Pro Bowl 2012: Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers' Amazing Seasons Remembered

There is no questioning that Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers are the two best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. Yet, despite that, we are talking about Tom Brady and Eli Manning in the Super Bowl.

That's the beauty of the NFL, isn't it?

Sometimes the stats don't tell the whole story, and sometimes a great record doesn't produce a Super Bowl berth.

These two great quarterbacks found this out the hard way.

Both had incredible seasons, but both find themselves practicing at the Pro Bowl instead of preparing for the Super Bowl.

Brees arguably had one of the best seasons ever from a quarterback, throwing for 5,476 yards (breaking Dan Marino’s record, mind you) and 46 touchdowns. Rodgers, on the other hand, was equally impressive, leading the Packers to a 15-1 record while throwing for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns.

Yet both teams lost in the divisional round to what then seemed like lesser opponents. The Saints were stunned in 36-32 overtime loss by the San Francisco 49ers, and the Packers were absolutely crushed at home 37-20 by the underdog New York Giants, who are now representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Two incredible seasons gone down the drain.

Don't get me wrong, the Pro Bowl always has been an honor for NFL players, so I can only imagine that both Brees and Rodgers are honored to be among the few selected as the game’s elite.

That being said, both quarterbacks have to be kicking themselves, wondering about what could have been. According to CBSSports.com, Rodgers considers this season a disappointment:

"

QB Aaron Rodgers was somber and forthright in his press conference after the Packers’ divisional round loss to the Giants on Sunday. He said his evaluation of the year overall, which saw the Packers win 15 regular-season games, was “disappointing. We play to win championships. We had a championship-caliber regular season and didn’t play well tonight.”

"

According to foxnews.com, Brees also felt the "sting" of what could have been:

"

"It stings right now because of the expectation level that we had coming into this tournament and understanding that if we win here we're into the NFC championship game and anything can happen," Brees said. "That's tough. Tough to swallow at this point."

"

Brees and Rodgers will both eventually go down in the history books as two of the best to grace the NFL—at least in their time period—and I wouldn’t be surprised to see either of them in at least one more Super Bowl.

But I can imagine this season and the disappointment that came along in the playoffs will leave a long and lasting mark on both quarterbacks.

It’s yet another example of what really matters in sports—being the last team standing at the end.

You can set all the records you want or have the best regular season, but in the end all that matters is who is holding that trophy up over his head as the confetti rains down.