Terry Bradshaw, winner of four championships with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, can always flash his Super Bowl rings if someone asks if he is a better quarterback than Peyton Manning. We all know Manning is a better passer and is far more talented, but hardware talks. Bradshaw recently felt the need to remind everyone of that.
During one of his stops for his “America’s Favorite Dumb Blonde” tour, Bradshaw touched on the topic of whether Manning is the best quarterback to play the game today.
“No one would argue with that,” he told the audience. “If you like winning during the (regular) season and losing the Super Bowl, that’s your guy.”
Quarterbacks are judged by rings first. That’s just the way it is. Dan Marino is a better quarterback than Bradshaw, but because he never won a championship most people would argue that Bradshaw is the better player. Manning’s 1-2 record in Super Bowls and 11-12 playoff record is a nasty blemish on his overall legacy — there’s no question about it.
But as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted, much of Bradshaw’s success is owed to the phenomenal Steelers defenses of the 1970s. If not for several dud performances by Bradshaw in the playoffs (which are listed here), his team might have won five or six championships.
Again, that’s just the nature of the beast. Manning has had his chances and blown them, particularly when he threw a pick-six to lose a Super Bowl against the New Orleans Saints several years back. Bradshaw’s jewelry gives him the right to yap.
