Hall of Fame Linebacker Gives His Take in Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning Debate

Ravens legend Ray Lewis gave his take on which quarterback he thought was better.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws the ball against the Arizona Cardinals at / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY

There has always been a continuous debate around the NFL amongst players, media, and so on when it comes to who is the best quarterback to play in the league. There’s Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway, Roger Staubach, and so many more. However, there was a period of time when there were two quarterbacks that played the game at the highest level around the same exact time in former Bucs and Patriots QB Tom Brady — who most will say is the best QB to ever wear an NFL uniform — and former Broncos and Colts QB Peyton Manning.

One ex-NFL defensive player and Hall of Famer, Baltimore Ravens’ legendary linebacker Ray Lewis took his stance on who he believes is the better quarterback when speaking on "STAT Sports with Rob Lepelstat” as he faced off against Brady for 12 seasons and Manning for 15.

"I would say from a quarterback — from a student level of the game — [Manning] made me alter my game," Lewis said. "He made me watch more film and that's what I call the greatest quarterback, to me, me and his battle. Brady, of course, rings, but when you talk about just walking out there and seeing a man knowing that whoof, here we go again, Peyton Manning was rough."

It is clear that Brady has bragging rights above all other quarterbacks having won so many rings that it makes it almost impossible for any other future QB to achieve, but Manning also competed at such a high level and it begs to reason that he could have been the better pure QB. As Ray exclaimed, Brady was a more pick-you-apart, chess player style quarterback than other QBs like Manning.

Lewis went onto exclaim that he even modeled his game after Manning in large part due to his attention to detail in every facet of the game.

"The attention to detail, the way that he studied film, the way that he understood the offensive scheme and every check that he needed to make, every coverage, he knew what was coming," Lewis said. "As a defensive player, I used to ask coordinators, 'Why don't defensive players know it the way quarterbacks know it?' So I wanted to learn it like that."

There is a clear path for both QBs to receive their flowers for what they were able to contribute to the game of football, molding generations of future NFL stars and the such which is exactly why the debate remains strong despite the clear frontrunner in Championships as Lewis went onto call both Brady & Manning “legendary”.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2024 offseason.

Follow BucsGameday on Twitter and Facebook