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Joe Montana vs. Peyton Manning: Who Is The Greatest NFL QB Of All Time?

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The Super Bowl is a week away, and the buzz around Peyton Manning is reaching a fever pitch. The hottest topic is whether Manning should be considered the best quarterback of all time or not. This has led to talking heads in the media along with every other football fan I know making their own “top five QBs of all time” lists.

It seems to be a 50-50 split based on the lists I have seen. Who am I to buck a trend? I will weigh in on the two best QBs ever, but keep in mind that this is a very close call. With so many things to consider, it took research and some real soul-searching, but I was able to make my decision.

I know a lot of people won’t agree with me, but I do not consider Manning as the greatest quarterback of all time, even if he does win his second Super Bowl ring this coming Sunday. I know he has all the regular season records, that he is a genius at the line of scrimmage and is poised for his fifth NFL MVP award, but I just cannot get past his checkered history in the playoffs.

The good news is that Manning always seems to always get his teams to the playoffs; the bad news is that an 11-11 record in the postseason is nothing better than average.

The guy who I have at no. 1 is Joe Montana. Montana has gone 4-0 in Super Bowls and won the MVP in three of those. He has been known for being the coolest customer in pressure situations, hence the moniker “Cool Joe”. He is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and finished his career with a 92.3 passer rating and 3,409 completions on 5,391 attempts, along with 273 touchdowns, 139 interceptions and 40,551 yards passing.

He also rushed for 1,676 yards and 20 touchdowns. Montana also holds postseason records for the most career touchdown passes (45), games with a passer rating over 100.0 (12), and is second in passing yards (5,772) and games with 300-plus passing yards (six, tied with Warner). The combination of his steely nerves and accomplishments in the postseason makes Montana the best QB of all time.

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