Peyton manning= best qb ever

[BadJerry20]

More ammunition for the pro-Peyton contingent. Peyton Manning and Eric Berry have been selected to the 2014 Pro Bowl (Manning, Berry Selected To Pro Bowl - UTSPORTS.COM - University of Tennessee Athletics). This is the thirteenth time Peyton has been so honored; Peyton joins the select company of Reggie White, Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez as players with thirteen Pro Bowl appearances. Only Hall of Fame lineman Bruce Matthews (14) made more all-star games.

Meh somebody pro-peyton dismissed pro bowls earlier. Lol

That is impressive longevity and consistency wise.

 

[BadJerry20]

The sun could rise and set on 10,000 years before I could ever be confused with a member of the Reptilian Horde. It would, however, be a useful metric to see who holds the highest percentage of successful fourth-quarter comebacks but, alas, I will leave that research project to someone else. There should, however, be a threshold for consideration. I don't care if quarterback X has successfully orchestrated 100% of all fourth quarter-comeback attempts if he only has eight or ten to his credit. In that scenario, his perfect record will not impress me as much as Peyton's documented 40 fourth-quarter comeback wins. Keep in mind, too, that significant year-to-year fluctuation in this stat could reflect more upon porous defensive play than the quarterback's ability to seal the deal.

Sorry to quote this again, but I really would like to know the % but I am too lazy for all that research. Maybe one day when I'm bored at work. As I said it may very well be Manning, he's just as likely as the other guys. I just think it would be a cool stat to see, I don't care if it shows Montana to be 5th.

 

[TGVol]

Montana and Brady are ahead.

:crazy: - yeah - sure - keep spinning - but no matter how hard you try PEYTON IS STILL THE ONE AND ONLY G.O.A.T.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Montana had four titles, not five. But the number of titles do not best define the best QB. This is garbage typically spewed by that bonehead Terry Bradshaw, who had four rings but is still trying to justify his place in history even though everybody with half a brain knows Roger Staubach (2 titles) was better than him hands down. Bradshaw had one thing in common with Brady - both of them had INCREDIBLE defenses during their title runs. Bradshaw had Green, Lambert, etc. clogging up offenses while Brady had Harrison, Vrabel, Seymour, Bruschi, etc. doing the same. Let's see, who did Manning have with the Colts? Freeney and….ummm…..Freeney….and…..Okay, scratch that. Who did he have with Denver? Miller and…..uhhhh….Miller…..err…hmmmm….

Give Manning to New England and Bellichunk would have about 6 to 8 rings on his hands instead of 3. Peyton is 10 times better than Tommy.

Lord, lord, lord. :crazy::crazy:

 

[BenGrimm]

Sorry to quote this again, but I really would like to know the % but I am too lazy for all that research. Maybe one day when I'm bored at work. As I said it may very well be Manning, he's just as likely as the other guys. I just think it would be a cool stat to see, I don't care if it shows Montana to be 5th.

What is considered a 4Q comeback? Is it being down by 1 or more points when the 4Q starts? Does it count if the team is down by 1 and sitting at 1nG when 3Q ends then they score on the first play of 4Q to take a lead then hold on to win?

Is it giving up a lead with 2 min to go then getting the ball and going the distance of the feild for the ge winning score? Does it count (for the QB) if the defense gets a turnover inside the opposing teams 10 (sort of like OT in the Den/NE games this year)?

I'm sure there are more scenarios we could come with.

 

[Wylo]

Gotta admit.... I was less shocked that he threw that pick than I was Denver's DB giving up that ridiculous, inexcusable Td pass to send the game to OT after Manning had won the game with a clutch 4th quarter td drive.

But the game didn't end with that blown defense. the defense choked bad. Then Manning threw the game away.

 

[BadJerry20]

What is considered a 4Q comeback? Is it being down by 1 or more points when the 4Q starts? Does it count if the team is down by 1 and sitting at 1nG when 3Q ends then they score on the first play of 4Q to take a lead then hold on to win?

Is it giving up a lead with 2 min to go then getting the ball and going the distance of the feild for the ge winning score? Does it count (for the QB) if the defense gets a turnover inside the opposing teams 10 (sort of like OT in the Den/NE games this year)?

I'm sure there are more scenarios we could come with.

I'm pretty sure the NFL counts them as what it says, 4th quarter comebacks. Which would make everyone's numbers janky IMO. You should research all 4th quarter games and find out. Lol I think most of us automatically think down with 2 minutes to go, driving 60+ yards for the win.

 

[BadJerry20]

Since you posed that question, which is a good one, what is everyone's definition of a 4th quarter comeback?

 

[KBVol]

Since you posed that question, which is a good one, what is everyone's definition of a 4th quarter comeback?

How about this definition?

"With a much simpler definition than a fourth-quarter comeback, a game-winning drive is the offensive scoring drive in the fourth quarter or overtime that puts the winning team ahead for the last time. The association with fourth quarter/overtime is simply a matter of making this a crunch-time stat."

 

[KBVol]

But the game didn't end with that blown defense. the defense choked bad. Then Manning threw the game away.

It was a bad throw, shouldn't have thrown it. He said it, everyone has said it.

My only point was that he had already taken the Broncos on an 88 yd drive culminating in a td pass to Thomas late in the game to seal it. He had done his job, with the game on the line, delivering in the clutch.

The game was over unless some miracle happened... and the miracle was arguably the worst defensive play in NFL Playoff history. He was asked to win the game twice and he didn't do it.

But I'll go ahead and say what you wanna hear. If I had a choice between Manning and Brady to win me one game, I'd pick Brady. You'd have to. But Brady is the ONLY QB I'd take before Peyton.

Just don't like to see anyone call Manning a choke artist. He's not. Won way too many games in college, in the nfl regular season, the nfl playoffs. Belichick and the Patriots have been his and Indianapolis' kryptonite, just like Spurrier and Florida were/are his and UT's.

 

[KBVol]

This will help a little...maybe. Lol First Brady's offenses over history have actually out scored Manning led offenses 28-27.2 Marino was last of the four with 23.2

Listed in order from biggest scoring differential.

Player-pts scored-opp pts-differential

Brady 28 pts per 18.7 allowed +9.3
Montana 24.9 per 16.7 allowed +8.2
Manning 27.3 per 21.4 allowed +5.8
Marino 23.2 per 20.3 allowed +2.9

A few things the guys with the higher total comebacks are the bottom 2. So its feasible that they had more chances.

I was a little shocked Brady led teams scored more, though not by much and was aided better a better overall ground game.

Joe and Brady obviously had better scoring defenses, which obviously helped them win titles. But may have cut comeback numbers as well.

While its probable PM and DM had more chances due to closer games, they capitalized by having the most comebacks.

Lastly poor Dan a +2.9 let that sink in for a minute...Brady had 2 seasons where his team didn't score atleast 75 more pts on the year. Manning had 5. Montana had 6. Marino had 13 or the same as the other 3 guys combined. Seasons of atleast 50 more pts scored. Brady and Manning had 2, Montana 4. Marino 8 or again the same as the other guys. Somebody in Miami owes that guy an apology.

Interesting and surprising.

Here's one more final interesting stat regarding Manning's importance to the Colts and Brady's importance to the Patriots


Since Brady became a starting QB in 2001, the Patriots have averaged 443 pts per season. The year he missed due to injury, 2008, they scored 410, difference of 33 total pts or about 2 per game

Since Manning took over a 3-13 team in 1998, his teams have averaged 433 pts per season. The year he missed due to injury, 2011, the Colts scored 243 pts, difference of 190 total pts or about 12 per game.

 

[Wylo]

It was a bad throw, shouldn't have thrown it. He said it, everyone has said it.

My only point was that he had already taken the Broncos on an 88 yd drive culminating in a td pass to Thomas late in the game to seal it. He had done his job, with the game on the line, delivering in the clutch.

The game was over unless some miracle happened... and the miracle was arguably the worst defensive play in NFL Playoff history. He was asked to win the game twice and he didn't do it.

But I'll go ahead and say what you wanna hear. If I had a choice between Manning and Brady to win me one game, I'd pick Brady. You'd have to. But Brady is the ONLY QB I'd take before Peyton.

Just don't like to see anyone call Manning a choke artist. He's not. Won way too many games in college, in the nfl regular season, the nfl playoffs. Belichick and the Patriots have been his and Indianapolis' kryptonite, just like Spurrier and Florida were/are his and UT's.

I agree with most of what you said. And I only put 2 in front of Manning, to your 1. Clearly we aren't that far apart

 

[BadJerry20]

How about this definition?

"With a much simpler definition than a fourth-quarter comeback, a game-winning drive is the offensive scoring drive in the fourth quarter or overtime that puts the winning team ahead for the last time. The association with fourth quarter/overtime is simply a matter of making this a crunch-time stat."

So if I team scores from the 1, 30 seconds in to the 4th quarter and makes the score 21-20 and the game ends at 21-20, that counts? That's where the numbers would get weird, as I would view that more as the defense getting it done than the QB.

 

[KBVol]

I agree with most of what you said. And I only put 2 in front of Manning, to your 1. Clearly we aren't that far apart

I meant currently. I'd take both Brady and Montana to win 1 game for me. Last caveat though.... both Brady and Montana played for HOF coaches and better teams/owners/organizations. But based on empirical evidence, it's gotta be Montana, Brady, Manning IMHO.

 

[BadJerry20]

Interesting and surprising.

Here's one more final interesting stat regarding Manning's importance to the Colts and Brady's importance to the Patriots


Since Brady became a starting QB in 2001, the Patriots have averaged 443 pts per season. The year he missed due to injury, 2008, they scored 410, difference of 33 total pts or about 2 per game

Since Manning took over a 3-13 team in 1998, his teams have averaged 433 pts per season. The year he missed due to injury, 2011, the Colts scored 243 pts, difference of 190 total pts or about 12 per game.

Thats a pretty sizeable difference.

 

[Wylo]

I meant currently. I'd take both Brady and Montana to win 1 game for me. Last caveat though.... both Brady and Montana played for HOF coaches and better teams/owners/organizations. But based on empirical evidence, it's gotta be Montana, Brady, Manning IMHO.

Manning couldn't be what he is with a hall of fame coach, imo. The coach would have to give up more control than they'd be comfortable with.

I agree that Manning has had pretty bad coaches in Indy. Dungy was too soft and passive. Caldwell was a complete joke.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Here are links to some very detailed research articles pertaining to fourth-quarter comebacks:

Guest Post: Quarterbacks and fourth quarter comebacks, Part I » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive

Quarterbacks and fourth quarter comebacks, Part II » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive

Quarterbacks and fourth quarter comebacks, Part III » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive

Chronology of the Fourth Quarter Comebacks and Game-Winning Drives Records » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive

Keep in mind that theses articles were written in 2009 and 2010, so numbers for Peyton and Brady have gone up considerably. Nevertheless, the author does point out that differences in these stats exist, depending on the precise definition of fourth-quarter comebacks. For the purposes of this study, he utilizes the following definition:

"For it to be a 4th quarter comeback win, you must:
•Win the game (no ties or losses)
•Take the field with a 1--8 pt deficit (1--7 prior to 1994) and score as an offense (no fumble return TD to win the game)
•It does not have to be the final winning score (hence, that applies to the number of game-winning drives)."

Unfortunately, the author cautions that "Due to a semantics argument/hiccup/tie-up, no one is able to agree on a consensus definition of what a 4th quarter comeback or game-winning drive in the 4th quarter/overtime is." He also makes an important distinction between fourth-quarter comeback drives and game-winning drives:

"There can be a difference between a comeback and game-winning (GW) drive: FOR IT TO BE A COMEBACK, THE OFFENSE MUST OVERCOME A DEFICIT. Trust me; the importance of that statement justifies the usage of the caps lock. Not all comebacks are GW drives, not all GW drives are comebacks. If you never trailed in the 4th quarter, but the game is tied and you lead a drive to win the game, that is a GW drive, not a comeback."

This researcher also agrees with BadJerry20 on the desirability of more precise statistical measurement of performance under these circumstances but warns of intrinsic limitations to the available data:

"The ideal 4th quarter comeback analysis would be to:

1. Identify the games where a comeback (from a 1--8 pt deficit) was possible: this gives you all successes and failures. Just telling me a QB has 10 comebacks does not mean a whole heck of a lot. But if you tell me he has 10 comebacks in 13 comeback opportunities, I can probably say he’s doing a great job. If he has 10 comebacks in 30 opportunities, he might be someone only as good as Jon Kitna.

2. Identify the situation of the drive: time it started and ended, starting field position, number of timeouts, etc. Not all comebacks/drives are created equal. It’s a lot harder to come back from a 4-8 pt deficit with 30 seconds and no timeouts than it is to start the 4th quarter on the 1-yard line, down by a point.

3. Collect the drive statistics: attempts, completions, yards, length and number of plays, etc. Just your usual QB statistics. Obviously going 8/8 for 80 yards and a TD beats going 1/5 for 8 yards to set up a long FG.

4. Create advanced statistics to better understand performance: average deficit, average yards to go, average time left, points per drive, percentage of 3-and-outs, turnover likelihood, “blown saves”, etc. Along with having the number of successes and failures, this would be the most useful part of comeback
analysis. This is how you can begin to answer who’s really the biggest choker in the league. Unfortunately you need solid play-by-play data here, so the number of seasons you can obtain this type of data is greatly limited."

Finally, since we have introduced Marino and, to a lesser degree, Elway into this discussion, this researcher specifically analyzes their records in part one of this series (Guest Post: Quarterbacks and fourth quarter comebacks, Part I » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive). This particular research project is not my personal crusade, so I will refrain from further discussion.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

This will help a little...maybe. Lol First Brady's offenses over history have actually out scored Manning led offenses 28-27.2 Marino was last of the four with 23.2

Listed in order from biggest scoring differential.

Player-pts scored-opp pts-differential

Brady 28 pts per 18.7 allowed +9.3
Montana 24.9 per 16.7 allowed +8.2
Manning 27.3 per 21.4 allowed +5.8
Marino 23.2 per 20.3 allowed +2.9

A few things the guys with the higher total comebacks are the bottom 2. So its feasible that they had more chances.

I was a little shocked Brady led teams scored more, though not by much and was aided better a better overall ground game.

Joe and Brady obviously had better scoring defenses, which obviously helped them win titles. But may have cut comeback numbers as well.

While its probable PM and DM had more chances due to closer games, they capitalized by having the most comebacks.

Lastly poor Dan a +2.9 let that sink in for a minute...Brady had 2 seasons where his team didn't score atleast 75 more pts on the year. Manning had 5. Montana had 6. Marino had 13 or the same as the other 3 guys combined. Seasons of atleast 50 more pts scored. Brady and Manning had 2, Montana 4. Marino 8 or again the same as the other guys. Somebody in Miami owes that guy an apology.

Are you sure that these are exclusively offensive scoring stats, as opposed to team scoring stats for teams led by these quarterbacks? The latter scenario would, of course, include defensive and special teams scores.

 

[BenGrimm]

That's some solid info Volosaurus. I always took "4th Q comeback" at face value but BadJerry's point made me think about it a little deeper.

 

[TGVol]

Not sure if this link was already posted in this thread but it is recent and fair comparison (although the table with major achievements is not updated with Peyton now having that record with 51 season TD's) - but even without that update the conclusion is still that Peyton is the GOAT (perhaps the most telling is the quote by Rodney Harrison who played with both Brady and Peyton - see at the very end of that article).

Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning: Who Is the Better Quarterback All-Time? | Bleacher Report

 

[iluvsmesumdooley]

This position-specific application of a theory is what I find most irritating about debates concerning the greatest quarterback of all time. Yes, quarterbacks impact the outcome of a game more than any single position. However, when a quarterback as supremely talented as Dan Marino only has the opportunity to play in one Super Bowl, let alone win it, and far less talented quarterbacks, such as Trent Dilfer, Doug Williams and Jim McMahon lead teams to Super Bowl victories, you would think that pundits would realize the need for a more nuanced analysis or at least apply the same ludicrous theory to all positions.

With respect to fourth-quarter comebacks, there are a couple of points that I don't believe have been mentioned previously in this thread. It is entirely possible that good to great quarterbacks on dominant defensive teams may not have the opportunity to pull off as many fourth quarter comebacks, simply because they don't surrender as many points to begin with and they are less prone to surrender fourth-quarter leads due to their more consistently high level of play. Conversely, great quarterbacks who are frequently saddled with mediocre to weak defenses, such as Marino and Manning, are more frequently put in the position to orchestrate fourth-quarter comebacks, due to their defenses' inability to securely shut the door on opponents.

Eli has two SB rings. Does anybody really think he's better than Peyton, let along Marino, Esiason, and Kelly? And as for Dilfer, McMahon, and Williams….geeeezzz…..

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Not sure if this link was already posted in this thread but it is recent and fair comparison (although the table with major achievements is not updated with Peyton now having that record with 51 season TD's) - but even without that update the conclusion is still that Peyton is the GOAT (perhaps the most telling is the quote by Rodney Harrison who played with both Brady and Peyton - see at the very end of that article).

Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning: Who Is the Better Quarterback All-Time? | Bleacher Report

Thanks for that link. The statement by Harrison warrants quotation in its entirety:

"I think Peyton has been so unfairly judged because he really didn't have that defense over the years like Tom," Harrison said. "Tom had a lot of veteran players, a lot of really good defenses, where if he didn't play particularly well, he knew that he had a defense with a lot of veteran players that could save him. Whereas, Peyton didn't really have that advantage. If Peyton was on our team, I think we could have easily won three Super Bowls, no doubt about it."

 

[BadJerry20]

Are you sure that these are exclusively offensive scoring stats, as opposed to team scoring stats for teams led by these quarterbacks? The latter scenario would, of course, include defensive and special teams scores.

As with the record books and probably every team scoring stat in here, it's just a raw number. Breaking down pts for and against while factoring in defensive and special scores would take a lot of research. As I said I was just hoping it would a little. I did however breakdown the top 10 scoring teams of all time, just for comparisons sake.

Listed is the team, raw pts per, and def/ST adjusted pts per. Also the differential between the 2.

2013 Broncos-38.1 36.1 -2
2007 Patriots-36.8 33.8 -3
2011 Packers-35 32.4 -2.6
2012 Patriots-34.8 33.1 -1.7
1999 Vikings-34.8 32.5 -2.3
2011 Saints--34.1 32.7 -1.4
2000. Rams--33.8 32.3 -1.5
1999 Rams---32.9 28.1 -4.8
2004 Colts---32.6 30.8 -1.8
2010 Pats----32.4 29.4 -3

As you can see aside from the Rams 1999 season, the difference stays around 1-1.5 within each other. Also I didn't put in there but def/St scores were 4-8 in every case, except the 1999 Rams 11. So what I posted before wasn't an exact science, maybe I'll do that tomorrow, it gives us a general idea. I will point out the average difference between Peytons decline and Brady's is 0.7 in favor of Manning.

 

[BadJerry20]

Here are links to some very detailed research articles pertaining to fourth-quarter comebacks:

Guest Post: Quarterbacks and fourth quarter comebacks, Part I » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive

Quarterbacks and fourth quarter comebacks, Part II » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive

Quarterbacks and fourth quarter comebacks, Part III » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive

Chronology of the Fourth Quarter Comebacks and Game-Winning Drives Records » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive

Keep in mind that theses articles were written in 2009 and 2010, so numbers for Peyton and Brady have gone up considerably. Nevertheless, the author does point out that differences in these stats exist, depending on the precise definition of fourth-quarter comebacks. For the purposes of this study, he utilizes the following definition:

"For it to be a 4th quarter comeback win, you must:
•Win the game (no ties or losses)
•Take the field with a 1--8 pt deficit (1--7 prior to 1994) and score as an offense (no fumble return TD to win the game)
•It does not have to be the final winning score (hence, that applies to the number of game-winning drives)."

Unfortunately, the author cautions that "Due to a semantics argument/hiccup/tie-up, no one is able to agree on a consensus definition of what a 4th quarter comeback or game-winning drive in the 4th quarter/overtime is." He also makes an important distinction between fourth-quarter comeback drives and game-winning drives:

"There can be a difference between a comeback and game-winning (GW) drive: FOR IT TO BE A COMEBACK, THE OFFENSE MUST OVERCOME A DEFICIT. Trust me; the importance of that statement justifies the usage of the caps lock. Not all comebacks are GW drives, not all GW drives are comebacks. If you never trailed in the 4th quarter, but the game is tied and you lead a drive to win the game, that is a GW drive, not a comeback."

This researcher also agrees with BadJerry20 on the desirability of more precise statistical measurement of performance under these circumstances but warns of intrinsic limitations to the available data:

"The ideal 4th quarter comeback analysis would be to:

1. Identify the games where a comeback (from a 1--8 pt deficit) was possible: this gives you all successes and failures. Just telling me a QB has 10 comebacks does not mean a whole heck of a lot. But if you tell me he has 10 comebacks in 13 comeback opportunities, I can probably say he’s doing a great job. If he has 10 comebacks in 30 opportunities, he might be someone only as good as Jon Kitna.

2. Identify the situation of the drive: time it started and ended, starting field position, number of timeouts, etc. Not all comebacks/drives are created equal. It’s a lot harder to come back from a 4-8 pt deficit with 30 seconds and no timeouts than it is to start the 4th quarter on the 1-yard line, down by a point.

3. Collect the drive statistics: attempts, completions, yards, length and number of plays, etc. Just your usual QB statistics. Obviously going 8/8 for 80 yards and a TD beats going 1/5 for 8 yards to set up a long FG.

4. Create advanced statistics to better understand performance: average deficit, average yards to go, average time left, points per drive, percentage of 3-and-outs, turnover likelihood, “blown saves”, etc. Along with having the number of successes and failures, this would be the most useful part of comeback
analysis. This is how you can begin to answer who’s really the biggest choker in the league. Unfortunately you need solid play-by-play data here, so the number of seasons you can obtain this type of data is greatly limited."

Finally, since we have introduced Marino and, to a lesser degree, Elway into this discussion, this researcher specifically analyzes their records in part one of this series (Guest Post: Quarterbacks and fourth quarter comebacks, Part I » Pro-football-reference.com blog » Blog Archive). This particular research project is not my personal crusade, so I will refrain from further discussion.

Excellent post

 

[Volosaurus rex]

On second thought and on a slightly different note, this post will not add to the statistical rigor of analysis of fourth-quarter comebacks, but I thought it would be interesting to see how the all-time greats did in relation to the great comeback victories of all-time. Please note that these are not strictly limited to fourth-quarter comebacks:

1. “December 7, 1980 at San Francisco. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana made a career out of coming through in the clutch. However, his ability to work late-game magic was just beginning to show in 1980. Late in his second NFL season, Montana found his team down 35-7 at halftime to Archie Manning and the New Orleans Saints. While most second-year quarterbacks would have folded, Montana did not. Instead, he led his 49ers on a 28-0 second-half run to send the game into overtime. Ray Wersching booted a 36-yard overtime field goal to win the game for San Francisco and its upstart quarterback.

It was the first of many legendary performances for Montana and remains the largest regular-season comeback in league history” (8 Greatest Comebacks in NFL History | Bleacher Report). Give Montana all the credit in the world, but do note that the Saints that year were dead last in scoring defense (1980 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com) and posted a 1-15 record.

2. January 21, 2007 at Indianapolis. “The 2007 AFC Championship Game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots looked to be well in hand by halftime. The Patriots, who had knocked Peyton Manning's Colts out of the playoffs the previous two years, had jumped out to an early 21-3 lead and led 21-6 at halftime. However, Manning engineered touchdown drives on the Colts' first two possessions of the second half, which, along with a two-point conversion, tied the game at 21. An interception of a Tom Brady pass would eventually seal the 38-34 victory for the Colts and send Manning on to earn his first and only Super Bowl victory” (8 Greatest Comebacks in NFL History | Bleacher Report).

Peyton gets significant kudos for orchestrating a big comeback, albeit not in the 4th quarter, against his archnemeses, Tom Brady and the Patriots. Peyton gets extra credit for the fact that the Patriots were 2nd in scoring defense that year, having surrendered only 237 points (2006 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com). Furthermore, it was the largest deficit ever overcome in an NFL conference championship game (25 Most Memorable Conference Championship Games in NFL History | Bleacher Report).

3. October 15, 2012 at San Diego. “The visiting Denver Broncos appeared to be doomed at halftime on Monday Night Football. The team was down 24-0 to the San Diego Chargers, and new Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning did not seem to be in sync with his offense in the least. However, the script was rewritten after halftime as Denver would outscore San Diego 35-0 in the second half. Manning tossed three touchdowns and just one incompletion after the break, while Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers threw a game-sealing interception that was returned for a touchdown. There have been several 24-point comebacks in NFL history, but this defining game for Manning and his new team is the only one to end with an 11-point margin of victory” (8 Greatest Comebacks in NFL History | Bleacher Report).

4. November 24, 2013 at New England. The Patriots trailed 24-0 at halftime of this nationally televised Sunday Night matchup. Quarterback Tom Brady rallied New England by throwing three second-half touchdowns as the Patriots took a 31-24 lead. The Broncos tied the game to send it into overtime before kicker Stephen Gostkowski put the finishing touches on the comeback.

5. October 6, 2003 at Tampa Bay. "In one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, with four minutes left in regulation the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held a 21-point lead over the Indianapolis Colts. Thanks to last second heroics from Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, the Colts somehow managed to overcome the lead and send the game into overtime. In overtime, with four minutes to go and an opportunity to win the game, Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt missed his first field goal attempt, but the Bucs were called for a penalty giving the kicker another try, that one, despite being partially blocked, sailed through the uprights for the Colts win. Indianapolis was the first team in NFL history to win trailing by 21 or more points with less than four minutes

​

” (10 Greatest Comeback Stories in NFL History | Bleacher Report).

Peyton gets bonus points for this one on several fronts: (1) it was a road game against (2) the defending Super Bowl champions, who (3) had the 4th best scoring defense that year. Nevertheless, Peyton led Indy from (4) 21 points down with about five minutes left to ultimate victory.

Comparing them side-by-side, Montana led the 49ers to the largest regular-season comeback in NFL history. However, it was a home game against a 1-15 Saints team, who had the worst scoring defense in the league. Manning and Brady, on the other hand, both have 24-point comeback victories on their resumes. Brady’s came this year at home against the Broncos, whereas Peyton orchestrated his biggest comeback win against the Chargers. Two other comeback wins by Peyton came on a bigger stage. His 18-point comeback victory over the Patriots in the 2007 AFC Championship Game is the largest deficit ever overcome in an NFL conference championship game. For last-minute theatrics, however, his 2003 road victory over the defending Super Bowl champions may represent his crowning achievement. With less than five minutes left and trailing by 3 touchdowns, the Colts scored 21 points in the last 3:37 to send the game into overtime, during which the Colts won on a field goal.

Final advantage in this comparison goes to Peyton.​