What is the difference between a quarterback that wins the big game and one who gets the rep for not being able to get it done when pressure is at its highest? It seems like this is the conversation du jour every single year as Peyton Manning drives the Colts toward another run at the Super Bowl.
And every year, it gets a little bit more uncomfortable for Dan Marino in the TV studios as he is pegged as a great QB who never won a Super Bowl. There is definitely something to be said for coolness under pressure at the quarterback position, but haven’t we carried this argument just a bit too far? There are definitely some inherent personality traits that make a player good under pressure, but let’s not forget that a football game can’t be won or lost by a single player — not even the quarterback. What better way to illustrate my point, than to showcase a couple of guys who have been able to keep themselves out of the conversation.
John Elway couldn’t get it done in the big game, until he did in 1998. Up until then, John Elway had taken his team to the Super Bowl on three separate occasions. In 1987 the Broncos lost to the Giants. In 1998 they lost to the Redskins in a blowout, 42-10. And in 1990 the Broncos got plastered by the 49ers 55-10. John Elway couldn’t perform under pressure according to critics everywhere. John Elway was the face of the team, therefore it must be his fault that the team couldn’t get it done. We all know that kind of thinking is baseless. When was the last time you saw a 55-10 shellacking that wasn’t a team effort? But the rap on Elway remained.
And then in 1998 something happened. All of a sudden Elway drove his team to victory with a 31-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers. And magically enough, Elway’s rep as a guy who couldn’t get it done in the big game completely disappeared. He no longer enters into the conversations about Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, or any of the other QB’s who “can’t get it done” in the big game.
I can’t help but sit here and think about how silly that is. Why? The Super Bowl MVP in 1998 was Terrell Davis, not John Elway. When Denver won Super Bowl XXXII in 1998, Elway completed 12-22 passes for 123 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. This is the kind of line in the box score which cleared Elway’s name as a big game choker? Meanwhile, Terrell Davis ran the ball 30 times for 157 yards and scored 3 touchdowns.
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Article comments
1 - RJ Elliott
Those were very good points you made in your article.
But sadly, the opinions of MSM sports writers tend to become sports "reality" ... and their opinion of Peyton Manning (if the Colts should lose this weekend) will be further cemented in their minds: That he is a great regular season QB who can't win the big one. And Tom Brady will be awarded even more accolades than he's already accrued.
Those will be the ubiquitous talking points spoken and heard Monday morning if the Pats are indeed headed back to their fourth Super Bowl in six years. Like it or not. :-/
2 - Arch Conservative
I agree with you Craig. While there is certainly something to be said for the way a QB plays under pressure, it seems as if we have overemphasized that one aspect of the game to the point where we forget that football is a team sport and that other players can have a huge impact on the game through their play.
Last week neither Brady nor Manning had stellar games yet their teams won because of the play of their defenses and shoddy play of the opposing team.
We talk about our favorite position players and rate them against each other because it is fun but it really is quite meaningless in terms of assessing an entire team against another entire team.
3 - alessandro nicolo
Couldn't agree more. The same can be applied to goalies in hockey. We over do the 'he did not win the big one' angle. As if it's tennis.