Shake says, “Take Manning”

Moonlighting again for the Fifth Down blog, Shake tells us to take 18 if we needed a QB to win one game.

Splitting Manning’s performance from Brees’ takes more than a quick glance at efficiency or per-attempt stats. What has separated their two seasons is consistency. Peyton Manning has only one game with a QB rating under 100 this year and no games under 90. Brees has two games under 80. Manning has no games with less than 300 passing yards, Brees has two games with less than 200. If I’m picking a QB for one game, I’ll take the elite performer who is most likely to give me an elite performance, over a hit or miss guy who might put up a game that would all but assure victory, or could play a decidedly mediocre game.