If you missed Monday Night Football, here’s a quick recap: Aaron Rodgers torched a helpless Kansas City Chiefs secondary for 333 yards and five touchdowns.
Rodgers’ performance has fans and analysts talking once again about how he is clearly the best in the game. There’s just one problem with that train of thought — Tom Brady is still the best quarterback in the NFL right now.
If I was building a franchise around a quarterback, I’d be a fool not to pick Rodgers. I’ll concede that.
Brady is 38 years old, and there’s no telling how long he has until the hourglass of his career runs out of sand. Rodgers is seven years younger with plenty of good years ahead of him. Why wouldn’t I pick him if I wanted to compete for the better part of a decade?
But if I wanted to win a Super Bowl right now, this season, I’d take Brady on my hypothetical team in a heartbeat. Then I would watch him knock your hypothetical team led by Rodgers right out of the hypothetical playoffs.
I love statistics, and Rodgers’ numbers from last season are hard to beat. He completed 65.6 percent of his passes to the tune of 4,381 yards. He threw 38 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions. That is pretty good.
Meanwhile, Brady managed 4,109 yards, a 64.1 percent completion percentage and 33 touchdowns against nine interceptions.
Brady has several more seasons than Rodgers under his belt, but Rodgers still might hold the edge when both guys are done playing. His career completion percentage (66 percent) is higher than Brady’s (63.6 percent), and he averages more yards per game than Brady (259.7 to 256.5).
Rodgers’ 4.14 touchdown-to-interception ratio is significantly better than Brady’s 2.8 mark.
How can I choose Brady knowing these numbers?
Because when I consider Brady the best in the NFL, it’s not all about stats. Rodgers is a winner, but Brady could write the book on winning. I want the biggest winner in the game running my team, and right now, that’s Brady.
People like to talk about guys who have “it” or the “x-factor.” I don’t know what “it” is, but Brady definitely has it.
There are few athletes who find a way to win like Brady. He just gets it done, and he gets it done when it matters most. Rodgers is clutch, but Brady has a clutch gene.
Brady’s four Super Bowl rings to Rodgers’ one is evidence Brady holds the edge. Also, Brady is 21-8 in the playoffs, while Rodgers is 6-5.
But what about Deflategate? Brady is a cheater.
Come on, Brady doesn’t need deflated footballs to get an edge.
The game following the scandal, Super Bowl XLIX, Brady managed to collect the MVP award despite facing the NFL’s best defense in the Seattle Seahawks.
He completed 37-of-50 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. Brady led his team to a fourth quarter comeback on the biggest stage in the game, throwing two fourth-quarter touchdowns and erasing a 24-14 deficit, giving New England the win. He managed these feats with properly inflated footballs.
Brady could win a big game playing with a football one pump of air away from bursting. Heck, give Brady a volleyball and he’ll find a way to throw a game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter with it.
I love watching Rodgers play, and his career postseason numbers have been fine. But I want to see him inspire his team to win more rings before I call him the best quarterback in the NFL.
Or he could just wait another year or two until age finally catches up with Brady. Until then, give me Brady 10 times out of 10.
Jack Woods is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Ruston, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Jack_TDR.