In the immortal words of Ray Parker Jr, “If there’s something weird, And it don’t look good, Who ya gonna call?”
In the NFL, if the “weird” part is your team is down by a bunch of points in the fourth quarter, or you absolutely have to craft a game-winning drive late, you’ll want to ring one of these QBs below. So many of my best memories from the NFL playoffs are tied to epic, and even not so epic, comebacks. Whether I was on the winning side, in terms of a bet, the losing side, or had nothing riding on the game at all. Those games stand out for me over time.
We get these situations every playoff season, where a team (but all the pressure is typically on the QB), is down, and has the opportunity to put together a comeback. Whether over two quarters, one quarter or a last minute drive. Some step up, some don’t. And then you have a small group that has distinguished themselves as comeback kings. They’ve produced in these situations over and over again. It’s not a fluke, or the supporting cast; it’s them.
With this week’s Top Five list, in hopes of seeing a memorable comeback or two in this season’s playoffs, I’m honoring the five QBs of my time that you would want to have the ball when your team is down by six, with 1:30 on the clock in the fourth and no timeouts.
Looking back to the Christmas issue, and how the picks went…well, they didn’t go well. I split the college plays, 1-1, but unfortunately had to sit through that Seahawks vs. Bears game holding a Seattle ticket. They held the Bears to a total of three points and won the game, but couldn’t cover the four points I laid, scoring a pathetic six points in total themselves. It was ugly folks.
That booked a 1-2 ATS column last week, taking me to 30-13-2 ATS this season. With this being Week 18, which always brings handicapping challenges with it, and college winding down, I only have one play, not the usual three.
The Winner’s Edge team will post my play from the Sunday card later today.
Here are my top five quarterbacks that, during their prime, I would like to have the ball if I’ve backed their team and need a comeback to cash a ticket.
5. Russell Wilson
It would be easy enough to allow recency bias to cloud over Russell’s clutch factor. It was high. Oh, the other thing you will have to overlook, that really muddies up the memories of a “clutch-performer” is that time Wilson tossed the ball into the end zone to Ricardo Lockette to cinch the win for Seattle in SB XLIX, and Malcolm Butler took it all away with that famous pick. That, obviously, was not clutch. That aside. I remember fondly coming back in the second half from a 16-0 deficit vs. the Packers in the 2014 NFC Championship Game, and countless other fourth quarter comebacks he orchestrated. He belongs on this list.
4. Eli Manning
I went back and forth between Matthew Stafford, and Eli Manning, but landed on Manning. Stafford had that impressive game-winning drive against the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, but aside from that, his comebacks, and there were a ton, lacked the importance, as they were relegated to regular season games. Eli, on the other hand, was largely mediocre in the regular season, but thrived when the pressure was dialed up during the playoffs. When I mentioned above about playoff drives I can explicitly remember, Eli’s right in that mix with two legendary Super Bowl-winning drives against the Patriots. C’mon, we all remember Super Bowl XLII, with Manning escaping a sack to deliver the iconic “Helmet Catch” to David Tyree. He rose to the occasion in those Giants’ Super Bowl wins, almost inexplicably willing them to victory.
3. Peyton Manning
Eli’s brother, and the much better QB of the two. Peyton actually choked a few times, but overall, this was unquestionably one of the QBs over the past 20 years that you wanted to have the ball when you absolutely had to put a winning drive together. He ranks in the top three in NFL history for fourth-quarter comebacks, and he did it in the playoffs. I vividly remember sitting in front of the TV in 2006 for the AFC Championship game, with the Colts down 18 points vs. the Patriots. He was masterful, picking apart that New England D, bringing the Colts all the way back to a win.
2. Patrick Mahomes
I probably should have Drew Brees somewhere on this list, likely instead of Wilson or Eli, but I just don’t have those recollections of epic Brees comebacks. In the number two spot for me, it is Patrick Mahomes. It didn’t take Mahomes long to shoot up this list. Think of the 2019 playoffs when he led the Chiefs to overcome a 24-0 deficit against the Texans, or of course, the 13 seconds on the clock and beating the Bills, and on and on I could go. He is without question, the QB still playing that I would want to have the ball in any game-winning drive situation.
1. Tom Brady
No surprise here. Tom’s a stone cold killer when the game was on the line. We can all point to the Super Bowl LI historic rally from a 28-3 deficit to take down and there are countless others. His mental toughness and decision-making are unparalleled when the temperature was the highest. He’s the GOAT in this category.
Nick’s Plays
Last week: 1-2 ATS
Season Record: 30-13-2 ATS