The Top 10 Quarterbacks in the NFL: Post-Super Bowl Edition

Peyton Manning should have never been MVP. In fact, he's over-rated. His legacy is smashed, and he can never be considered the greatest quarterback of all-time.

Not after losing a Super Bowl.

At least, these are the things being said.

Manning is a heck of a quarterback who had his team down by seven with just over three minutes to go in the biggest game of the season.

After countless passes made by him led his 14-2 Colts to the promised land (almost), it was that very arm that rescued them so many times that ultimately did them in.

So, does that make Manning drop down the list in the season's final quarterback rankings? Or does he get credit for getting the Colts as far as he did?

Then again, it's not all about Manning, is it?

The playoffs and the Super Bowl gave us more information, and with the entire 2009 regular season also factoring in, here is the season ending rankings for the top 10 quarterbacks currently in the NFL.

Note: Officially retired players are not candidates for this list, as this list is a direct reflection of the entire 2009 NFL season, as well as a projected set of rankings for the 2010 season.

10. Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles)

Donovan McNabb had yet another one of his efficient, albeit unspectacular seasons, as he threw for a respectable 3,553 yards and 22 touchdowns, while throwing just 10 picks, while leading the Eagles to an 11-5 finish and a playoff berth.

McNabb did all of this with just 14 starts, going 10-4 as a starter, and operated behind an offensive line that gave up 35 sacks, including four in a first-round loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

While McNabb had a solid season at led his team to the playoffs, an ugly wild card loss didn't help his cause, as he and the Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys for the third time in three tries on the season.

McNabb was definitely not completely to blame, as the Eagles didn't commit to the run and had horrible protection all day long, but McNabb still didn't end the season on a high note, and was fairly inconsistent for the second half of the season.

It also never helps one's cause to be in constant trade rumors.

Honorable Mentions

Carson Palmer:

He was super inconsistent and his team went one-and-done in the playoffs. His stats were worse than everyone in the top 10, and if you're not a Bengals fan, it's pretty easy to admit he's simply not an elite quarterback right now.

Eli Manning:

Peyton's younger brother was tough to leave off this list, as he topped 4,000 yards for the first time in his career and threw 27 touchdowns.

However, he and his offense were very inconsistent all season after a teaser 5-0 start, and the failure to make the playoffs after standing at 7-5 was too embarrassing for him to overcome to make this list.

Joe Flacco:

Flacco was solid, but like Manning and Palmer, was pretty inconsistent. He was aided heavily by a terrific rushing attack, and fell short in the second round of the playoffs, despite a nice win over the Patriots in the wild card round.

Matt Ryan:

Ryan was another close call, but like several others, only played at an elite level in spurts, and didn't have his team in the playoff picture heading into Week 17. Ryan's cause was hurt considerably by injuries to Michael Turner, as well as a very disappointing defense.

Kyle Orton:

He made nice strides in a better offense with better weapons, and while he's slightly better than people give him credit for, he's even a stretch to be listed in the top-15. He's not even a complete lock to be Denver's starter in 2010.

9. Tom Brady (New England Patriots)

By normal standards, Tom Brady was reminiscent of his former self, and was one of the more prolific quarterbacks in 2009.

With 28 touchdowns and 4,398 passing yards (and just 13 interceptions), Brady had a terrific season from a statistical stand-point, however, it's very arguable that the majority of his "big" games came against lesser opponents, as he had his two best performances of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a severely depleted Tennessee Titans defense.

Add in a no-show performance against the then-undefeated New Orleans Saints, as well as a quick, first-round playoff exit, and Brady's numbers simply don't add up.

Not to a ranking better than ninth place, anyways.

Note: Not having his trusted slot-man, Wes Welker, probably didn't help Brady's cause.

8. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys)

Tony Romo threw a career-low nine interceptions, as he led the Dallas Cowboys to a season sweep (3-0) over the Philadelphia Eagles, and helped the Cowboys claim their second division title in the last three years.

Romo threw for 26 touchdowns and 4,483 yards as he led the Cowboys to an 11-5 record and a first-round playoff win over the Eagles, giving the Cowboys their first playoff win in over 15 years.

Despite being labeled "un-clutch" for the past few years, Romo helped Dallas get "the monkey off its back" with a playoff win, despite not showing up at all in the NFC divisional round against the Minnesota Vikings, where Romo fumbled the ball three times (two lost), threw a pick, and only led the offense to three points.

It all adds up to an average season that gives Dallas a lot of hope and promise for the future. But for Romo, all of that is good for spot numero ocho.

7. Matt Schaub (Houston Texans)

Schaub could easily be argued down this list, but his accomplishments actually say a lot about the direction of his career, as well as the direction of the Houston Texans.

Despite a lack of a running game and the loss of one of his key targets (Owen Daniels), Schaub helped the Houston offense to regroup and finish strong at 9-7, narrowly missing out on a wild card spot in the playoffs.

Schaub finished the season with the most yards in the league (4,770), while throwing 29 touchdowns and completing nearly 68 percent of his passes, despite passing nearly 600 times on the year.

It was quite the season for "Mr. Glass," as Schaub played a full 16-game schedule for the first time in his career, and helped the Houston Texans take the next step to hopefully getting to the playoffs.

Oh, and he helped the AFC win the Pro Bowl, as he earned Pro Bowl MVP honors.

6. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)

At one point in the season, Ben Roethlisberger had the Pittsburgh Steelers looking primed to defend their Super Bowl title.

Of course, that was before his offensive line completely gave way, and the Steelers defense, without Troy Polamalu, turned into mush.

Regardless of tying the league lead with 50 sacks taken, Big Ben was still able to throw for 4,328 yards and 26 touchdowns, while throwing just 12 interceptions.

Roethlisberger also put on an unforgettable performance in a thrilling 37-36 win over the Green Bay Packers, where Roethlisberger threw for 503 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown with no time remaining.

While it was just one of the "too little, too late" victories that came during the end of the season, Roethlisberger still guided a dying team to the brink of a playoff berth, and performed extraordinarily well throughout the year, considering the circumstances.

5. Phillip Rivers (San Diego Chargers)

You just can't write a top-five quarterback list for the 2009 season without Phillip Rivers having a place in it.

Of course, he could easily be argued to ascend these rankings, but as every passer ahead of him is justified with his rankings, there's enough working against Rivers to keep him grounded at five (despite it being a solid placing).

Regardless, Rivers had an amazing season, throwing for 4,252 yards and 28 touchdowns, while throwing just nine picks during a 13-3 season in which the Chargers won their last 11 games of the regular season.

As impressive as Rivers and the Chargers were in their run to the division title and a playoff berth, however, their no-show against the Jets in the divisional round was a grand disappointment.

While much of the blame can easily go on kicker Nate Kaeding and the lack of an effective ground game, it still lies on Rivers to come through and carry the team. After all, that's exactly what he had been doing all season up until their final loss.

It was a great season, but one that ended much too early for Rivers to be ranked any higher on this list.

4. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers)

While it isn't always about stats, with Aaron Rodgers, it kind of has to be.

The guy was only in his second season as a full-time starter, was/is still in the midst of replacing a departed legend (Brett Favre), and had yet to prove himself as a legitimate winner in the NFL.

Rewind to the first game of the season, where Green Bay trailed the Chicago Bears 15-14 with only minutes remaining, and Rodgers threw a strike to give the Packers a 21-15 lead, and the eventual win.

So much for the kid not being able to win games.

On top of that, Rodgers had a huge season, easily garnering minimal consideration (at the very least) for MVP talk, as he threw 30 touchdowns (ran for four more), 4,434 yards, and just seven interceptions.

The fact that he did this all behind an offensive line that surrendered a league-leading 50 sacks (tied with Pittsburgh), and still guided the Packers to an 11-5 record and playoff appearance, is beyond impressive.

Rodgers then helped Green Bay battle back from a 31-10 deficit against the Arizona Cardinals, before succumbing to the reigning NFC Champions, 51-45 in overtime.

If Brett Favre wasn't 40 and had led his team to the NFC Championship (or Manning hadn't reached the Super Bowl), I would gladly put Rodgers in the second spot.

3. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts)

He had a terrific season, throwing for 33 touchdowns and exactly 4,500 yards en route to guiding his once 14-0 Indianapolis Colts all the way to the Super Bowl.

While that's absolutely dandy on the outer surface, hindsight shows us that Manning came up extremely short in the biggest game of the year, throwing just one touchdown, a pick-six that cost the Colts the game, and only managed to guide the Colts to 17 points against the New Orleans Saints.

Throw in his 16 picks on the season, along with that dreadful throw that Manning won't soon forget, and there's no way Manning can finish at the top spot, regardless of what the regular season MVP voters think.

2. Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings)

Brett Favre created another stir this past offseason, and despite doubters and nay-sayers, the then 39-year-old quarterback returned for the second time from retirement, and joined a Minnesota team that seemed to be missing a piece of the puzzle to put together a Super Bowl run.

Oh, so close.

Favre came back in dramatic fashion, for sure, and gave the NFL (and the world) quite a show for all 16 regular season games, and even deep into the playoffs.

At 40 years old, Favre threw for 33 touchdowns and 4,202 yards, while throwing a career low seven interceptions.

He helped the Vikings improve to 12-4, win the NFC North, clinch a bye, and then destroyed the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round, 34-3.

Favre defeated the Cowboys for the first time in the playoffs in his career, as he threw for four touchdowns in a flawless effort, and catapulted the Vikings into the NFC Championship game for the first time in a decade.

The Vikings magical run ended there, however, as Favre's last pass was intercepted, and Minnesota's offense watched as Drew Brees and the Saints marched down the field in overtime and won the game, 31-28.

Favre still takes second place on this list, though, and for very good reason.

There has never been a season as remarkable as his, both because of his age, his unreal performances against his former team (Green Bay Packers), as well as his ability to lead his team in a heroic effort against the Saints (despite losing).

He may not have reached the Super Bowl like Peyton Manning, but his season ended by the hands of the same team, and in very much the same way.

If Favre does in fact retire for good this time (he won't), it's quite arguable that he went out with one of the finest (if not THE finest) season of his 19-year career.

It's a close call, but Favre takes second-fiddle only to Brees.

1. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints)

The little man who "couldn't" proved everyone that he "could," as Brees took an inconsistent 2008 squad and turned them into near-unbeatens.

Brees led a surprise New Orleans team to a 13-0 start, and despite three losses to end the regular season, had his team focused and clicking on all cylinders in their first playoff game, a 45-14 thrashing of the equally explosive Arizona Cardinals.

While his offensive line helped him (sacked just 20 times), Brees' excellent decision-making and quick release helped him pass for 34 touchdowns and 4,388 yards, while only throwing 11 interceptions on the season.

He also completed 32 of 39 passes in an impressive Super Bowl performance, including completing his final 10 attempts of the game, en route to leading the Saints to a 31-17 Super Bowl victory, the franchise's first in team history.

That, and Brees earned Super Bowl MVP honors, despite not winning the regular season award.

If there was any doubt before, consider it erased. Drew Brees is the most poised and explosive signal caller of the 2009 season, and will march into 2010 with the title of "top quarterback".

Or, as they say....

Who Dat? Brees Dat!

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