Chris Simms settles the Jordan Love-Aaron Rodgers debate once and for all

Aaron Rodgers is gone from Green Bay, but he'll never truly leave the Packers. The two are intertwined forever, destined for an endless dance of fond nostalgia and semi-frequent embarrassment. Rodgers gave the Packers a Super Bowl and then, uh, a bunch of other stuff. He'll always be a hero in Wisconsin, no matter how many podcasts he goes on.

But when the Packers decided to use a first round pick to draft his successor in 2020, the final chapter began. In the years since then, Rodgers and Jordan Love have been compared every which way – from play style to personal style and everything in between. Debating the merits of which really good franchise quarterback has been better over the past 3 decades is a luxury exclusively enjoyed in Green Bay, and fans certainly didn't disappoint. The only thing they both seemed to have in common was joint ownership of the Chicago Bears.

But now, reader, the debate is over. Rest your eyes; the work is done. And it's all because of Chris Simms. The former NFL QB-turned-NBC Sports analyst released the next wave of his annual Top 40 QB rankings, and the results are definitive. Ground-shaking, even:

There, all the way down at 14, sits Rodgers. Miles ahead of him, up at 13 (which is basically 10) is Love, smiling with all the unbridled joy of someone who's finally at peace. Rodgers, well past his prime and coming off serious injury, is barely a Top 15 QB in the league anymore. Meanwhile, Love – still a young 25 – is already knocking on the Top 10's doorstep. It's a eye-popping declaration that will have even the biggest Rodgers supporters wondering if maybe Love would be a better host of Jeopardy!. He's already a better quarterback, and how hard can it be?

Thank you Chris Simms. You could have arranged this list in any way you wanted to, but you chose honesty. You dug deep and found the bravery required to put Rodgers one spot below his Packers replacement. Think of the overwhelming amount of engagement this tweet must be dealing with right now. Think of the crushing attention he's forced to endure. It's not for the faint of heart, but someone had to rise to the occasion.

As much as it'll bum Rodgers out to learn that no one will debate him, the conversation has ended. The debate is over. That's the power of Chris Simms' Top 40 QB rankings.