"It hurts him still" - Eli Manning relishes just how much Super Bowl loss still haunts Tom Brady
Tom Brady is the kryptonite of most quarterbacks, but not for Eli Manning. While Brady has had a couple of players who have had the final laugh against him repeatedly, no one has fared better than Eli Manning. Manning defeated Brady in two Super Bowls.
Despite both Super Bowls being more than a decade old now, the former Giants quarterback believes the losses still sting Brady. Speaking on the "Games with Names" podcast via The Sporting News, Eli Manning claimed No. 12 still brings up the losses. Here's how he put it:
"He still brings it up, it still bothers him. It hurts him still, which is good. I like having that part of it."
The quarterback faced Brady in Super Bowl XLII in 2007 and again in Super Bowl XLVI in 2011. He defeated Brady and the Patriots both times, giving himself two rings while stonewalling No. 12.
Eli Manning's career aside from beating Tom Brady
Despite retiring before Tom Brady, who returned for another season after announcing his retirement earlier this year, Eli Manning was also drafted well after Brady. Manning's career began in 2004 when he was drafted first overall by the New York Giants. In his rookie season, the quarterback got off to a shaky start.
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In 2004, the team went 1-6 as Manning threw for six touchdowns and nine interceptions. However, he had a breakout year the following season. He threw for 24 touchdowns and 17 interceptions as the team went 11-5. In other words, the wins trumped the statsheet for the quarterback.
Between 2005 and 2012, Eli Manning followed a similar pattern of winning but not putting up eye-popping stats. During the run of success, the quarterback faced Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl, defeating him both times. Many pointed to the Super Bowl victories over Brady as one of the defining moments of Manning's 16-year career.
However, starting in 2013, the Giants' performances took a dip. Manning's statistics remained constant, but the team failed to win. Between 2013 and 2019, the Giants only finished once over .500. In the 2016 season, the team made the playoffs for the last time in Manning's career, losing 38-13 to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round.
Many believed the team could have done better, as in 2008 the Giants won the Super Bowl as a wild card team. As Manning entered the twilight of his 30s in the late 2010s, pundits felt it was time for the Giants to move on from the two-time champion.
The Giants eventually drafted Daniel Jones in 2019. As Jones took over, Manning featured in just four games in the 2019 season. Soon after that, he retired in 2020.