"I believe that games are won and lost in the last two minutes of the first half and the second half" said Vince Lombardi in an interview.
You couldn't be more right sir. If it's a tight game, a momentum swing in the first half or a last minute drive with two minutes left on the clock can often be the difference between winning and losing.
This list isn't about passing records or Super Bowl rings. It's about who do you want taking that snap with twp minutes left in the game and in honor of Lombardi we are starting off with his very own quarterback.
10. Bart Starr
The star quarterback (pun intended) of arguably the greatest dynasty in Pro Football. He was often the hero of many of the Green Bay Packers championship games.
His greatest moment was in the Ice Bowl, when he drove his team down the field by completing five of five passes and drove it in himself for the winning score.
In the Championship Game before that he also proved his great clutch ability and in the first two Super Bowls he dominated so badly he didn't need to come from behind and not to mention all the other great comebacks he has on his resume.
So why so low? Well he had 13 Hall of Famers on his team(record) and his coach was the greatest in NFL history. No other quarterback in the history of the game has had the luxury that Starr has had on the gridiron and you can't help but wonder if the Packers would have won more championships with someone else.
Not to mention that in the Ice bowl he had five minutes not today's customary two-minute drill.
9. Steve Young
What makes a clutch quarterback clutch? Well you either have to be able to read defenses like a book or you have to be amazingly physically gifted.
Young has both attributes and that's what made him so great in the clutch. No Young has had plenty of great clutch moments, like his amazing run against the Vikings. Or his super accurate pass to Terrell Owens. No other quarterback has even been as efficient in the league's history, as Young has the record for passer rating.(98.6)
8. Roger Staubach
Captain Comeback was in the driver's seat of America's team during the 70's. He led his team to four championships and won two of them.
He was called Captain Comeback for his amazing abilities to pull games out of the fourth quarter. Do I have do remind you that he invented the Hail Mary pass? Some would argue he's top five material and even I'm shocked how low he is, but they are only seven better quarterbacks in the fourth quarter.
For some reason, most people don't think of Manning as clutch. He has had plenty of great comebacks throughout the years and is a quarterback I would definitely want on my team when a play must be made.
What about his huge comeback against the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Bucs with the no. 1 defense? His team scored three touchdowns with less than five minutes left on the clock. That's about how much time Starr needed to pull off just one drive.
Or what about his huge comeback against the Patriots in the AFC title game in the second half? Manning hasn't gotten the respect he deserves in the clutch and there are only six QB's in NFL history who have done more in the fourth quarter, but being clutch is hardly something he strives for.
One of his great quotes is "I hear so many times about how many fourth quarter comebacks a guy has. What I want to know is how he got so behind in the first place."
6. "Snake" Stabler
He would sit back in the pocket all day long and strike like a snake. Many plays of his career personify clutch and without them the Raiders wouldn't be the quality teams they were in the 70's. Like the immaculate deception, the play before the immaculate reception, he ran the ball 50+ yards for a touchdown using his surprising speed.
Or what about the Holly Roller? He might have cheated on that play but he's an Oakland Raider and in the end his team pulled it off because of how good of a job he did faking that fumble.
The Ghost to the Post or the Sea of Hands also personify clutch and so does his career. He was never pressured when most quarterbacks were worrying and sweating and holding their hands together.
5. Dan Marino
Marino never won a Super Bowl, but has the second-most fourth-quarter comebacks in NFL history (37) and was at his best in the final two minutes of a game. His fake-spike and subsequent touchdown pass to Mark Ingram that beat the Jets





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