Rank your top 5 QBs "if I had a title game to win" category

I would think Bradshaw would have to be up there??

If you include Bart Starr, I'll include Otto Graham and put at 1 or 2

2. Brady
3. Elway
4. Aikman
5. Rodgers (wild card, I know...having only 1 SB so far)

If Aikman gets honorable mention, Bradshaw has to at least get that much - for the same reasons, only more so. And the guy he beat twice is pretty high on your list.

Not so sure about Eli. He was very good in two Super Bowls, but three of his five post-seasons were fairly ugly one-and-dones.

I think Montana is #1. I know the Giants knocked him out (literally) three times, but he was ridiculous in the clutch against some very good teams.

If we're talking title games, there's a stronger case for Phil Simms or Steve Young - based on an equally small sample.

2. Unitas
3. Brady
4. Montana
5. Staubach

Sorry, but Eli was bizarrely unbeatable.

Elway
Montana
Brady
Aikman
Rodgers

Incredibly accurate.

Montana
Marino
Elway
Brady
Steve Young

In comment 12812634 kinard said:

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If you include Bart Starr, I'll include Otto Graham and put at 1 or 2

As far back as you want to go..Graham Works

In comment 12812648 Big Blue Blogger said:

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If Aikman gets honorable mention, Bradshaw has to at least get that much - for the same reasons, only more so. And the guy he beat twice is pretty high on your list. Not so sure about Eli. He was very good in two Super Bowls, but three of his five post-seasons were fairly ugly one-and-dones. I think Montana is #1. I know the Giants knocked him out (literally) three times, but he was ridiculous in the clutch against some very good teams.

While you need to win in the playoffs to get to the ultimate game, this is about QBs that are in the position to win it all. One game. Winner take all..

I like the Elway pick. An arm and legs if necessary.
Montana, U, Eli,Brady,Elway.

Eli would be high on the list as he seems to have a knack for high degree of difficulty games.

But Montana is the best.

Montana
Unitas
Eli

...everyone else.

In comment 12812703 Go Terps said:

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Eli would be high on the list as he seems to have a knack for high degree of difficulty games. But Montana is the best.

You would have absolutely loved Starr..Albeit not the most gifted player, he was far and away the best system QB I ever saw..

It's still a team game. You want the most talented QB to win the one game.

This champ record BS is why Montana is severely overrated. Yeah. He's got a great record when he has one of the best defenses in the league (Because that's what it took for him to win the SB).

Every year he won his defense was #1 in the NFL or very close in points against.

People mentioning Eli is a joke too. He wasn't anything special in the SB Wins. Those were team wins lead by a great defensive performance.

If you have one game and everything else on both sides is equal you go with the best QBs. Marino, Rodgers, Brady, etc.

all due respect my friend, Eli is far from a Joke..He beat arguably the best team ever in a final game-winning drive, never before accomplished in the SB, then did it again to the same team, albeit not in as dramatic a fashion as the first..

Marino and Eli, it's Marino, hand's down..You can put Fouts in there as well..Many others, but that's not what we're talking about..

nor 5. Good QB but better ones in the NFL. Step out of your lens as a Giants fan.

In comment 12812730 mdc1 said:

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nor 5. Good QB but better ones in the NFL. Step out of your lens as a Giants fan.

He is, if you are going for all the marbles..ONE GAME

...or the QB of a great big-game team. Dallas won all three of those Super Bowls comfortably. Montana had a couple of laughers too, but he had The Drive. Bradshaw matched Montana's four rings, and a couple of those games were classics.

Eli's post-season career is so bizarrely unique that it defies our love of lists. He is truly sui generis.

In comment 12812713 KWALL2 said:

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People mentioning Eli is a joke too. He wasn't anything special in the SB Wins. Those were team wins lead by a great defensive performance.

I can see this argument for Super Bowl XLII, but the 2011 defense was one of the worst championship defenses in history. Yes, they had a good postseason, but I wouldn't call their Super Bowl performance a great one, espeically not after they let Brady kick them up and down the field to the tune of 16 consecutive completions and two long touchdown drives at the end of the 1st half and the start of the 2nd.

I get giving credit to the defense in XLII (although giving all the credit diminishes one of the great clutch performances of all time, IMO), but to my eyes Eli was hands-down the best player on the field in XLVI.

In comment 12812730 mdc1 said:

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nor 5. Good QB but better ones in the NFL. Step out of your lens as a Giants fan.

And as far as Lens is concerned, I wanted Eli gone during the first 4 years of his career..I had seen "enough." So lens, huh? :)

If you put Eli over Brady, you pretty much have to put Bradshaw over Staubach. Bradshaw was 4-0 in title games, with two wins over Staubach, who was 2-2. Eli is 2-0, with two wins over Brady, who is 4-2.

By the way, Roger didn't have to do a lot in his two wins. Doomsday and Doomsday II allowed a total of 13 points.

Today probably Rodgers but Payton Manning overall.

Bradshaw had arguably the best ever defense during their 4 of 5 championship run..

If you watched Roger, you know that more often than not, it was he and he alone that put his team on his back even with the solid D...Give me Staubach any day..And btw, there's no right or wrong here, just opinions based on the oft-cliched eye test..FWIW

1) Montana
2) Eli
3) Brady
4) Elway
5) Ben

He has a ton of come from behind wins. But, this was for a title game. He lost more title games than he won and was mediocre in the two he did win.

Big Blue '56 said:

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Bradshaw had arguably the best ever defense during their 4 of 5 championship run.. If you watched Roger, you know that more often than not, it was he and he alone that put his team on his back even with the solid D...Give me Staubach any day.

I was just using Bradshaw vs. Staubach to illustrate an inconsistency. TB and RS went toe-to-toe for all the marbles twice, and Bradshaw won both. He was also 4-0 overall. So it's hard to justify omitting him if you're going to include Eli, whose main claim to fame is two wins over Brady.

If you ask me to choose a regular season QB between
Big Blue '56 : 4:01 pm : link : reply
Marino and Eli, it's Marino, hand's down..You can put Fouts in there as well..Many others, but that's not what we're talking about..

It's Peyton hands down....

But one Championship game in their prime?

Montana
Unitas
Brady
Marino
Eli

2. Brady - as long as he isn't facing Eli
3. Eli - our guy is the ultimate underdog
4. Bradshaw - 4-0 is 4-0
5. Kelly - won four straight AFC titles in a row

Has Eli had a fourth quarter comeback win in the last two years? I wouldn't pick him now. I still love him but he's clutch as of now.

.

Based on who all these QBs are or were, if you had a championship game on the line, who would you want behind Center for THAT game?

They were great in the playoffs, but neither were a great all around Defense, especially 2011's, which was the worst of the two.

He's not close to top 5. Come on. He beat the undefeated team? We had 10 points before the last drive and the TD came on a long run dominated drive.

SB was won because the defense shut down the best offense in NFL history. League is full of QBs that would have won that game.

He was better in the 2nd but nothing spectacular.

Eli has been very good for NYG. Inconsistent but very good overall. But nothing close to the top 5 QBs in any category.

In comment 12812877 Gmen1982 said:

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Has Eli had a fourth quarter comeback win in the last two years? I wouldn't pick him now. I still love him but he's clutch as of now.

I think that has more to do with how bad our defense has been the last three or four years. He's brought them back several times only to have the D give up the game in the final seconds.

In comment 12812896 KWALL2 said:

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He's not close to top 5. Come on. He beat the undefeated team? We had 10 points before the last drive and the TD came on a long run dominated drive. SB was won because the defense shut down the best offense in NFL history. League is full of QBs that would have won that game. He was better in the 2nd but nothing spectacular. Eli has been very good for NYG. Inconsistent but very good overall. But nothing close to the top 5 QBs in any category.

We can disagree on this one..:)

1- it has been a long time since Eli won a big game and a long time since he engineered a game winning drive to win the game in the final few minutes. We have lost quite a few where we couldn't kill clocks, get the first down or made mental errors on clock use even butableable to Eli and even bad audibles to plays that cost us.

2- Brady really gets a pass on his early career bease the second half hasn't been clutch. Peyton Manning has beat him in 3 straight AFC title games. He has been 1-2 in his last 3 SBS with his win being an incredibly miraculous play by his defense that should have been a third straight loss.

3- Montana won all of his SBs yes but this was an era of NFC domination which had very poor opponents in the Bowl that doesnt mark our current era. Its unfair to only look at the SB. The real champion was really determined in the NFC Championship game and NFC playoffs. Montana lost 3 championship games in his career. In 83 he was picked to end the game vs Redskins down 24-21.

Dont forget that Eli had the come from behind victory against the Niners. And if his defense was any good he would have had a shot in OT against the Panthers (down 28 and he brought it tied) and if the defense could make a stop he had a chance against the Skins

Its funny because Brady is thought of as a GOAT but no one mentions Jim Kelly. I get it, Brady has rings while Kelly does not. But Brady also had a whole lot of luck in winning all his Super Bowls. Not to take anything away from Brady, just saying that fortune plays a part in the drama.

Now I'll play:

1. Eli. Homer pick? Sure, but its defensible. Tough as nails, cool as a cucumber and a two time Super Bowl winner. Much tougher than Brady. Greatest Giant of all time.
2. Super Joe Montana. Like Easy E, as cool as they come but more consistent. Every bit as tough as Eli too. Stone cold winner.
3. Discount Double Check. Ridiculous arm, extends plays, makes plays and knows how to spell RELAX. Can, and has carried his team to the promised land.
4. Bradshaw. Yeah, he's a hee haw on TV now but he was awesome when he played on those great Steelers teams. Sure, he had talent around him, but that wasn't today's pass happy pussy league either.
5. Marino. He was the most extraordinary pure passer I ever saw. He didn't play on very distinguished teams and while Duper was super and Clayton could fly, those Phins were no where without Marino. I know he never won the big game, but put him on those Pats teams that Brady played on and he'd be every bit as good and maybe better.

2. Starr
3. Montana
4. Brady
5. Bradshaw

I adjusted my lens and suddenly certain things came into focus. Does anyone know who holds the NFL record for most passing yards in the regular season by a Super Bowl-winning QB? Eli Manning with 4,933 yards. He is one of four QBs to win a Super Bowl game (Phil Simms; Joe Montana; and Drew Brees) with a completion percentage of 75% or higher. So to say that the man was just along for the ride in 2011 is delusional.

Btw, Eli had both a better QBR and passer rating than Brady in both Super Bowl match ups. Please stop with this myth that the defense won both Super Bowls against the Patriots. If we expand "title game" to conference championships then he's 4-0. Lastly, please tell me one playoff game in which the Giants were a favorite during both Super Bowl runs? Seems pretty clutch to me.

But Giants fans have to admit, consistency is not his hallmark. One game on the line, you don't know if you're going to get awesome Eli, of WTF! Eli. Is he going to have a great game, or a 3 turnover game? Eli at his best is as good or better than nearly anyone, but if bad Eli shows up, you're screwed. That's why he doesn't make my list.

had switched teams for both Superbowls, I'd suspect the Eli would have still won both.

For all the marbles, 1 game,
1. Eli
2. Montana
3. Brees
4. Simms
5. Brady

ability to rise to occasion...

1 - Montana
2 - Starr
3 - Brady

A bunch of these other guys all have an argument to be put into 4th & 5th including Bradshaw, Aikman, and Otto Graham (who i think won a bunch). Eli and Rodgers have a small sample size but clearly show the "right stuff"...

Montana
Favre
Stabler
Namath
Eli

In comment 12812918 twostepgiants said:

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3- Montana won all of his SBs yes but this was an era of NFC domination which had very poor opponents in the Bowl that doesnt mark our current era. Its unfair to only look at the SB. The real champion was really determined in the NFC Championship game and NFC playoffs. Montana lost 3 championship games in his career. In 83 he was picked to end the game vs Redskins down 24-21.

Wasn't exactly a Wilson to Butler type INT.....it was a hail mary that never had shot of making the end zone, since he had under 20 seconds left when the Skins made their winning FG.

Montana was KO'd in the '90 NFCC against the Giants and '93 AFCC against the Bills. If he finishes both games, he has a good shot at winning both. And in the latter case, he'd still have to overcome a Marty Schottenheimer coached team. :)

If Montana's HoF surrounding cast takes away from his achievements (it shouldn't, like Marino's lack of support shouldn't diminish him either), then look at what he did in KC:

1) Beat Elway in Mile High on MNF
2) Beat Oilers in Houston in '93 playoffs when that D was nasty
3) Beat 49ers in their '94 SB year

On "equal ground" he was great.

In comment 12812713 KWALL2 said:

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It's still a team game. You want the most talented QB to win the one game. This champ record BS is why Montana is severely overrated. Yeah. He's got a great record when he has one of the best defenses in the league (Because that's what it took for him to win the SB). Every year he won his defense was #1 in the NFL or very close in points against. People mentioning Eli is a joke too. He wasn't anything special in the SB Wins. Those were team wins lead by a great defensive performance. If you have one game and everything else on both sides is equal you go with the best QBs. Marino, Rodgers, Brady, etc.

You know why the AFC only won 2 SB in the '80s?

Because the NFC had the defense, and probably also the more consistent ground attack.

In the AFC you had guys like Marino, Elway, Kelly, Esiason. In the NFC you had Montana, Simms, Theismann, Wade Wilson, Jim McMahon. I believe I see 3 HoF QBs for the AFC and only 1 for the NFC from that list.

Elway wins one as an old man with some help from Terrell Davis and Shannahan. Good defense too to take down the Packers. Young, in his prime Elway was embarrassed by Skins, Giants, and Niners.

Defense and running games had to be pretty good back then to win it all.

Marino, Rodgers and Brady were not without their faults too. The first two underperformed in the postseason and Brady if he's really the GOAT should have beat the Giants in at least on of those Super Bowls.

ONE game not season not career.
I won't list them since I started watching in 84 but Eli should definitely be on it. Two game winning drives and two of the best throws in super bowl history at clutch moments.

Some of the names thrown around here Elway? List more than he won Marino? How many rings he got? Kelly? Really? Do I really need to go into that one? I'm not even sure I'd put Brady on it he list a third of his chances both if which was to Eli

In no particular order

Roger Staubach
Johnny Unitas
Joe Montana
Tom Brady
Eli Manning

In comment 12813987 eli4life said:

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ONE game not season not career. I won't list them since I started watching in 84 but Eli should definitely be on it. Two game winning drives and two of the best throws in super bowl history at clutch moments. Some of the names thrown around here Elway? List more than he won Marino? How many rings he got? Kelly? Really? Do I really need to go into that one? I'm not even sure I'd put Brady on it he list a third of his chances both if which was to Eli

Lol..Thank you...:)