Was Eli Manning the most under-appreciated Super Bowl-winning QB ever? Delving into Giants icon’s record

Eli Manning won two Super Bowls in his career, in each case taking the less fancied New York Giants to a victory over the more established New England Patriots.

He was the Super Bowl MVP in both of those victories.

Yet, having lived in the shadow of his older brother, Peyton Manning, it seems he often gets skipped for recognition. Aside from Jim Plunkett, no one who has won the Super Bowl multiple times has been derided as frequently.

Here's a look into his record to see if those wins masked his mediocrity or if they elevated his greatness.

Eli Manning's record with the New York Giants under the microscope

Eli Manning only ever played for one team in the NFL and that was the New York Giants. It could have been extremely different when the San Diego Chargers drafted him first overall and had he chosen to go ahead and play for them. However, he refused to do so and was therefore was traded to the New York Giants. He was their franchise quarterback from 2004 to 2019 and won two Super Bowls and he retired with many franchise records. Among them, he is the passing touchdowns, passing yards and completions leader for the storied Giants franchise. He also made it to four Pro Bowls and has been inducted into the Giants Ring of Honor and his number 10 now stands retired by the franchise.

He played 236 games over his career with them and never missed a game because of injury. He has accumulated 57,023 passing yards and 366 passing touchdowns in those games. His average completion rate is 60.3 percent. The average passing yards per game and touchdowns per game are 241.6 and 1.55 respectively, which is much beyond some of his more luminous contemporaries such as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. His passer rating over his career was 84.1.

But the strength of someone's career should be judged by how they performed when they were needed. By all average measures, Tom Brady has lesser passing yards and touchdowns per game than Peyton Manning. But Brady has seven Super Bowls to Peyton's two. It points to the ability to overcome adversity at the right moment in time.

Eli Manning also had this quality. He won Super Bowls XLII and XLVI and in both editions, he was inspired in the playoffs. His passer rating jumped to 95.7 when they won the Super Bowl in 2007. He got a lot of help from his defense as well in that season, especially during the Super Bowl. But in 2011, he was the reason the Giants got anywhere near lifting the Lombardi Trophy. Their defense was one of the worst in the entire league and Eli Manning carried that team. His postseason passer rating that year was 103.3 and he threw for nine touchdowns in four games. His completion percentage also rose to 65 percent during the 2011 postseason.

Eli Manning in the Giants’ run to Super Bowl XLVI:

🔹 1,219 yards (most in an NFL playoffs ever)

🔹9 TD, 1 INT

🔹 Defeated the 15-1 Packers and 13-3 49ers on the road

🔹 Won Super Bowl XLVI over the 13-3 Patriots https://t.co/YibDUKBi0e

Hence, while statistics show that he was never in the elite company of his older brother or Brady, but he continues to be underappreciated despite his achievements. He did make it to four Pro Bowls, which is nothing to be sniffed at. In the playoffs, when it was required to come clutch, he was even better. Even Peyton Manning did not win Super Bowl MVPs in both his appearances like his younger brother did.

Eli Manning had the ability to switch it on when it mattered the most and his cumulative stats deserves better recognition. Despite winning two Super Bowls, he continues to be left in the shadows. He deserves much higher praise for winning them both.