Peyton Manning's 400th Career TD Toss Doesn't Make Him the Best Ever

Who ranks higher on your all-time list of NFL quarterbacks, Dan Marino or Joe Montana?

If you answered Montana, you understand a quarterback's ultimate goal and what he should ultimately be judged by.

That conclusion will also settle any debate you may have about Peyton Manning.

Manning reached an incredible plateau in his Denver Broncos debut on Sunday night, according to SportsCenter's Twitter feed:

"

Peyton Manning's 1st TD pass w/@denver_broncos is No. 400 of his career -- 98 ahead of Tom Brady for most among active QBs.

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 10, 2012"

There's no denying that achievement, but it still doesn't push him past Brady among the all-time greats.

You can go down his laundry list of individual achievements—he's been named to 11 Pro Bowls, he's won four NFL MVP trophies and he's the fastest signal-caller to ever reach the 50,000-yard plateau.

If you want to talk physical ability and mental acuity behind center, Manning has everything you could possibly want.

However, what he doesn't have are multiple Super Bowl rings. He has one, and that pales in comparison to Brady's three rings.

Historically, it falls behind a number of proven winners such as Montana and Terry Bradshaw, who both have four.

Quarterbacks are highly-paid and criticized accordingly. Statistics don't automatically validate you as the best ever like they would for most other positions, in most other sports.

Quarterbacks must win, and Manning has failed to deliver in that area.

Manning was impressive in Denver's Week 1 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday evening. He went 19-of-26 for 263 yards and two touchdowns, and he didn't turn the ball over.

In short, Manning was Manning. He didn't show any rust, and he commanded the Denver offense with his familiar precision.

Manning is going to be a Hall of Famer, regardless of how these final years play out, but the 400-touchdown plateau doesn't separate him from the rest in this instance.

If he played any other position it would put him above and beyond the competition, but he doesn't. He plays quarterback, and winning is everything.