They say defense wins championships, but there is a reason that the quarterback is regarded as the most important position in football. If you need proof, look no further than Super Bowl XLI.

In a game where both defenses were anything but suffocating, it was the play of the quarterbacks that ultimately decided the game, and the Colts had the future Hall of Famer.

Peyton Manning joins Hall of Famers John Elway and Steve Young as great quarterbacks who removed the proverbial monkey off their backs and finally won the big game.

The careers of Elway, Young and Manning are perfect examples of the fact that all quarterbacks struggle before they reach the maturity needed to lead their team to a championship.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, i.e., Joe Montana and Tom Brady, but those are few and far between. The career paths of most quarterbacks resemble Manning’s, who morphed into the quarterback he is now after taking his fair share of lumps.

Before this year, Manning had reached the playoffs six times, and had never made the Super Bowl. In 2002, he threw for 137 yards and two interceptions as the Colts were destroyed 41-0 by the Jets. The next year, he threw four interceptions against the Patriots and had a QB rating of 35.3 in the AFC Championship. It got worse when the Colts didn’t advance past the divisional round of the playoffs in the next two years.

Even against the Ravens in the divisional round this year, Manning had a dismal QB rating of 39.6 and two interceptions. But at this point in his career, he’s learned how to manage the game and give the Colts the best chance of winning.

That ability was on display in the Super Bowl, as Manning led the Colts on long, time-consuming drives that led to the Colts running 81 plays compared to the Bears’ 48. In conditions where mistakes were prone to occur, Manning eschewed the risks and resorted to picking apart the Bears defense with short passes.

On the other hand, when Rex Grossman had the opportunity to pull the Bears back into the game in the fourth quarter, he heaved two horrendous passes that led to two interceptions and a backbreaking touchdown.

It is only acceptable to have Brett Favre’s gunslinger mentality when you have Brett Favre’s talent, and Grossman isn’t Favre. Rex, who seems allergic to the check down pass, blew a golden opportunity to bring the Bears back with those two passes.

In a game like the Super Bowl any mistake is magnified, and Grossman’s will loom large in the minds of fans.

It’s not entirely Grossman’s fault that the Bears lost. As I’ve stated previously, this year’s Bears were only in trouble when the fate of the game rested on Grossman. The Bears success was based on their defense and the running game, and the defense struggled in this game.

The defense missed assignments, missed tackles and failed to generate enough pressure to make Manning resort to his happy feet dance. The vaunted Bears defense didn’t show up, and in reality had never regained the dominance they showed early in the season.

In addition to the defensive struggles, Cedric Benson’s injury hampered the running game, and you had the perfect recipe for a Bears’ loss.

But people will focus on Sexy Rexy’s struggles, because he is the quarterback, and quarterbacks often get more credit than they should, and more blame than they deserve.

Grossman is young and talented, and only time will reveal if he can reach his potential. Manning’s career shows that one has to take his lumps before he can succeed. Hopefully, the Super Bowl was a big enough lump for Grossman.

Majesh Abraham is a junior in LAS. He can reached at [email protected].