NFL QB Rankings: Top 10 signal-callers of 2014
By Will Osgood
2. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
Peyton Manning was fourth this past year in QB Rating at 101.5. His 39 passing touchdowns were second to only his successor in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck.
Of course, Manning was aided by having an impressive array of weapons—most notably the Thomas twins—Julius and Demaryius. Emmanuel Sanders, acquired in the offseason as a free agent from Pittsburgh, was also a tremendous help to what the Broncos did offensively in 2014.
Few teams threw the ball short as often the Broncos. That fact should be taken into consideration when declaring Manning the second best quarterback in 2014. But watch closer and it is clear that Manning is simply doing what great quarterbacks do by taking what the defensive gives him.
One thing is pretty clear when looking at Manning’s 2014 splits: if teams wanted to beat the Broncos they had to shut him down. In the Broncos’ four regular season losses, Manning was quite pedestrian. But in their 12 wins, especially those at home, Manning was Peyton F’in Manning—the one who kills defensive backs with a simple stare in their direction.
You could argue that Manning was a bit of a front-runner, using third and fourth-and-short yardage situations to record nine of his touchdown passes. Then again, you could say he’s just that good. Perspective is the key when looking at that particular split. Unlike Romo he played worse football in the fourth quarter and second half.
It would be disrespectful to place the best quarterback in NFL history any lower than second on this list. And it could be argued that he deserves to be here.
Next: At No. 1 the 2014 NFL MVP