MySportsSanctuary

There was much debate before the Super Bowl that if Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning was to win pro football’s ultimate game that not only would he vault into ‘iconic’ status, but the man who has started over 200 straight games would surpass all the immortal signal callers and reign supreme as the greatest of all time.

However, history has shown us that nothing is ever guaranteed and the man who seemed unflappable flapped in the final minutes on the game’s biggest stage and now the pundits are doing an about face. No longer can he be considered the best QB of all time, and furthermore not even in the game now.

There are some in Boston that are still high on number 12 and for good reason. Tom Brady has three championships to Manning’s 1. The New England Patriots quarterback has lost only 4 games in 18 career postseason starts and Peyton is an even 9-9. Manning may own all the passing records that have ever been invented by the time he is done playing, but the 4-time regular season MVP will always be compared with what he does after Christmas and he hasn’t been stellar.

However, are Super Bowl wins the only criteria that matter, of course not. Terry Bradshaw has 4 rings but he will not be considered a better QB than Steve Young or Brett Favre, who each have one. Dan Marino has no rings but he will always be mentioned in the top five above the likes of Young, Bradshaw, Joe Namath and Joe Theismann. The rings separates can separate you from the class, but anyone can win one.

So for Manning, his one championship and many achievements will have him in the conversation forever. Even though there are years left to play for the durable QB, he isn’t that far from the mountaintop.