The 2015 NFL playoffs are on the horizon. We’ve ranked the 12 who all surely have their eyes on a Lombardi trophy.
By Jeff Jarboe
With the NFL playoff picture now officially set, it’s become clear that you might not need an elite quarterback to make the playoffs.
But winning the Super Bowl is an entirely different story. Because it’s in the playoffs where the elite quarterbacks shine, and it’s in the playoffs where a team can only go as far as their quarterback can take them.
Here are the 12 quarterbacks of the 2015-16′ NFL playoffs, ranked from worst to best:
12. QB A.J. McCarron, CIN
It’s nothing personal A.J., but out of the 12 quarterbacks in the playoffs, you’re definitely at the bottom of the barrel.
He has a 2-1 record as a starter, but that’s not including the Steelers game that Cincinnati lost in Week 14 when Andy Dalton went down. In total this season McCarron has thrown for 854 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions with a 66.4 percent completion percentage.
Not bad. In fact, those are very good statistics. Those are exactly the type of stats that you want out of your backup quarterback as your team is trying to close out the season and secure a playoff spot. Cincinnati won the division and they did so without any hiccups because McCarron did his job.
The playoffs are a different story. When McCarron leads this team against Big Ben’s Steelers–who come into the playoffs excited and hungry thanks to a New York Jets debacle against Buffalo–McCarron is going to be the underdog. Bengal fans better hope their offensive line is able to give the second-year backup enough time to find holes in Pittsburgh’s shaky secondary.
11. QB Brandon Weeden, HOU
Gotta tip your cap to Brandon Weeden. He was cut by Jerry Jones just four weeks into his relief of Tony Romo, without being given another month or even a week to right the ship. He signed with Houston a few weeks later, claimed the starting job and a division title.
There are rumblings of Brian Hoyer coming back from his recent concussion and re-claiming the starting spot for Houston’s first-round matchup against Kansas City, but for now, Weeden is the starter and he’s also the eleventh best QB in the playoffs (nothing personal Brandon).
Weeden and McCarron are the bottom two QB’s in the third tier of this list as they’re essentially backups, while the next two have a bit more of a reputation, or are maybe just earning the reputation as legitimate “franchise” quarterbacks.
10. QB Teddy Bridgewater, MIN
Teddy B stepped up his game in 2015 and led the Minnesota Vikings to their first NFC North title since 2012. His statistics on the other hand, stayed relatively the same. Bridgewater finished the year with 3,231 yards passing, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a 65.3 percent completion percentage. That’s only about 500 more passing yards than last year and the same number of passing touchdowns.
All that matters though is that Bridgewater improved his season record by five wins. He takes care of the football and makes good decisions for the most part. All that separates Bridgewater from his competitors this playoffs is his accuracy, experience, and the fact that his team is one of few whose offense is primarily run-oriented.
He doesn’t throw the ball as much as Brady or Palmer because his offense runs through number 28 in the backfield. But when called upon, Bridgewater can make all the throws. The question is whether he’ll be able to do that against Richard Sherman and company, who’ve already thrashed the Vikings earlier this season.
9. QB Kirk Cousins, WAS
The only reason Cousins is ranked higher than Bridgewater is because his offense is much more pass-oriented. Cousins throws the ball more often than Bridgewater and as a result he’s more of a threat in these playoffs.
Cousins bounced back in the second half of the regular season after throwing eight interceptions through Washington’s first seven games. In the final nine games Cousins threw for 2,429 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions as he led Washington to a 6-3 record and an NFC East title.
Good thing they drafted this guy as insurance in the fourth round back in 2012.
Cousins leads this third tier of playoff quarterbacks. The next man on this list sits at the bottom of tier two, though if this were two or three years ago, nobody would have ever believed it.
8. QB Peyton Manning, DEN
Coming off of a Week 17 win that he orchestrated and with a first round bye in the playoffs, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Denver doesn’t go with Peyton Manning. Brock Osweiler played well, and he probably has a future in Denver, which has been made clear these last few weeks.
But as a coach, when you have a fairly rested Peyton Manning with an extra week of rest ahead of him and an HGH accusation fueling his fire, you go with the future hall of fame quarterback. However, that doesn’t mean Manning deserves the elite tag that he dawned for so many years.
No, Manning belongs in tier two because at the end of the day he’s 39-years-old with a bad bone or muscle on just about every inch of his body. He may be healthy-ish right now, but his arm strength has weakened and so has his mobility, not that he ever had any.
But realistically it won’t really matter who Denver decides to go with at quarterback because it’s their defense that’s going to win them games and it’s the defense that’s going to win them a Super Bowl, if they make it that far. The next QB on this list is a familiar foe who also boasts one of the AFC’s top defenses.
7. QB Alex Smith, KC
Smith is similar to Manning in that he’s an expert play caller who knows his offense well, and is backed by a fearsome defense. With Jamaal Charles out for the majority of the season, Smith completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 3,486 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while also rushing for 498 yards (5.9 ypc) and two touchdowns.
The addition of Jeremy Maclin ceratinly helped, as Smith was finally able to break his embarrassing streak of 21 games without throwing a touchdown to a wide receiver. Andy Reid‘s run-heavy offensive scheme deserves just as much of the credit for this streak, however.
With Charles out, Reid will look to the most talked about waiver wire addition in fantasy football this season, Charcandrick West to handle most of the workload in the backfield. Though it may be Smith who is going to have to get the job done on Sunday as the running game may have a little trouble getting going against J.J. Watt and company.
The next guy on this list also comes from a run-heavy offense that lost their top running back to injuries. Now he’s being called upon to throw the ball more than ever.
6. QB Russell Wilson, SEA
The time has finally come for Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll, and the rest of the Seattle Seahawks to redeem themselves for the devastating Super Bowl loss they suffered last season.
It wasn’t easy, but the Seahawks are in the playoffs and it’s due in large part to the play of their franchise quarterback, Russell Wilson. He was asked to step up for Seattle in the last seven weeks after the team lost two of their star players to injuries–Marshawn Lynch and the newly acquired Jimmy Graham.
With Lynch out it was up to Wilson to get the offense going and without his biggest target at tight end, that seemed difficult. Especially when you consider the level of competition within the NFC West and throughout the NFC.
After Lynch went down, Wilson threw for 2,146 yards, 24 touchdowns and one interception. Needless to say, Wilson stepped his game up. Now he’ll have to step it up even more if Seattle’s going to get past the rest of the NFC for a shot at Super Bowl redemption.
Oh wait, Marshawn Lynch is ready to go for the first round? [Pete Carroll gulps]
RUN OR PASS?!
5. QB Ben Roethlisberger, PITT
We’ve reached tier number one!
Big Ben rounds out the bottom of the first tier of playoff QB’s after his team defeated the Cleveland Browns and earned the final AFC Wild Card spot with a little help from the New York Jets.
Roethlisberger was his usual self in 2015–shaking off defenders, getting drilled, then getting up, then getting drilled, then sitting out, then coming back, then throwing for six touchdowns, then getting drilled, etc. In just 12 games played, Big Ben completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,938 yards, 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
The 16 picks are a lot but that doesn’t mean Big Ben isn’t deserving of a seat at the big table. If a quarterback has experience playing in the playoffs or a Super Bowl win under his belt then he is deserving of a seat at the big table, and Big Ben has a 10-5 playoff record with two rings. In fact, he has more rings than the next guy on this list, but sometimes talent trumps experience.
4. QB Aaron Rodgers, GB
It seems crazy to rank Rodgers this low, but when comparing his play in recent weeks to the play of the three remaining QB’s on this list, he simply does not measure up.
Despite getting little help from his defense and having to deal with an offensive coordinator carousel, Rodgers threw for a respectable 3,821 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2015.
His yards and touchdowns decreased from last season, along with his completion percentage which suffered a 4.9 percent dip. He also threw three more interceptions and his team lost two more games. Is that because of him? Absolutely not. Is he still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL? Absolutely.
Their defense is full of holes and weaknesses, but if I’m Jay Gruden, or any other NFC coach for that matter, I do not want to face the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs as long as Aaron Rodgers is at quarterback.
3. QB Cam Newton, CAR
Aaron Rodgers has more playoff experience than Cam Newton. Aaron Rodgers has a Super Bowl under his discount double check belt. Aaron Rodgers has won an MVP (though Cam might win one too in a few weeks). By all accounts, Aaron Rodgers is better than Cam Newton.
But Newton still ranks higher than Rodgers on this list and it’s because he’s the figurehead of the NFL’s most magical team. Carolina’s dreams of a perfect season may be no more, but their dream of a Super Bowl is still very much alive and Cam Newton is not going to rest until he makes that dream a reality.
The NFL’s leading MVP candidate lead the Panthers to a 14-1 record this season while completing 59.7 percent of his passes for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Newton also rushed for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns on 132 carries (4.8 ypc).
His level of confidence and swagger from the moment he steps onto the field to the moment he steps off of it is reminiscent of “Primetime” Deion Sanders with the Cowboys. He doesn’t just want to be the best player at his position, he wants to be the best player to ever play the game. But more than anything, he wants to win.
That’s what Cam has made clear this season–winning is all that matters. He doesn’t mind handing the ball off to Jonathan Stewart 30 times nor does he care if he has to sit on the sidelines while the defense wins the game for him. As long as they’re winning, Cam is happy.
There’s only one player on this list who wants to win more than Cam Newton, and he sits at the number one spot. Number two on the list deserves a spot because he and his team are simply playing too well for people to ignore them.
2. QB Carson Palmer, ARI
A 35-year-old quarterback tears his ACL six games into his 11th season in the NFL. He’s on his third team, and the road to recovery is most definitely a long one.
That sounds like the end of every veteran quarterback’s career–the painful injury that proves to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. But this was not the case for Carson Palmer after he tore his ACL six games into the 2014 season.
Rather than call it quits, the 11-year-veteran returned for his 12th season in 2015 and led the Arizona Cardinals to their first NFC West title since 2009. The 36-year-old Palmer completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 4,671 yards, 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2015, successfully leading the NFL’s number one offense to a first-round playoff bye.
Rodgers and Roethlisberger are both experienced veterans who have the potential to lead their team deep into the playoffs, the same goes for Newton who may have less experience but is riding one hell of a hot streak. But based on consistent production from Week 1 to Week 17, no quarterback has played better than Carson Palmer.
The only reason the number one player on this list ranks ahead of Palmer is because he has a personal vendetta against his doubters and a resume that none of the 11 other QB’s can match.
1. QB Tom Brady, NE
Surprise, surprise. Tom Brady ranks number one on a list of quarterbacks. Every football fan and certainly every New York sports fan knows why this guy is number one on this list.
Before he torched the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game last season, Brady did/didn’t deflate a few balls. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell then launched a witch hunt on Brady and the entire New England Patriots organization, which ultimately led to Brady getting suspended.
Brady appealed the suspension, won, and proceeded to tear apart the NFL as revenge. He led his team to 11 straight wins to start out the season and all of the sudden this team seemed reminiscent of the nearly perfect 2007 team. But then something went wrong–every other Patriot got injured.
New England lost four out of their last six games, but were still able to secure a playoff spot thanks to their 11-game win streak. Brady finished the season with a 64.4 percent completion percentage, throwing for 4,770 yards, 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
All that matters in Patriot Nation however, is that they’re back in the playoffs and Brady now has his shot not only at revenge, but at a second straight Super Bowl win.
Like some of the other quarterbacks in the first tier of this list, when Tom Brady lines up under center the Patriots always have a chance. With that being said, Brady has never attempted a Super Bowl run when standing behind an offensive line this beat up. He’s more vulnerable now than ever, but if you miss him he’ll beat you. He’ll beat you again, and again.