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QB Rankings: Rating today’s starters from 1-32 if needed for just one gameBy Dean GomesFebruary 11, 2015 
Not all quarterbacks are created equally; that’s something that is apparent on a weekly basis during the NFL season. By and large, games are won by the team with the better QB, or at least the one who plays better on that day. Thus, it’s important to have a signal caller who can step up and make plays when the pressure is on. It’s vital to have a quarterback that can handle the pressure of having everything on the line during one 60-minute test. During the course of an entire season, some things tend to level out. Across the next decade, things like age and health become factors. But for just one game, with everything on the line, it’s about the guy who can get it done when it’s win-or-go-home time. With that as a backdrop, here’s how today’s current starting quarterbacks stack up based on who would be best to have under center in a do-or-die contest:
1. Tom Brady – He’s won six out of nine AFC title games and four out of six Super Bowls; that’s a pretty good batting average in big games. And as he showed on Super Sunday, he’s calm and cool in the fourth quarter. 2. Ben Roethlisberger – Nobody is able to buy time, keep plays alive and make things happen quite like Big Ben. In a one-game scenario, when it’s about finding a way, even if it’s ugly, he’s sensational. 3. Eli Manning – I don’t want to watch Manning across a 16-game season; that’s a painful exercise in frustration. But in one game, particularly if it’s tight late, I’ll gladly put the ball in his hands. 4. Joe Flacco – For some reason, Flacco plays better when the game is bigger. And if things look hopeless, he seems to shine even more; the guy just has a knack for pulling a rabbit out of his hat. 5. Russell Wilson – Sure, he came up one yard short in the Super Bowl; but that final drive was indicative of how Wilson can operate under pressure. The final four minutes of the NFC Championship Game were, as well. 6. Aaron Rodgers – After his team blew a late lead, Rodgers calmly led them to a game-tying field goal in the NFC title game, on the road, against the league’s best defense. That’s a guy with nerves of steal. 7. Peyton Manning – People scoff at his playoff record, as though it’s a bad thing that he makes it to the playoffs every year. Find me another guy on this list who has been to three Super Bowls and won a ring; there aren’t many. 8. Colin Kaepernick – He’s already led his team to a Super Bowl, where he was one play away from winning a title. And he almost won an NFC title game in Seattle. The guy is erratic at times, but he’s a playmaker when the pressure is on.9. Tony Romo – The haters will point out his prior failings, especially the dropped snap in Seattle. But this year, Romo showed how good he is in the clutch, leading a win over Detroit and a should-have-been comeback in Green Bay. 10. Robert Griffin III – Do I want to put my franchise in RGIII’s hands for the next decade? Nope. No way. But if I just need 60 good minutes, I’d take my chances with a guy who oozes confidence and can make plays. 11. Drew Brees – Brees isn’t the same player he once was, but his breadth of experience makes him a decent choice here. At the very least, the veteran QB isn’t going to be rattled by the situation or intimidated by the stage. 12. Andrew Luck – Yes, he went into Denver and won a playoff game this year; but given the way the Broncos imploded, that has an asterisks next to it. By and large, the league’s best young QB gets rolled in big games. 13. Carson Palmer – A veteran presence is always a good thing when the pressure is on. While Palmer doesn’t have a ton of big wins under his belt, he has seen everything that an opponent can throw at him; that’s valuable. 14. Cam Newton – With the season on the line, a guy who can make plays with both his arm and feet is a valuable asset; that allows everyone else a little margin for error from play to play. Newton is a gamer. 15. Matthew Stafford – Let’s face it, he made the plays necessary to win in Dallas; he simply got jobbed by a phantom no-call. There aren’t many guys better in the final two minutes of a game than Detroit’s gunslinger. 16. Jay Cutler – Half of the time, Cutler would be great in a big game. The other half, he’d absolutely meltdown. So it’s a flip-of-a-coin proposition with the Bears quarterback, one of the league’s most-enigmatic players.17. Alex Smith – Given that he’s a dink-and-dunk passer, Smith would do a good job of not getting his team beat in a big game; he’d rely on his defense and running game. That’s fine, unless you need a big play or two down the stretch. 18. Philip Rivers – Rivers has a reputation for being clutch, but he’s never made it to a Super Bowl, which means he always folds in the playoffs at some point. And this year’s loss at Kansas City in the season finale was not good. 19. Matt Ryan – Remember when he was known as “Matty Ice” because of his clutch play? That sure hasn’t been the case the past two years, when the Falcons have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams. 20. Sam Bradford – At the risk of taking a cheap shot, the biggest worry about Bradford would be that he couldn’t make it through the entire game without getting hurt. At this point in his injury-plagued career, that’s a legit concern. 21. Johnny Manziel – Yes, his rookie season was a disaster. But with everything on the line, a guy with unbridled confidence isn’t the worst thing in the world. Johnny Football is just cocky enough to pull off almost anything. 22. Nick Foles – He didn’t get it done when he had a chance in the playoffs following the 2013 season, so there isn’t much evidence that he steps up in big games. Of course, it’s a small sample size that says he doesn’t, as well. 23. Derek Carr – During his rookie season, Carr had to endure all sorts of adversity. Yet, he didn’t get rattled. In fact, he kept improving, looking like a veteran QB by season’s end. That shows moxie. 24. Teddy Bridgewater – During his first season, Bridgewater turned the Vikings from a team with no hope on most Sundays to a team that was dangerous; that’s because he can make big plays at any time, keeping his club alive.25. Ryan Tannehill – The past two seasons, the Dolphins have been in the playoff hunt in December. And each time, they fell flat on their face. In both instances, their Tannehill-led offense simply disappeared. 26. Blake Bortles – Given that his team didn’t play in any big games, there isn’t any evidence that the rookie quarterback can rise to the occasion. Of course, there’s no proof that the talented youngster can’t, either. 27. Andy Dalton – He’s 0-4 in playoff games. That stat haunts Dalton, as it puts the Bengals postseason failings squarely on him. But it’s hard to argue that the QB hasn’t been very good in big games. 28. Zach Mettenberger – The fact that Mettenberger wasn’t able to win big at LSU, when he had Jeremy Hill in the backfield and Odell Beckham Jr. at wide receiver, is a sign that he isn’t exactly a clutch performer. 29. EJ Manuel – Since he left Florida State, the guy who replaced him has lost a grand total of one game in two years. While that might not be fair, the success of Jameis Winston does raise questions about EJ. 30. Tom Savage – There’s absolutely no body of evidence to use when trying to evaluate Savage; this is a total roll of the dice. So because there’s nothing that says he can’t do it, he doesn’t finish dead last in this race. 31. Geno Smith – A mistake-prone quarterback isn’t someone that tends to thrive in big games. When the pressure is on, those types of players tend to make more and more blunders, something Smith has proven over and over again. 32. Mike Glennon – If Glennon was under center for a must-win game, it would be hope and pray time; he simply brings nothing to the table that would suggest he’d be able to come through when all the chips were pushed in.link
Posted : Feb. 12, 2015 2:15 am
