History tells us that quarterback play will decide the playoffs and the eventual Super Bowl champion. It's rare when it's a dominant defense with a manage-the-game quarterback that wins it all. It's happened with the 2000 and others but, for the most part, you need great quarterback play in the postseason to run the table. So to get you ready for this year's playoffs, here's a ranking of all 12 starting quarterbacks heading into this weekend. Here's a good bet: The team that hoists the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 4 will be led by a quarterback who got them there. That's why , and his five rings and likely MVP award this season, is clearly No. 1. At 40, he's still playing at a high level, and we know how much he likes the postseason. But let's count down to the legend. 12. , The Bills enter the playoffs for the first time since 1999 with a quarterback they aren't even sure they want. Taylor was even benched this season for rookie , which proved to be a disaster. Taylor got his job back after a week and the Bills won three of five to make the playoffs. For the season, Taylor has 14 Tiago Splitter Jersey touchdown pa ses and four interceptions, while rushing for 427 yards. His ability to escape the pa s rush can put a lot of pre sure on a defense. He isn't great within the confines of the pocket, and can struggle in a big way there, but he can change a game with his ability to escape pre sure and make plays with his legs and his arm. Taylor is the fourth-ranked playoff quarterback on third down, so he has had some succe s there. He has six touchdown pa ses and three interceptions on third down. 11. , Since taking over for the injured , Foles has turned the Eagles' chances, which were good, into long odds. He just isn't good enough. He had a good first start this season against the in Week 15, throwing four touchdown pa ses, but in the two games since he completed 23 of 49 pa ses with one touchdown and one interception for just 202 yards --- and it looked even worse than that. The Eagles have to hope to get something in between the Giants game and the Timothe Luwawu Jersey other two to have a chance to make the Super Bowl. You can't expect him to throw four touchdown pa ses against playoff-caliber defenses. That 2013 season, when he threw 27 touchdown pa ses and two interceptions for the Eagles, seems like a long time ago. 10. , Mariota's supposed breakout season never happened. He has to be considered one of the more disappointing players this year. After an impre sive 2016 season, he regre sed this season. Mariota had 13 touchdown pa ses and 15 interceptions with a rating of 79.3, the lowest for any of the postseason starters. He never looked like himself this season. Maybe the broken leg from a year ago never truly healed, because he hasn't been the same player. Mariota was terrible on third down, completing 54.7 percent of his pa ses. That has to go up in the playoffs. When he's at his best, he's making plays on the move and running for first downs. His best rushing game of the season came last week against Jacksonville he ran 10 times for 60 yards -- which could be a good sign for him this week against the . 9. , He might be the most beat-up quarterback in terms of perception on this list. Few think he's capable of doing much in the playoffs. But Bortles has been better than he was a year ago. His mechanics have improved, and he hasn't turned the ball over as much. He finished with 21 touchdown pa ses and 13 interceptions and threw for 3, Sergio Rodriguez Jersey 687 yards. He had a three-game stretch to open December where he threw eight touchdown pa ses and no interceptions. Then he threw two touchdown pa ses and five interceptions the past two weeks, opening up the vintage Bortles talk. He's much better when the Jaguars allow him to throw on early downs. Keep an eye on that in the postseason. If he goes bad early, he has a tendency to go really bad, which is why when he throws on early downs he seems to gain confidence and play better. Third down has not been good to him this season. He finished ranked 26th in the league in third-down pa sing with a rating of 67.7. He has to throw on early downs if the Jaguars are truly going to make a playoff run. 8. , His story is the best of the playoff quarterbacks. He was penciled in to be the team's backup this year, but when got hurt Keenum ended up starting 14 games. All he did was lead the Vikings to the second seed and a first-round bye by throwing 22 touchdown pa ses and just seven interceptions. For most of the season, the Keenum doubters kept waiting for him to fail. It never happened, and his confidence has grown every week. He does a great job of getting outside the pocket and keeping his head up to make plays. He's never started a playoff game, so his first one next week will be an interesting test. But if this season is an indicator, the Vikings need not worry. 7. , Kansas City Chiefs Smith went from an early MVP candidate, to a guy some wanted benched, to a player who bounced back in a big way down the stretch. His final numbers were impre sive, finishing as the highest-rated pa ser in the league, third in completion percentage and second in yards per attempt at 8.0, just behind Brees. He had 26 touchdown pa ses against five interceptions, which is impre sive. The Chiefs did a nice job of scheming plays open to help him in their offense. When the Chiefs lost six of seven games in the middle part of the season, Smith took Ben Simmons Jersey the blame even though he threw 14 touchdown pa ses and four picks in that span. Smith can also hurt a defense with his legs and even had a 70-yard touchdown run against the . This can be the postseason where Smith, who might not be back with the Chiefs next year because of , could show he's much more than just a game manager. 6. Jerryd Bayless Jersey , This might seem high for Newton based on the season he had, but he remains a dangerous threat -- both running it and throwing it, even if the pa sing numbers weren't good this season. Newton's struggled mightily throwing it in 2017, but he had limited help from his weapons, especially with tight end mi sing most of the season. Newton completed 59.1 percent of his pa ses with 16 picks against 22 touchdown pa ses. That's not good enough. He ran for 754 yards, the highest total of his career. I think he plays better when he gets moving and running early. He seems to feed off that, so keep an eye on his mobility this week against the . The accuracy numbers are concerning, and he struggled in a big way on third down. He was the 28th-rated pa ser on third down in the league, completing just 53.1 percent of his pa ses with eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Panthers need to try and limit his third-and-long plays, which would mean running him even more. 5. , The improvement Goff showed from his rookie season in 2016 was impre sive. There were some who were labeling him a bust after his rookie year, which was way off base. He didn't have a shot last year with his mediocre weapons, bad line in front of him and bad