ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Because of the famous draft-day trade in 2004, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers will always be compared. Manning has the Super Bowl ring, but Rivers has put up better numbers. And don't forget that Ben Roethlisberger was also in that '04 first round.

With that in mind, our friends from ESPN's Stats & Information put together a nice statistical breakdown of how the three quarterbacks have performed this season. Obviously, Manning's in a bad place right now but his numbers aren't as bad as you might imagine. Look how lethal Roethlisberger is on play-action passes. He's nearly flawless, while Rivers and Manning have been pretty pedestrian. For the play-action game to work, you need to make a commitment to the running game. That's something the Steelers and Giants haven't always done this season.

By the numbers: Manning, Rivers, Roethlisberger SHOTGUN PASSING Category Manning Rivers Roethlisberger Comp-att 95-159 93-147 73-112 Pass yds 1,218 1,368 945 TD-Int 10-5 10-3 4-4 Passer rtg. 91.7 107.8 88.6 PLAY-ACTION PASSES Category Manning Rivers Roethlisberger Comp-att 23-36 24-48 25-29 Pass yds 389 351 421 TD-Int 2-1 1-1 5-0 Passer rtg 107.3 72.5 158.3 FOURTH QUARTER Category Manning Rivers Roethlisberger Comp-att 40-71 38-64 34-41 Pass yds 542 559 369 TD-Int 3-1 3-1 0-0 Passer rtg 89.1 97.1 104.2 * Roethlisberger: 5-7, 60 yards in OT PASSING AGAINST 5 OR MORE PASS-RUSHERS Category Manning Rivers Roethlisberger Comp-att 53-111 48-95 59-85 Pass yds 776 820 693 TD-Int 8-4 6-2 5-1 Passer rtg 80.0 92.4 108.6 PASSES THROWN 15 OR MORE YARDS IN THE AIR Category Manning Rivers Roethlisberger Comp-att 33-70 35-69 24-49 Pass yds 894 905 721 TD-Int 8-5 1-0 4-4 Passer rtg 101.8 101.3 88.2 RED ZONE PASSING Category Manning Rivers Roethlisberger Comp-att 12-30 14-30 15-23 Pass yds 105 79 116 TD-Int 6-0 7-0 6-0 Passer rtg 89.6 93.1 117.0

Manning was on a roll with the deep ball through the first five games, but that part of his game has fallen off the map in recent weeks. His dropoff coincides with his foot injury, although he's refused to use that as an excuse. To me, it just looks like he's playing poorly right now.