NFC NEWS

With so many games decided in the fourth quarter, it’s usually the quarterbacks who play the leading role.

This week, two quarterbacks who have demonstrated the ability to come through in the clutch will meet at Lambeau Field – BRETT FAVRE of the Green Bay Packers and KURT WARNER of the New York Giants.

Favre, who comes off a four-touchdown, no-interception game against Indianapolis, has posted a 95.3 passer rating this season. Warner has helped the Giants to a 2-1 record while earning a 94.0 passer rating.

They both have a knack for the fourth quarter. Warner leads all passers over the past 10 seasons with a 95.8 fourth-quarter rating. Favre has been similarly successfully, tossing for an NFL-best 60 fourth-quarter touchdown passes over that span while posting an 85.5 rating.

“A lot of times you have to adjust to what’s happening out there,” says Favre. “You have to focus and you have to get first downs to move the chains. That’s the key.”

A look at the top 10 fourth-quarter passers of the past 10 seasons (since 1995; minimum 350 attempts):

QB	Cmp-Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating	QB	Comp-Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Kurt Warner	243-362	3,084	20	14	95.8	Brett Favre	660-1,094	7,896	60	40	85.5
D. Culpepper	339-537	4,152	27	20	88.1	Brad Johnson	567-921	6,304	49	33	84.7
Rich Gannon	498-812	5,808	39	23	87.2	John Elway	222-380	2,718	18	11	84.3
Aaron Brooks	270-500	3,458	31	12	86.6	Mark Brunell	578-954	6,902	42	30	84.3
D. McNabb	324-554	3,398	28	10	85.7	Tom Brady	224-382	2,402	20	10	83.7

Some quarterbacks take fourth-quarter production to the next level – leading their clubs to come-from-behind victories. Perhaps new Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHN ELWAY, “Mr. Comeback” himself, best personifies this “never-out-of-it” attitude.

“We always thought we had a chance to win,” says Elway of his Denver Broncos teams. “Once we did come back successfully a few times, we always felt like we were going to do it again.”

In Week 4, a quarterback who did it many times for the New England Patriots – DREW BLEDSOE – will lead the Buffalo Bills against that team. The Bills will try to snap the defending Super Bowl champions’ 17-game winning streak. They were the last AFC team to defeat the Pats, earning a 31-0 win on Kickoff ’03 Weekend.

Bledsoe has led his team to victory after trailing in the fourth quarter 18 times in the past 10 seasons – tied with Denver’s JAKE PLUMMER for the most such wins.

The top five “comeback QBs” since 1995 (starters whose teams trailed at any point in fourth quarter):

QB	Teams (1995-present)	Comeback Wins
Drew Bledsoe	New England, Buffalo	18
Jake Plummer	Arizona, Denver	18
Peyton Manning	Indianapolis	17
Vinny Testaverde	Cleveland, Baltimore, NY Jets, Dallas	17
Kerry Collins	Carolina, New Orleans, NY Giants, Oakland	15

FANTASTIC IN THE FOURTH:

TOP QUARTERBACKS RISE WHEN GOING GETS TOUGH