With Tom Brady advancing to his record 10th Super Bowl on February 7th, 2021, this story about the legacy of Eli Manning rings true and dismisses crazy questions about Manning’s Hall of Fame worthiness.
We thought this article written after Brady advanced to his 8th Super Bowl, still applies.
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The New England Patriots are favorites to win Super Bowl 52 on Sunday. Some folks are painting the game as a formality to officially anointing Tom Brady the best QB of all-time. We constantly hear about the five Super Bowl wins, which featured so many late game collapses and missed opportunities by the opposing team.
The narrative is that Brady earned those titles. Everything else is just sour grapes. Besides, it supports the myth of Brady being unbeatable. His legend has grown with every playoff victory. At this point, youd think he never lost in a Super Bowl.
Sports Illustrated on Twitter
Tom Brady is hyped for the AFC Championship game He posted this video featuring highlights from the Pats’ comeback against the Falcons to IG https://t.co/l3zrYLXFQs
But he has lost.Twice. To Eli Manning and the Giants.
Manning is the only QB to crack the code. So inevitably as Bradys legend grows and his Hall of Fame credentials increase, so should those of Manning. If Bradys wins are official, then Mannings Super Bowl victories are super bad. Hes the one quarterback that didnt give a damn about the headlines, The Killer Bs and the underdog tag. The Belichick and Brady mystique did numbers on Super Bowl QB after QB from Kurt Warner to Donovan McNabb to Russell Wilson to Matt Ryan.
NFL on Twitter
On this day, 3 years ago… The. Butler. Did. It. #SB49 #GoPats https://t.co/nQfpjszUxa
But it meant nothing to the younger Manning brother. Didnt faze him.
Good Morning America on Twitter
Eli Manning has some advice from personal experience on how to take down Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. https://t.co/13cHCJw1J0 #SuperBowl
Eli smacked Brady in the mouth twice and not only took home Lombardi Trophies, but did it with unforgettable and dramatic heroics. He epitomized greatness in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI. Eli had a solid coach in Tom Coughlin. But he didnt have the greatest coach of all-time to fall back on when games got tight.
Bradys first three Super Bowl wins were by a field goal. The last two wins were dramatic, late-game victories over the Seahawks and the Falcons. He earned every one of those victories, regardless of how Brady haters say hes nothing more than a lucky cheater. On the flip side, Brady Nation says he walks on water, can heal the blind and is the Michael Jordan of the NFL.
If thats the case, then Manning is something like a phenomenon as well. If not for Manning upsetting an undefeated Patriots squad in 2007 and then a heavily-favored team in 2012, wed be talking about Tom Brady attempting to go 8-0 in Super Bowls on Sunday, which would make him the supreme king in all of team sports. Then, comparisons to Jordan wouldnt seem so laughable to tempered thinkers.
Its truly amazing what Brady is still accomplishing at 40 years of age. Hes defying the laws of modern medicine and he’s done it without the use of performance enhancers. Skirting the rules a touch and being emphatically better in the big moment’s made him one of the colossal winners of our generation.
The Brady and Belichick accolade meter is mind boggling and supports claims that they are the best 1-2 punch to bless a gridiron.
ClutchPoints on Twitter
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady can double the all-time playoff wins record by a QB-coach combo if they beat the Eagles in Super Bowl LII #GoPats https://t.co/ofupv3oMnp
Therefore discussions about Eli Mannings HOF worthiness are ludicrous. Few players in the history of the game have come up bigger than Manning in Super Bowls. In addition to his postseason prominence, we know he has the stats.
SportsBlogNewYork on Twitter
Eli Manning career stats in a Giants uniform: 50,625 yards (7th all-time) 334 touchdowns (8th) 2 Super Bowl wins over the Patriots 2 Super Bowl MVPs 210 consecutive starts (2nd all-time for QBs) Future Hall of Famer Thank you Eli
He didn’t miss a game in his entire 14-year career until he was benched for one game this season by former Giants coach Bob McAdoo. Despite some less than stellar years of late, Eli still lives among the most valuable players in the game because he just doesn’t get hurt.
The Giants organization understands what Manning means to the Big Blue franchise and pro football in New York. He has not only altered the course of NFL history several times, he has inflicted two damaging blemishes on a Patriots record that is as flawless as it gets.
No matter how you slice it, when we look back at the dominance of Brady, we will see that his only kryptonite was Eli. He was the one quarterback that Brady couldnt outperform on the big stage. Those losses hurt Pats fans and analysts who salivate over Brady on national podcats, Twitter and cable sports debate shows. It rocks the narrative just a bit. It surely doesnt take away from Bradys legacy as the possible GOAT, but it illuminates the truth; Manning is the most clutch SB quarterback of all-time.
Giants 2008 Super Bowl, final drive ( This Means WAR!!!)
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Manning magic will always rule the day when the Pats play in a Super Bowl and every title New England wins is a reminder of just how incredible Manning’s Super Bowl success against them truly is. He went up against The GOAT and dropped major Ls on the master each time. As long as the Pats keep winning, Mannings a first ballot Hall of Famer and the greatest king slayer of our time.
