NFL Power Rankings: Rating the Best Quarterbacks in the 2012 Playoffs

The 2012 NFL playoff picture has been set, with plenty great quarterbacks in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy; but there are five that stand above the rest.

Every single team that has gotten to this point has earned their spot, there are no 7-9 division winners like last season.

With every game possibly being the last for their teams, each quarterback will have to excel if they want to punch a plane ticket to Indianapolis.

Here are the top five quarterbacks in the 2012 NFL playoffs.

5. Ben Roethlisberger

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is no stranger to the post-season, with two Super Bowl rings to his name. That being said, Big Ben hasn't ever really wowed in the boxscore during the playoffs.

Roethlisberger makes this list due to his ability to win games when it matters most, winning 10 of his thirteen playoff games. 10 of those games were also decided by 11 points or fewer, so No. 7 is pretty used to games coming down to the wire in January.

He's thrown for over 300 yards and over two touchdowns just once in his post-season career, but the Miami of Ohio product finds ways to bring the Steelers deep into the playoffs.

4. Aaron Rodgers

Before you run off to the comment section, hear me out.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks to be the front runner for the NFL MVP award and rightfully so, the guy has played amazing this season.

The reason I put him at number four is that while he's enjoyed playoff success, he's still relatively new to playing in January.

Rodgers has played in five career playoff games, obviously four of them coming last season. He showed great determination, helping lead a injury ridden Packer team to a Super Bowl win. He also threw three touchdowns in all but one contest.

I think Rodgers is a phenomenal talent and should be the 2011 MVP, but I just need to see another big playoff run like he did last year to validate putting him ahead of guys who have been in this position a few more times than him.

3. Eli Manning

I went back and forth between Aaron Rodgers and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning for the number three spot. What I couldn't get out of my head was that 2007 playoff run by Manning's team that lead to one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history.

The Giants are a team that just knows how to get hot at the right time, and after an awful mid-season skid this team has won three of their past four games, each of which helped knock a team out of the playoffs.

Manning has matured this season, and if not for the crazy numbers being posted by Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady in 2011, Big Blue's quarterback could have been MVP.

The G-Men are hot at the right time and it's largely due to Manning playing smart football. This team looks like a more experienced version of the 2007 squad and it'll be tough to send them home packing if Manning continues to play big in the post-season.

2. Drew Brees

The last time we saw Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs, they were beat by that 7-9 Seattle Seahawks team thanks to Marshawn Lynch. Don't think for a second Brees doesn't remember that and comes out firing this time around.

Brees has made it to the post-season 5 of the past eight years, one of which ended with a Super Bowl victory.

The field general for the Saints has thrown just two interceptions in his playoff career compared to his 15 touchdowns. New Orleans may not have the best defense around to compliment Brees and company, but that offense is still one of the best in football as long as No. 9 is starting.

1. Tom Brady

Now it's never been proven, but it might actually be true that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has ice in his veins.

In all seriousness though, there's nobody better to have under center than Brady if you want your team to make it to the Super Bowl.

The former 6th round draft pick has the most playoff experience out of any starter among the 2011 playoff teams and his team is the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC.

Brady has lead the Patriots to three Super Bowl victories in four seasons, becoming just the second team in NFL history to do so.

It's true that the Pats haven't won a playoff game since that loss to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl back in 2007, but this incarnation of the franchise looks to be in great shape heading into the post-season.

New England won't have to play on the road unless they reach Indianapolis, and there are few teams with a better home record than them in all the league.

Paired together with a Tom Brady that has thrown just two interceptions since the team suffered a Week 8 loss to the Giants and 300 plus yards in every game but one since then, teams should be scared to hop on that plane to Foxborough.