America loves an underdog who wins — and Tom Brady, the best quarterback in the National Football League, certainly fits the bill. Counted out as a career backup at Michigan and as a marginal pro prospect, Brady defied the doubters, leading the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships and a 14-3 record in the playoffs. The best quarterback is the one who consistently wins — and Brady has never been the quarterback for a team that ended up with a losing record.

Brady has always stood out as a hard-working, blue-collar type of guy. Nothing has come easy for him. A true student of the game, Brady has gotten where he has not because he has freakish athletic abilities or an outstanding arm but because of his off-the-charts football I.Q. Throughout his collegiate and professional career, Brady started playing behind cannon-armed quarterbacks who preferred the risky deep bomb in the end zone, such as Drew Henson at the University of Michigan and Drew Bledsoe in New England. Brady’s excellence lies in reminding us that we can all achieve at a high level, even if we are not born with the best physical tools in the game.

Moreover, playing quarterback also requires demonstrating leadership. Brady has not won his championships because of the players around him; he has won because he understands the weapons at his disposal and uses them with a cool head under duress. Brady has led multiple game-winning drives in Super Bowls and key playoff games.

Boston sports fans usually expect their stars to ultimately choke, but Brady has not failed his supporters yet. Although Brady never blames his teammates and always takes responsibility for the outcome of the Patriots’ games, it’s rare for a Brady miscue to be a determining factor in a contest.

The intangibles and sportsmanship of Tom Brady should be enough to anoint him the NFL’s best quarterback.

But Brady does have individual statistics — and quite good ones at that, to put it lightly. Brady owns the single-season record for touchdown passes, and has led the league in that category twice.

He also threw for the most yards in 2005 and 2007.

He has won the season MVP once and the Super Bowl MVP twice. Brady also received four trips to the Pro Bowl thus far in his career. And if you care about Fantasy Football, Brady has the second-most fantasy points of any passer this year.

Brady has displayed further fortitude this year, coming off a devastating, season-ending injury to his left knee.

Even with a slow start, Brady’s Patriots sit at 6-3, atop the AFC East. Brady, once again, is among the league leaders in passer rating, touchdowns, yards passed and completions. With his stats, Brady is not only a lock for Comeback Player of the Year but also an MVP candidate for his work keeping the Patriots’ offense afloat in the absence of a running game that strikes fear into opposing defenses.

Still, Brady attracts many skeptics, many of whom assert that Brady is nothing but a system quarterback and a purer passer is preferable — usually Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. The claim that Brady is a creation of Bill Belichick’s scheme has some validity — Brady has benefitted from Belichick’s football wisdom.

The easy counter to the system argument lies in the 2008 Patriots. Without Brady, the Patriots relied on the exceptionally average Matt Cassel to lead the offense. As consequence, the Patriots dropped from 16-0 to 11-5, and failed to make the playoffs. The Patriots are likely to improve on last year’s result — they are closer to clinching the AFC East with each passing week and will likely win 12 or 13 games. Regardless of whether one believes another quarterback is better than Brady, it is impossible to plausibly deny Brady’s own talent.

There is, however, a case to be made against Peyton Manning. Manning has had football greatness all but handed to him. He’s the proverbial golden boy, entitled to football greatness by virtue of his star quarterback dad, Archie Manning.

Manning was a starting quarterback since midway through his freshman year at Tennessee, a Heisman Trophy runner-up, and the second overall pick in the NFL draft. Manning was expected to put up the amazing statistics his boosters cite; on the other hand, Brady has exceeded expectations.

And there is one area where Manning has failed to live up to his lofty expectations: the playoffs. For all of regular season exploits, Manning has a mediocre 7-8 playoff record and only one Super Bowl win. Manning also throws interceptions at a higher clip in the playoffs and has an average QB rating of 84.6. Football is a team sport, and the ultimate goal is to win a championship.

During his career, Manning hasn’t always been great when the stakes were the highest. One can look to his four-interception performance in New England in the 2004 AFC Championship game, and it wasn’t too long ago Manning was getting heat for not even winning a playoff game.

In the end, the choice at quarterback is clear. Tom Brady is a winner and the guy any coach wants under center taking the snap to begin a big play.

— Adam McCall is also a Wheel editorials columnist

Contact Adam McCall.