tom brady vs. peyton manning

7/28/2019 Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning

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12 Reasons Why the Debate ofTom Brady vs. Peyton Manning is OVER

By Cory PesaturoBeing mainly a Motorsports fan, I can tell you that the biggest arguments in the sport are always "if X in

1958 and Y in 2004 were in the same car, who would have won?" In team sports, the biggest argument

usually is "Who was the best team of all time?"

The best player, however, is difficult to judge, as there are so many positions with wildly varying

responsibilities and hundreds of aspects and variables. But once in a while, a rivalry among players that

play the same position, in the same era comes along. Staubach and Bradshaw, or Bird and Magic, or

Senna and Prost. Maybe we are even seeing the beginning of Trout vs. Harper. But the biggest in this

category for the past decade in football, and really all of American sports, is Tom Brady and Peyton

Manning.

The Manning camp will argue that Peyton completely crushes Brady in all aspects of regular season

statistics. This is true. Except the Brady camp can argue that Tom crushes Manning in the only statistic

that countswinning. One must remember that the task of a quarterback is to lead his team to a win. It

is not to accumulate amazing statistics for the record books (I'm looking at you Drew Brees). It is a

position which has a job description of motivating the team and putting a "W" in the box at all costs. Let's

look at how the argument is almost no longer "Is Tom Brady better than Peyton Manning?", it is how

much more does Tom have to accomplish to be talked about in the same sentence as Montana and

Unitas. If anything at all.

Note: I am a long-time 49ers fan who just loves statistics. I have no allegiance; but I will say the more

and more I researched this, the more I realized how obvious the answer was. I think you will too.

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#12: Game-Winning Drives

Leading a team to victory in the final quarter can elevate a player's image as being a 'clutch player', and

this is an area where Peyton fans will argue "Manning has more than Brady." Unfortunately, this is merely

an interesting statistic that does not directly translate to a quarterback's ability to win games.

The factor that's forgotten is that the best quarterbacks don't Need to have a game winning drive. This

is very common in racing as well. Although I am an Ayrton Senna fan over Schumacher, too many


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people say that Senna was the best because he always drove through the field to win, but there are

many other factors that made him arguably the best; that is just one. The truth for Schumacher, is that

he would start on Pole (1st position) most of the time and lead the race from start to finish. The fact of

the matter is that Schumacher didn't need to go through the field to win, and would just dominate races

to win rather than give the fans exciting ones to watch.

So when people talk about 4th quarter comebacks, you would have to go into great detail to give me a

set of statistics on it to make the comeback relevant. A quarterback could drive his team 25 yards from

their own 35 to the opponents 40, with still 8 minutes left, stall, kick a 56 yard field goal, then go three

and out on his next two possessions but still win the game in the end and get the coveted 4th Quarter

Comeback Stat. Give me the guy that is up by 25 points going into the 4th quarter where he can take a

seat on the bench for the last 6 minutes of the game.

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#11: Head to Head Games

Regular Season: Brady leads Manning 7-4

Post-Season: Brady leads Manning 2-1

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#10: The One-and -Done

Tom Brady has 2 of these.

Peyton Manning has 8. Unquestionably the Most Ever.

**Note that Joe Montana had 4 One-and-Done's in the 11 times he brought his team to the playoffs.

Brady has only 2 One-and-Done's in the 10 times he has brought his team to the playoffs.

Before I even think about how many times Peyton has had the chance to complete a game winning drive,

and has screwed it up, I remember that he has 8 one-and-done's in his playoff career. Eight. What's the

point of bringing your team to the playoffs 12 times out of 15 years when 8 of the 12 years you don't

make it past the first game?

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#9: Winnin g Percentage (Inclu ding Playoffs )

Tom Brady: 153 - 46 / 77%

Peyton Manning: 163 - 81 / 67%


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**Tom Brady has the Highest Regular Season And Overall Winning Percentage among Any Quarterback

in NFL History. Higher than Roger Staubach and Joe Montana, he's also played more games than them

as well, so its 100% relevant.

Despite playing in 3 less seasons, Tom Brady has only 10 fewer wins than Manning, and 35 fewer losses.Talk all you want about Peyton Manning's Regular Season Prowess, which is about all Peyton fans have

to hold on to, even though as we have said, what is the point of being good when the games don't mean

everything; but Tom Brady still trumps Peyton Manning for Career Winning Percentage. Again, the Best

All-Time, and we're just getting started.

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#8: The Choke Factor

This page is for those who have said that the reason Manning does not have the playoff and Super Bowl

statistics/win percentage that Brady has, is because of the team, and not Manning. Here I will show youthat Manning has played a role or major role in these important losses.

1999 Colts Record: 13-3

Playoff Game: After leading the Colts to their first 13 win season since moving to Indianapolis, the Colts

had its third lowest output of the season, while Manning completed only 19 of 43 passes for 227 yards

and 0 TD's. His 60.9 passer rating was his lowest of the season. Colts Lose - 16-19


Playoff Game: Manning went 17 of 32, with 194 yards and 1 TD. The Colts put up 10 fewer points than

their regular season average, and it was their second lowest scoring output of the season. Colts Lose -

17-23, in Overtime


Playoff Games: After beating the 9-7 Jets in the first round and with 4,200 passing yards during the

regular season, Manning played the single worst statistical game of his entire career, going 14 for 31,

with 137 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs and a career-low 31.2 passer rating. Colts Lose - 0-41


Playoff Games: Got through Denver and Kansas City. Then at the Conference Championship playing

Brady and the Patriots, Manning threw 4 interceptions and posted the third lowest passer rating of his

entire career at 35.5. Colts Lose - 14-24


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Playoff Games: They can't lose here. Manning entered the playoffs with an unstoppable offensive unit

that posted the fifth most points in NFL history. He set the record for the most touchdown passes in aseason with 49, and shattered the single-season passer rating record with a mark of 121.1. The Colts

defeated Denver easily, but when it came time to face New England, Manning and his offense put up one

field goal. One field goal. It was their lowest offensive output since the 2002 playoff loss to the Jets, as

just mentioned, where they lost 0-41. Furthermore, this was Manning's worst game of the season,

completing 27 of 42 for 238 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT, for a passer rating of 69.3. Colts Lose - 3-20


Playoff Game: Manning was 33/48, 402 yards, 3 TD's, 2 INTs, and a 97.7 passer rating, but failed when it

mattered. Peyton had a 1st-and-goal at the Chargers 9, but failed with 4 downs, all with 2:06 remaining.The Chargers went three-and-out, but the Colts went four-and-out again to end the game. 2 chances, no

results. Colts Lose - 17-23

2009 - Colts Record: 14-2

Super Bowl: Video Above. This occurring on what was going to hopefully be a Game-Tying Drive.

Something Great Quarterbacks do. Well, they at least don't throw a Pick Six.

2012 - Broncos Record: 13-3

2012 AFC Divisional at Denver: Peyton came into the playoffs riding an 11 game win streak and having

beaten the Ravens during the season, were also playing at home after a week off. Peyton had a miracle

Christmas present as there were 2 KR/PR in the game. 14 Bonus Points. Yes the Broncos blew the

coverage on the Flacco airball that is now known as the Rocky Mountain Rainbow, but Peyton's

Interception in Overtime was the reason they lost in the end. He knew it. An across the body Brett

Favre-ian throw. He did set a record with that game, the Most Playoff Losses in NFL History: 11.

Broncos Lose - 35-38 2OT

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/nfl-rapidreports/21555317/weeks-before-int-peyton-manning-admits-

acrossbody-throw-risky

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#7: Touch down to Intercept ion Ratio (Inclu ding Playoffs )

Tom Brady - 376 / 145

Peyton Manning 468 / 230

*Yes. Peyton Manning has an almost exact 2-1 ratio. Tom Brady is over a 2.5-1 ratio.

Tom Brady has thrown 8 INT or less 3 times and has never thrown more than 14 INT in a season, albeit

he had 12 INT in his first season and didn't start 2 games, so call it 14/15/16 if you must. He is always

setting records for futility in the INT department, truly. The one statistic that is Solely on the

Quarterback outside of the way the NFL still scores INT's on deflections. Peyton Manning has thrown 16,

17, 19, 23 and 28 INT in a season. 28 being in his first. He has only thrown less than 10 INT once (9).

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#6: Playo ffs

Tom Brady is 17-7

Peyton Manning is 9-11

**Tom Brady has the most Playoff Wins in History, more than Joe Montana. He also has the Better

Record: 17-7 to 16-7.

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#5 Champion ship Games

Brady: In 11 Seasons, Brady has taken the Patriots to 7 Conference Championship Games (64%), and

Won 5 of them (45%). **Brady is Tied with Joe Montana for Most Championship Game Starts at 7.

Manning: In 14 Seasons, Manning has taken the Colts to 4 Conference Championship Game (29%), and

Won 2 of them (14%).

*Brady has taken the Patriots to the Super Bowl nearly half the time (5 in the 11 Seasons he played).

That's astonishing for any player in any sport.

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#4: Super Bow ls

Peyton Manning has 1.

Tom Brady has 3. **Brady is Tied with John Elway for the Most Super Bowl Starts with 5.

*To really sadden the Peyton fans, let me remind you that in his two appearances he's chalked up 7 INTs

to three TDs.

Let's also remember that if Eli Manning doesn't somehow get out of an absolutely sure sack and David

Tyree does not catch a prayer against his helmet, Brady would have 4 and complete the Total Perfect

Season. Wes Welker makes that catch in the 2011-2012 Super Bowl, and Brady might have 5. Brady

doesn't get injured after the Perfect Season in 2008? The Pats defense doesn't choke in the 2006 AFCChampionship game? You get my point. In a perfect world, for Brady, he could fairly easy have 6 or 7

Super Bowl Rings.

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#3: Out of th e Gate

Brady's First 4 Seasons:

- 48-16 in the Regular Season

- Won all 7 Overtime games he played

- Got into the Playoffs 3 times

Went 9-0 in the Playoffs, and Won 3 Super Bowls. (Went 10-0 before losing 1)

Manning's First 4 Seasons:

- 32-32 in the Regular Season

- Got into the Playoffs 2 times, but lost both games.

*That is just astounding. Tom Brady had quite possibly the greatest beginning to a career in sports

history. I will say that the Patriots were better equipped to win big games at that point, with their best

defensive unit in franchise history. But like Joe Flacco last post season, Brady didn't screw up, and he

lead his team with 11 TD's and 3 INT's in those 3 Super Bowl Playoff Runs. Since that time, the Patriots

have become more reliant on Brady, who has had to carry the whole team on his back many times, with

the teams weak defense. Peyton has always had a premiere target throughout his career (Marvin


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Harrison, Reggie Wayne, now Thomas and soon Welker), but he has not used them to their full potential

when they needed to be. The stats show Brady has made ok receivers look like Champions his whole

career.

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#2: Overt ime Games

Brady: 9-1, Also 1-0 in the Playoffs.

Manning: 3-5, Also 0-3 in the Playoffs.

Note: The first seven of those eight overtime wins came in Brady's first three seasons. Talk about the

start of your career again. Wow.

Manning is 0-3 in Playoff Overtime Games. Really? Pathetic. 10-1 for Brady and 3-8 for Manning in

total. I'll take these stats over Game Winning Drives and 4th Quarter Comebacks to prove "Clutchness".You?

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#1: Well Peyton Has Ju st Had Worse L uc k. .... Right?

If you still, somehow, someway, just possibly believe that Peyton Manning is near the level of Tom Brady,

I would presume you are holding onto the factors that Peyton cannot control. The way his team, and his

defense played in the many games he lost in the playoffs. But what did we say at the beginning of this

article that is the definition of a Quarterback? Really, the definition of Any person that becomes larger

than life? Leadership. The New England Patriots look up to Tom Brady, and when they aren't playing

well, he motivates them as much as anyone on the team. The way a defense plays and the team plays

overall, is in many ways connected to the quarterback. So some things are luck, yes, though I already

talked about how Tom Brady could easily have 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 Super Bowl Rings as of now, so one could

argue Brady has had worse luck. But the luck factor only gets you so far. You have to motivate and lead

your team, regardless of anything else. Ask the late Couch Valvano.

Speaking of Luck, I shouldn't need to remind folks that the Colts threw their 2011 season away so they

could replace Manning. After reading this article, it's not difficult to see why they lost faith in number

#18. I'd still rather have the incredibly inconsistent Eli Manning, who is clearly clutch, over Peyton. I

would rather have Colin Kaepernick or Joe Flacco after watching them this post season. But there is No

way, No shape, and No form, that is going to put these guys close to each other. The only argument

now, is if Tom Brady is the Greatest Quarterback.

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**Final Word: I Have 3 World Championships Myself on the Accordion.

That is what I and the core statistics have to say on the Brady vs. Manning argument. I would like to

hear from Manning's side, especially in the comments, and I say this in a non-sarcastic manner.

tom brady vs. peyton manning

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