Ranking NFL Quarterbacks Heading into the 2009 Division Playoffs

Heading into the division round of the 2009 NFL playoffs, we're down to eight quarterbacks standing from the original 12. Wild Card weekend brought a few surprises with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts winning streak coming to and end at the hands of Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers last weekend.

Another surprise was how poor Chad Pennington and the Dolphins performed in the opening round. For the quarterbacks that have already played in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, their performance in the first playoff game was given more weight than their season performance.

For the QBs of the No. 1 seeded teams (Tennessee Titans and New York Giants), I have used the season performance with emphasis on their last five complete games played since both Eli Manning and Kerry Collins sat out the majority of the final game of the season. Links to each quarterback's statistics are also provided. The upcoming division playoff match-ups are previewed here.

NFL Quarterback Rankings Heading Into the NFL Division Playoffs

1. Phillip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

NFL Wild Card Playoff Performance:

20-36, 217 Yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 61.9 Rating

NFL Regular Season Performance:

312-478, 4009 Yards, 34 TDs, 11 INT, 105.5 Rating

Performance: It says a lot when Rivers can have such an average personal performance against the Colts but still pull off the Chargers fifth straight win of the season! If Rivers gets hot in the division round of the playoffs look for the Chargers to make a run at the AFC title and beyond!

2. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Wild Card Playoff Performance:

23-30, 300 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 94.6 Rating

NFL Regular Season Performance:

345-571, 3916 Yards, 23 TDs, 11 INT, 86.4 Rating

Performance: How fare the Eagle go in the playoffs will depend on how long McNabb can stay hot! He's peaking at the right time of the season with passing for 300 yards in leading the Eagles to a big win over the Vikings in the first round of the playoffs 26-14.

3. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals

NFL Wild Card Playoff Performance:

19-32, 271 Yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 94.7 rating

NFL Regular Season Performance:

401-598, 4583 Yards, 30 TDs, 14 INTs, 96.9 rating

Performance: Kurt Warner demonstrated his superior performance in the Cardinals victory over the Falcons in the Wild card round of the playoffs! If he can minimize the number of picks thrown in the next round, the Cardinals may very well make the NFC title game!

4. Eli Manning, New York Giants

NFL Wild Card Playoff Performance:

Bye Week

NFL Regular Season Performance:

289-479, 3238 Yards, 21 TDs, 10 INTs, 86.4 rating

Performance: Eli Manning has got to get the Giants offense going after dropping three of their last four contests of the season! If Eli doesn't, then he main join Peyton at home to watch the remainder of the playoffs.

5. Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers

NFL Wild Card Playoff Performance:

Bye Week

NFL Regular Season Performance:

246-414, 3288 Yrds, 15 TDs, 12 INTs, 84.7 rating

Performance: Similar to the Titans Collins, Delhomme has proven to be an excellent game manager this season leading the Panthers to one of their best NFL regular seasons. Look for the Panthers prospects to hinge on Delhomme protecting the football at a better rate than he did in the regular season!

6. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

NFL Wild Card Playoff Performance:

9-23, 135 Yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 59.1 Rating

NFL Regular Season Performance:

257-428, 2971 Yards, 14 TDs, 12 INTs, 80.3 Rating

Performance: The Ravens rode their defense to victory over the Dolphins in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. To go farther, Flacco will need to increase his accuracy while continuing to play relatively-mistake free football!

7. Kerry Collins, Tennessee Titans

NFL Wild Card Playoff Performance:

Bye Week

NFL Regular Season Performance:

242-415, 2676 Yards, 12 TDs, 7 INT, 80.2 Rating

Performance: Kerry Collins has let the Titans to a great season to date. Not too bad since he started the season as the backup to Vince Young! He has demonstrated an excellent ability to manage the Titans offense with putting up some big games when needed. Look for his experience to shine through in the playoffs, although he won't necessarily have a quarterback rating much higher than he did in the regular season.

8. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL Wild Card Playoff Performance:

Bye Week

NFL Regular Season Performance:

281-469, 3301 Yards, 17 TDs, 15 INTs, 80.1 Rating

Performance: When Roethlisberger has sagged this season so have the Steelers. Although he finished the season with a fairly low 80.1 rating, Roethlisberger has led the Steelers to a great season so far and will need to perform to make it to the next round of the playoffs.