A SUPER BOWL)

3 Time Super Bowl MVP

Tom Brady

26 Games

18-8 record (69.23%)

590 of 950 (62.10% completions)

6,424 yards

43 touchdowns

22 interceptions

3 Super Bowl Titles (3-2 in the Super Bowl)

2 Time Super Bowl MVP

Steve Young

20 Games

12-8 record (60.0%)

292 of 471 (61.99%)

3,326 yards

20 touchdowns

13 interceptions

3 Super Bowl Titles

1 Super Bowl MVP

John Elway

22 Games

14-8 record

355 of 651

4,964 yards

27 touchdowns

21 interceptions

2 Super Bowl Titles

2 Time Super Bowl MVP

Brett Favre

24 Games

13-11 record (54.16%)

481 of 791 (60.8% completions)

5,855 yards

44 touchdowns

30 interceptions

1 Super Bowl Title

Terry Bradshaw

19 Games

14-5 record (73.68%)

261 of 456 (57.23% completions)

3,833 yards

30 touchdowns

26 interceptions

4 Super Bowl Titles

2 Time Super Bowl MVP

Aaron Rodgers

10 Games

6-4 record (60.0%)

210 of 318 (66.03% completions)

2,489 yards

19 touchdowns

5 interceptions

1 Super Bowl Title

Drew Brees

11 Games

6-5 record (54.54%)

306 of 464 (65.94% completions)

3,539 yards

24 touchdowns

6 interceptions

1 Super Bowl Title

1 Time Super Bowl MVP

Above are both contemporaries of the falsely “vaunted” Peyton Manning, as well as predecessors that have oft been discussed as some of the greats of all time. There are a few commonalities amongst all of the aforementioned greats:

All have at least 10 games of playoff experience.

All have a winning percentage of at least 54.54% (meaning they’ve won more than they’ve lost)

All have at least 1 Super Bowl victory

Peyton Manning’s Career Playoff Stats:

23 Games

11-12 record

6,597 yards

39 touchdowns

24 interceptions

1 Super Bowl Title

1 Time Super Bowl MVP

When you look at the bottom half of that list, you’d think, “Ok, this guy is a pretty good QB.” But therein lies the problem – his stats are just OK. OK isn’t worthy of being the greatest QB ever. He simply doesn’t stack up to his predecessors. This whole conversation about Peyton Manning being the greatest QB ever is just nonsense. The fact of the matter is, he has been to the post season 13 times over his career, and has FAILED 12 times. For reference, here’s the success rate of the other greats mentioned previously in this article (success rate means winning the Super Bowl):

Joe Montana: 4 wins out of 11 tries, 36.36% success rate

Tom Brady: 3 wins out of 11 tries, 27.27% success rate

Steve Young: 3 wins out of 11 tries, 27.27% success rate

John Elway: 2 wins out of 10 tries, 20% success rate

Brett Favre: 1 win out of 12 tries, 8.33% success rate

Terry Bradshaw: 4 wins out of 9 tries, 44.44% success rate

Aaron Rodgers: 1 win out of 5 tries, 20% success rate

Drew Brees: 1 win out of 6 tries, 16.67% success rate

And what is Peyton’s success rate? 1 win out of 13 tries for a 7.69% success rate. That’s right, THE WORST success percentage out of any of the “greatest QB’s ever” in that discussion. That means that Peyton Manning succeeds less than 1 out of every 10 times he has a change to win a Super Bowl. That’s horrific.

I could have gone into great depth about the regular season stats, and the 5 MVP awards and all of the accolades that Peyton Manning has achieved, accomplished, and been given over his illustrious career. And there is no arguing that his regular season performance has been nothing short of stellar. He is, without question, the greatest regular season QB of all time. There is no arguing that. However, when it comes to post season performance, Peyton Manning folds like a broken beach chair.

The ultimate goal of any team is to become Super Bowl champion. No one really remembers who finished as the 1st seed in the 2004 playoffs. No one remembers who was the top rated passer in the 1995 season. What history remembers are champions. And what the Hall of Fame remembers are people who were champions repeatedly.

Peyton Manning is a sub-par playoff QB. When someone succeeds less than 1 out of every 10 times, it is simply asinine to speak of them in terms of one of the greats of all time. If you qualify that statement by saying he is one of the great regular season QB’s of all time, I will more than happily support your argument. But his body of work in the playoffs is about as prolific as the shine on a homeless mans shoes. Here’s a hint: homeless guys don’t really get their shoes shined all that often.

Peyton Manning is the greatest regular season QB ever. He is NOT by any stretch of the imagination one of the greatest QB’s ever.

Sean Fitzherbert is a featured columnist for SidelineMOB.