NFL Playoffs 2012: Ranking Each of the 4 Remaining Quarterbacks

This Sunday, the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference will hold their title games to determine which team will represent each conference in the Super Bowl. 

Both games feature matchups in which each team is rather one-sided. In the AFC, the Ravens and their suffocating defense take on the humble yet efficient offense of the Patriots. In the NFC, Eli Manning and his group of stellar wide receivers take on the hard-hitting 49ers and their top-ranked defense. 

Both matchups are going to require each team to adapt the side of the game in which they excel at while also incorporating their weaker links. 

Scoring will be essential in either game, and the responsibility to do so will ultimately fall into the hands of the quarterback. 

4. Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco is nowhere near the elite quarterbacks in the league, and many say that the Baltimore Ravens would be a different team if Flacco wasn't taking the snaps under center. 

While it's very easy to knock Flacco, one has to remember that most quarterbacks would look bad if their defensive counterpart were that of the Ravens. 

It's no secret that's the Ravens defense keeps them in games, yet Flacco (usually) does his job to not take the Ravens out of games. Flacco has thrown for 20 touchdowns this year and only 12 picks. He wasn't as good as he was last year, but he did lose his favorite red zone threat in tight end Todd Heap.

Additionally, top wide receiver Anquan Boldin struggled with injuries for some of the year, and Lee Evans and Torrey Smith remain more of deep threats than they do possession receivers. Flacco does well with what he has to work with, and with a running back like Ray Rice, a large chunk of the offensive production is usually covered.

One area in which Flacco has to be careful is fumbling. He fumbled the ball 11 times this season, and of those, the Ravens lost possession six times. While New England's defense is nothing to brag about, they have forced 21 fumbles this season, good for 10th best in the league. 

3. Alex Smith

While he's only the third-best of four quarterbacks, Alex Smith is, without question, playing the best football of his career as of late. Better yet, he is coming off what is unquestionably his most memorable and defining single-game performance ever. 

Against the mighty New Orleans Saints, Smith and his 49ers offense did not back down. In what proved to be a shootout, Smith ran and threw a touchdown pass in the final two minutes of the game. Both plays were uncharacteristic of the Alex Smith everyone was used to, and both highlighted the confidence and comfort that Smith currently has. 

Before this season started, Smith was being called one of the biggest draft busts of all time. Now, he may be the quarterback who brings the Lombardi Trophy back to the city who has won it five times. 

2. Eli Manning

The younger Manning brother, Eli Manning is another quarterback who is playing the best football of his career. 

That statement, in Eli's case, means a lot, too. This is a man who already has a Super Bowl ring, a Super Bowl MVP award, and who executed one of the most improbable and amazing plays that football fans across the board have ever witnessed. 

Four years removed from the Manning-to-Tyree catch, Manning has grown as a player and proven that he is capable of much more than just one unlikely Super Bowl victory. 

Many people scoffed at Manning when he said before the season started that he believed himself to be among the most elite quarterbacks in the league. The young man, who threw 25 interceptions in 2010, seemed to have far too much confidence. Eli, however, silenced his doubters. He yardage went up from 4,002 to 4,993, his passer rating from 85.3 to 92.9, and his interceptions declined to a healthy 16. 

Since beating the New York Jets in Week 16, Manning has been playing lights-out football. In his last four games, he's thrown 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions as the Giants have gone 4-0 in that span. Eli's passes are dead on and his trust in his receivers is limitless. 

He has almost as much momentum as any quarterback can possibly have, but there is one guy who has more...

1. Tom Brady

If he didn't play a single down again in his life, Tom Brady would still have a spot reserved for him in Canton. There is no denying that Brady doesn't need to accomplish any more to prove his greatness. Four Super Bowl trips, three Super Bowl championships, two Super Bowl MVP awards, and two league MVP awards speak for themselves. However, Brady wants more. 

Four Super Bowl rings and five Super Bowl visits would put him in an elite club. Only Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana have won four Super Bowls as quarterbacks, and John Elway is the only quarterback to ever lead his team to five Super Bowls. 

Another Super Bowl victory could put Brady atop the lists of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and as a man who was once the underdog, Brady smells and craves that achievement. 

Last week against the Denver Broncos and their respectable defense, Brady threw six touchdowns in an effortless routing. 

While Brady may be the best in the business, he needs to come mentally prepared on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Their pass-rush is absolutely deafening, and Brady and the Patriots have struggled this season against teams with this type of attack. They lost to the Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers and narrowly beat the Washington Redskins and the Miami Dolphins, all of whom claim good pass-rushing attacks.