[LWC]

I began this list with the top 11 leaders in passing touchdowns.

Any player that never won a championship is automatically off the list. This removed Marino, Tarkinton, Testaverde, etc....

Anyone that is in the top 10-12 in career interceptions is knocked off the list. Thus, Favre and Unitas were fairly turnover prone and took too many chances. Thus, they are removed from the list.

That narrows the list to five players (their career rank in passing touchdowns is listed):

2. Peyton Manning 503
4. Drew Brees 372
5. Tom Brady 365
7. John Elway 300
11. Joe Montana 273

If multiple Super Bowl championships are irrelevant to you, then the individual numbers are HEAVILY in favor to Peyton Manning. I would be perfectly content to accept an argument for him as the greatest QB ever.

If you rate by a more even comparison of Super Bowl wins and individual stats then the next criteria is Super Bowl rings:

I want to this by saying that I do not count rings as a criteria for players that did not play a significant role in winning that ring. No examples come to mind but if, for example, Dan Marino were to play an extra season or two as a backup QB that never took the field and won a rings behind Favre, I would not count that ring for legacy purposes.

Thus, here is the list now to reflect Super Bowl wins-losses:
2. Peyton Manning 1-2
4. Drew Brees 1-0
5. Tom Brady 3-2
7. John Elway 2-3
11. Joe Montana 4-0

In this list one GLARING stat is illuminated: Drew Breese only has one appearance and every other player has at least 3. I believe that has to eliminate him.

Peyton Manning has lead his teams to 3 appearances, which means he has 3 conference championships. In a vacuum that is fantastic. However, cast against some of these others, we have to weigh that against QB's with multiple championships.

John Elway has multiple championships but also has a losing record in the Super Bowl. Weighed against Brady and Montana who have 3 and 4 titles with a winning record, Elway is eliminated.

That leaves us with Tom Brady and Joe Montana as our final two in this type of list. Montana has a perfect 4-0 record but Brady has 5 total appearances. Montana has a perfect record however his coach and main teammates won an extra ring with Young. It is highly doubtful that the same can be said of the Patriots without Brady. At this point you have to either make a favorite pick or use other types of stats or contextual insights. I will leave it at those two for the championships argument.
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Now, for me personally, it comes down to a combination of everything we mentioned above. That leads me to three players:
P. Manning
T. Brady
J. Montana

Peyton CLEARLY DOMINATES the statistical, individual categories by a landslide among the three, has a Super Bowl ring, and has three appearances in the big game. Almost by default, I give him the edge. However, as stated above, I only put about a 25% weight on championships.

I cannot buy any argument that does not include either Manning, Brady, or Montana as the best ever. Numbers and titles cannot support such a claim. By the time his career is finished, Drew Breese can make a case if he makes and wins another Super Bowl or two. Anyone else currently playing has too much work to do and we will have to wait and see.