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March Madness bracket: Who’s the greatest all-time NFL quarterback?

By John Buhler

Sep 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) greet each other on the field following the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) greet each other on the field following the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 8, 2017; Green Bay, WI, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) shakes hands with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) after the NFC Wild Card playoff football game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2017; Green Bay, WI, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) shakes hands with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) after the NFC Wild Card playoff football game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Sweet Sixteen

Leaf Region

The first Sweet Sixteen matchup in the Ryan Leaf Region will be The Battle of the Joes. Montana manhandled Norm Snead in round one and was ultimately more clutch than Matt Ryan in the Round of 32. Namath negated any notion of advancement in the first round from Daryle Lamonica. He ended Bernie Kosar’s brief Cinderella story in round two with the coolest display of quarterbacking you’ll ever see.

The other Sweet Sixteen matchup in the Ryan Leaf Region features two other all-timers. Peyton Manning pound Bob Griese in the first round and was far too surgical of a passer for Sid Luckman to keep pace in round two. Terry Bradshaw did more in winning time than Cam Newton in the Round of 64. He would upset No. 3 Roger Staubach in the Round of 32 by unleashing a new wrinkle to his game that Dallas never saw coming.

Russell Region

Here are two of the very best in the game today that have never met in the NFL Playoffs because they play in opposite conferences. Tom Brady thrashed Vinny Testaverde in round one and owned Boomer Esiason by asserting his AFC dominance over the Bengals quarterback. Drew Brees bested John Brodie in his opening game and motivated his team better than Fran Tarkenton did in round two to advance.

The JaMarcus Russell Region has had its share of upsets in the tournament. Steve McNair stumped Kenny Stabler in round one and the Dolphins made Dan Marino cry in round two. Ben Roethlisberger contained Randall Cunningham in round one and saw Brett Favre throw a lot of bad, cross-body picks in the Round of 32 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Smith Region

This was a matchup we all saw from the 2016 NFC Playoffs. We’ll see how Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers handle this impromptu meeting. Manning has pulled off a pair of upsets to get to the Sweet Sixteen in typical Eli fashion, upending Jim Plunkett with a Mario Manningham catch and Sammy Baugh with a David Tyree catch. Rodgers wrestled with Michael Vick and bested Bart Starr to get this far.

The other side of the Smith Region features two of the very best at quarterbacking from the 1990s. John Elway beat Steve Bartkowski and helicoptered his way into the end zone to beat Len Dawson in a tight ball game. Steve Young threw a better left hook than Mark Brunell in the Southpaw Shootout and dominated Dan Fouts like he destroyed the Chargers in the Super Bowl.

Stouffer Region

The Kelly Stouffer Region has had the least volatility of the four regions in this quarterbacking tournament. It’s gone mostly chalk. Johnny Unitas faces Troy Aikman in the first Sweet Sixteen matchup. Unitas rendered Neil Lomax utterly useless and strong-armed Phil Simms into submission. Aikman attacked Trent Green in round one and was far too efficient for Kurt Warner to keep up.

It’s interesting to see a Sweet Sixteen matchup with no Super Bowls between the pair. Otto Graham won at will in the pre-Super Bowl NFL. Warren Moon eviscerated the CFL when he was quarterbacking the Edmonton Eskimos. Graham got here by jabbing Bert Jones repeatedly and killing Ken Anderson’s Cinderella bid. Moon rose to the occasion against Rich Gannon and got pay back for the Frank Reich game against Jim Kelly’s Buffalo Bills.

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