Who's Statistically Better?

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Well... there are stats, and there are stats. Rivers has Manning in touchdown passes, fewer interceptions, and quarterback rating. But during Indy's current seven-game winning streak, Manning's had a QB rating under 90 just once. And in Football Outsiders' context-dependent stats, it's Manning all the way. He leads Rivers in DYAR (our cumulative efficiency metric) and DVOA (our play-by-play efficiency rating), Effective Yards, and completion percentage. Only Kurt Warner and Drew Brees have been better this year per our numbers, and when you add in what the Colts have been doing in the win-loss columns, it's tough to argue that Rivers is better.

There are obviously times when players get Lifetime Achievement Awards with their Pro Bowl votes, but I think Manning's earned his selection, hands down. Now, if you want to talk about how brother Eli made it on the NFC roster over Matt Ryan, that's a real head-scratcher.

By Doug Farrar  |  December 17, 2008; 9:33 AM ET  | Category:  Doug Farrar , Indianapolis Colts , Peyton Manning Save & Share:                 
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