Brady's 4th-Quarter Rallies Kept Patriots' Perfect Season Intact
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Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss was asked during the week if Tom Brady is the best quarterback with whom he has played.
"Not just the best quarterback that I've ever played with," Moss said. "I think the best quarterback that's ever been put in this league."
A case can be made that Brady has had the best season for a quarterback, and if he wins his fourth Super Bowl title, he has accomplished enough to be considered the greatest quarterback in pro football history.
He set the single-season NFL record with 50 touchdown passes during the regular season. He set the single-game postseason mark for passing accuracy with his 26-for-28 outing in the Patriots' triumph over the Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC semifinal.
The Patriots were pushed to the limit four times during the regular season, needing fourth-quarter comebacks to beat the Colts, Eagles, Ravens and Giants. Each time they faced a fourth-quarter deficit, they seemed to raise their level of play a few notches, and Brady and Moss often were the central figures.
The key sequence of the regular season finale against the Giants came when Moss dropped a deep pass on one play, then caught the go-ahead touchdown pass on the next.
Brady's late-game exploits have been the stuff of legend on the biggest stage. In each of the Patriots' Super Bowl victories, Brady has led fourth-quarter drives that have resulted in the winning points.
Eli Manning never has received the same credit as brother Peyton, but here he is on threshold of winning a professional championship far sooner than his older sibling.
Since throwing four touchdown passes against the Patriots in the regular season finale, Manning has become a different player. He's been the quarterback the Giants thought they were getting when they traded for him on draft day 2004.
He's thrown 93 straight passes without an interception, including 85 during the NFC playoffs. In all, Manning has gone 101 straight postseason passes without throwing an interception.
In his 60 NFL starts, including five postseason games, Manning has led the Giants to nine victories with fourth-quarter comebacks, one of them against the Cowboys in an NFC semifinal last month.
In that game, Manning marched the Giants to the Cowboys 1-yard line. From there, running back Brandon Jacobs scored a touchdown to put New York ahead for good in the fourth quarter.
In the NFC championship game a week later at Lambeau Field, Manning put the Giants in position to attempt a 36-yard field goal to win with four seconds to play. But Lawrence Tynes's kick was no good. The Giants got the ball in overtime after intercepting Brett Favre and won when Tynes converted a 47-yard field goal.
Manning engineered one of his more riveting comebacks at Chicago in Week 13. The Giants trailed 16-7 before Manning led them to a pair of touchdowns in the final 6 minutes 54 seconds for a 21-16 victory.
-- Mark Maske
