Rivers is constantly given excuses for his lack of playoff victories because of his play during the regular season, his medicore coaching, injuries to him, his wide receivers holding out, you name it. While Roethlisberger is constantly held back because of his less than stellar performance in Super Bowl XL. But no one seems to remember Ben’s rookie season, leading the team to 15-1, or his performance in the 2005 AFC Championship game in Denver, or the all-important Immaculate Tackle in Indy in 2005. Santonio Holmes caught an amazing pass in the endzone to seal the victory for Super Bowl XLIII, but Ben lead that game winning drive. Ben’s regular season consistencies are ignored and his playoff heroics are downplayed while Rivers’ regular season stats carry all the weight in the conversation. I don’t know about you but I couldn’t care less if my quarterback can pass for over 4,000 yards a season if it means my team doesn’t make it to the playoffs on a regular basis. With 2:00 left on the clock and the Super Bowl on the line anyone that has actually been paying attention in the past 5 years should pick Ben over Rivers without question. That’s how you decide who is an elite quarterback and who isn’t.
If you’re making a list of elite quarterbacks I’d suggest you make the very elite and very small list of active quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl wins. You won’t find Philip Rivers anywhere near it.