Peyton Manning vs. Seattle Seahawks Secondary



This is the ultimate battle. The winner of this should decide the game's outcome, no matter who has the edge in all of the other spots in this game. Seriously.

Peyton Manning in the greatest season in quarterback history against the No. 1 pass defense in football—almost too good to be true.

The last time the No. 1 scoring offense matched up against the No. 1 scoring defense in the Super Bowl, as Adam Schefter tweeted Sunday, was the 1990 season, when the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills on Scott Norwood's missed field goal at the buzzer. Defense won that day, and defense wins championships.

Right?

Not so fast.

If not for a missed field goal barely wide right, offense would have won that day. Also, this is a new NFL since that January 1991 game—one with stricter rules aiding receivers in tight coverage. It is a more quarterback-friendly league. The edge almost always goes to the quarterback.

You should also note this: Colin Kaepernick, directing the 30th-ranked passing offense, was one foot short on a final, fateful throw from beating the self-proclaimed No. 1 cornerback in the game, Richard Sherman, for an NFC Championship-winning touchdown. You have to figure Manning in lieu of Kaepernick is capable of dropping that ball over the top to Michael Crabtree for the game-winner.

The Seattle Seahawks secondary is very good, easily the best in the league, but Manning is an all-timer amid the greatest season in quarterbacking history. Yes, the Seahawks cornerbacks and safeties are younger and more physically gifted than Manning at this stage of their respective careers, but you cannot quantify the impact on the game Manning's experience and mind have.

We have to give the edge to Manning. The intangibles put him over the top. Omaha!

Edge: Denver Broncos