Tom Brady versus the Manning brothers was a fun little rivalry when all three were still slinging the football. Of course the latter two brothers have since retired and Brady is still going strong trying to win his eighth Super Bowl title. Eli Manning insists there are no hard feelings between the Manning family and Brady, though he joked Brady might feel some type of way about the Mannings.
“He hates us. He hates my mom,” Eli Manning joked. “If it weren’t for Olivia Manning, Tom would have like 12 Super Bowls probably.”
Which cookout you going to? 😂 Episode 1 out now 🎧 @sammorril @Edelman11 @TedyBruschi @EliManning pic.twitter.com/X5kjdpATZ8
— Games With Names (@gameswithnames) August 23, 2022
Manning was reminiscing on Julian Edelman’s new podcast “Games with Names.”
In the two times that Brady and Eli Manning have gone head to head for the Super Bowl, Manning and his New York Giants won both times, the most memorable being Super Bowl XLII, when Brady and the New England Patriots were going for immortality. They were 18-0 heading into the big game, a win would’ve crowned them the greatest team of all-time. But it wasn’t meant to be.
Manning’s fourth-quarter escape and deep pass to wide receiver David Tyree, which he caught on his helmet led to the game winning score that ended the Patriots’ perfect season.
“I’ve been around Tom numerous times, and I’ve never brought up a Super Bowl or our games versus them,” Eli Manning said in January of last year. “He actually brings it up. It still bothers him a little bit, especially the ’07 one when they had the chance to go down as the greatest team of all time.”
Eli’s older brother Peyton never faced Brady in the Super Bowl obviously, but they’ve had playoff matchups. Peyton Manning had a 3-2 playoff record against Brady. All three wins were in the AFC Championship Game. So Peyton was a part of three teams that stopped Brady from advancing to the Super Bowl.
You could see how Brady might find the Manning family irksome. If he beats Eli and the Giants one of those two games, that’s eight Super Bowls. If he beats Peyton and the Colts in 2007, and advances to the Super Bowl against the Chicago Bears and wins, that’s nine titles.
“I mean the guy’s got six MVPs and seven Super Bowls. He brings it up. He brings it up. Like it still bothers him,” Eli Manning continued on the podcast. “And I see Brady, he’s like, ‘that freaking ’07 season Super Bowl,’ it hurts him still, which is good. I kind of like having that. I like that part of it.”
Athletes are forever competitors; that’s why they achieve the heights they do. The losses sting more than the wins feel good.
Brady, of course, is hands down the winningest and many say the greatest quarterback of all-time. That’s something he easily holds over the Manning family. But whenever they see each other, Eli always has the 2-0 Super Bowl record and spoiling Brady’s perfect season. Big brother Peyton had more MVPs than Brady and the 3-2 record in the AFC Championship round.
