Brady still gets top billing as NFL’s No. 1 quarterback
Seahawks’ Wilson ranked No. 5 by panel of writers
There is little doubt the QB any NFL coach or player would want leading the way to win a big game right now is Tom Brady.
So it makes sense that he was a nearly unanimous choice as the No. 1 quarterback in the league by an Associated Press panel.
Brady received nine of 11 first-place votes and was second on the other ballots for a total of 108 out of a possible 110 points in the rankings released Friday.
“Brady isn’t just No. 1 on this list of active players. He’s probably No. 1 on a list of all-time QBs that you’d want to start a game that you needed to win,” said the AP’s Dennis Waszak Jr., based in New York. “The likes of Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and John Elway might have something to say about that, but it’s tough to argue against Brady.”
Still going strong at age 40, the New England Patriots’ superstar won by an even greater margin than he did back in September, when he was overwhelmingly voted No. 1 in the first of the weekly AP position rankings for this season.
QB is the only position being surveyed twice.
This time, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints was the runner-up with 81 points in the voting done by Pro Football Hall of Fame member James Lofton and 10 AP football writers on a 10-points-to-1-point system.
Showing zero signs of slipping, Brady heads into Week 16 with his Patriots at 11-3 and already having clinched a record ninth consecutive AFC East title.
“Nobody is better when the game is on the line,” said the AP’s Teresa M. Walker, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Brady leads the NFL with 4,163 yards passing, is tied for second with a 104.0 rating, and has an impressive margin of 28 touchdown throws to only seven interceptions.
Brees is tied with Brady in passer rating; the only QB ahead of them is Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs, who was named on only one ballot, collecting an eighth-place vote.
Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers finished third with 75 points and one No. 1 vote, followed by Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers with 73 points and the other first-place nod. Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks was No. 5 with 61 points.
Each of those top five has won at least one Super Bowl trophy. Brady leads the group with five, along with four Super Bowl MVP awards, including last season.
The rest of the top 10, in order: Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles, Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, Jared Goff of the Los Angeles Rams, Philip Rivers of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, who was the NFL MVP last season.
This season’s initial QB ranking by the AP was much tighter at the top: Brady had eight first-place votes and 107 points, while Rodgers took the other three No. 1s and was second overall at 94 points, with Brees at No. 3.