Is Peyton really that much better than Eli?

With an 8-yard pass out wide to the right side Sunday night, Peyton Manning officially broke another record. Possibly the most important of his record-breaking career, Manning tackled Brett Favre’s record of 508 passing touchdowns. Of course if you have a connection to any form of media, this is old news.

Peyton has practically broken every record with the most recognizable being the most touchdowns in history, most touchdowns in a season, most passing yards in a season and most MVP awards in history. Yet, even with almost 150 different records (from team to league and even pro bowl records), he is still not considered the best quarterback of all-time by many.

Essentially, a player is deemed great by the amount of titles they have won. Peyton Manning’s playoff record appears to show his lack of comfort in the spotlight. Thus far in his storied career, Peyton is below .500 in the playoffs with a 11-12 record in 23 appearances and has a 1-2 record in Super Bowls.

Comparing Peyton and his regular season stats to his playoff stats doesn’t really make sense based on his success. For example, if we look at his interception percentage over his career, in the regular season it is 2.6 percent and in the postseason it increases a whole whopping one-tenth to 2.7.

To continue along this path, Peyton’s completion percentage in his playoff career is only about one percent lower and his touchdown percentage is quite similar as well. However, thanks to ESPN we now have the stat of Total Quarterback Rating.

QBR, measures what the quarterbacks value to his team is. Therefore, is takes his performance in clutch situations into account. Thus, if the QB throws an interception at a major moment in the game it will be more detrimental to the rating than it would be if the team was up big.

This stat helps us figure out that even though Peyton’s interception percentage increases in the postseason by a mere one-tenth, the interceptions he throws has a big effect on the game. This would explain why in his two Super Bowl losses, he has a combined QBR of 81 compared to his 97.7 in the regular season.

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On the other side of the spectrum, we take a look at Peyton’s brother Eli who has won two Super Bowls in two appearances and in six less years. I couldn’t tell you what gives, but Eli clearly has a knack for performing under pressure. In fact, it would seem that he gets better in the playoffs.

Eli’s QBR, actually increases during the playoffs. Over his 10.5 regular season’s played, his rating is approximately 82, similar to Peyton’s Super Bowl losses. However, in the playoffs it increases to by eight points and in his two Super Bowl appearances it is 95.5. For a comparison, that is a number not even Tom Brady has been able to match in his storied 14+ year career.

Although he may not be the best regular season quarterback, Eli Manning flips the script drastically come playoff time. He has the ability to make the big play when it is needed the most and he really gets through to his teammates. In his two Super Bowl wins, he led the New York Giants through the wild card round both times. During these run, they played seven of eight of games away from home.

With the stats presented above, it makes you really think about Peyton’s storied career. Is he really the best quarterback ever? Especially when he doesn’t seem to have what it takes to win the big one consistently like on Eli or even Tom Brady.

The answer is a comfortable————-yes. Although it generally comes down to the amount of championships won, which would be a tie at four between Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, when you break nearly 150 different records that relinquishes you a slight bit.

When you look at Peyton’s incredible regular season career and the fact that he has been able to bring at least one super bowl title home, it is undeniable that he is the best.
I suppose if you were to blend Peyton and Eli together, not only would you have the best acting duo ever, but you may just have the best quarterback ever as well. If you are looking for a laugh, check out these video’s below…