What've We Learned: The NFL is a Quarterback League

Recent history has suggested that having a franchise quarterback is the key to winning in the NFL.

As far back as Super Bowl XLII, the NFL's biggest games have featured some of the league's best quarterbacks.

Super Bowl XLII was a very close game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. What determined the end result of the game was an 83-yard drive capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress. Manning also helped the Giants all postseason, posting six touchdown passes to only one interception in four playoff games.

Super Bowl XLIII was not too much different from the previous Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers trailed the Arizona Cardinals 23-20 until Ben Roethlisberger lead the offense down the field for a game-winning 78-yard drive as the Pittsburgh Steelers won the game 27-23.

Though Super Bowl XLIV was not as close as the two previous Super Bowl's, the game still featured one of the best quarterbacking performances in Super Bowl history. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions on 39 pass attempts, helping to lead the Saints to a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Brees had overall success that postseason with eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

Another one of the NFL's best quarterbacks turned in a great performance in Super Bowl XLV as Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers completed 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards, 3 touchdown passes, and no interceptions. His performance lead the Packers to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Packers rode Rodgers' hot hand all postseason long, as he threw nine touchdowns to only two interceptions.

The experts have certainly given a lot of credit to the quarterback in recent Super Bowl games. Three of the four previously-mentioned quarterbacks won the MVP award in the Super Bowl, with the exception being Ben Roethlisberger. 

It is the performance of these quarterbacks that have caused most NFL franchises to try and find "their guy" in hopes of competing for a Super Bowl ring.