For those expecting this to be a referendum on Tom Brady-vs-Peyton Manning, sorry to disappoint: Brady and Manning’s offenses have actually performed similarly in the postseason, with Brady’s playing only slightly better both relative to average and regular-season expectations (each was negative in the latter regard).
Instead, we see Kurt Warner emerge as ringleader of the best post-merger playoff offenses, while Jeff Hostetler’s teams come out on top in the “clutch” category (offenses that raised their games in the playoffs). And if we extend the requirement to 10+ fractional games, the leaders of the clutchiest offenses were Troy Aikman and Jim Kelly, who (not coincidentally) faced off in a pair of Super Bowls during the 1990s.
Now, the following disclaimers are obvious, but they still bear mentioning: This system credits PPG entirely to the offense, including defensive TDs. Also, I am assigning all of the offense’s performance, good or bad, to the quarterback here, which is clearly inaccurate and/or unfair. Some QBs had the benefit of playing with great teammates; others did not have that luxury, and therefore their ratings will be lower through no fault of their own.
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