Retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning entered the NFL in the shadows of his brother Peyton.
For that reason, he was always viewed as the brother of Peyton and the son of Archie.
In many ways, he is just as accomplished as Peyton and therefore is not overrated.
Here are 3 reasons why he is not overrated.
1. Two-Time Super Bowl Champion
Eli Manning won two Super Bowls quicker than his brother did.
He is 2 for 2 in Super Bowl appearances.
Both in 2008 and 2012, the Giants defeated the New England Patriots to win the Lombardi Trophy.
Embrace Debate: The greatest season ever played by an NFL QB was Eli Manning in 2011.
-6,152 yards passing (NFL record)
-38 TD passes
-32nd ranked run game
-27th ranked defense
-Super Bowl ChampionsWho’s your single-season GOAT?#TogetherBlue pic.twitter.com/rXRSU9V6R9
— Giants Fans with Giant Johnsons (@ScottBrownNYG) January 14, 2021
Eli beat the GOAT team of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick twice, and to top it off he was named the Super Bowl MVP in each of those games.
This is a fact that Tom Brady will never forget because it came up when Eli announced his retirement following the 2019 season.
Congratulations on your retirement, and a great career Eli! Not going to lie though, I wish you hadn’t won any Super Bowls.
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) January 24, 2020
Eli is a humble guy with a dry sense of humor so when asked about beating Brady/Belichick twice, his answer is not surprising.
“Well, it’s really easy to beat them. You just have to have Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul on the defensive line—guys like that—making a bunch of sacks, and it shouldn’t be a problem at all.”
2. Stats Don’t Lie
He started in 234 out of the 236 NFL games he played in.
Eli completed 4,895 passes for 57,023 yards.
His average yards per completion was 11.6.
He was consistently over 10 yards per completion his entire career except in 2017 when he had 9.9.
Eli consistently moved the chains with his passes.
He has 366 TD passes over his career with 244 INTs.
A quarter of those interceptions happened in 3 of his less successful seasons statistically: 2007, 2010, and 2013.
By the way, these are just regular season statistics.
He played in 12 playoff games, winning 8 of them.
Eli threw 18 TDs and 9 INTs in the postseason.
Not known for his rushing acumen, Eli managed to rush for 567 yards and 7 TDs throughout his career also.
He was a Pro Bowler four times, in 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2015.
3. Longevity
To begin with, Eli spent 16 seasons with one team.
He was drafted by the Giants and retired a Giant.
None of his modern day peers (or Peyton) can say that.
Also, he was sturdy and reliable.
The injury bug did not plague him much in his career evidenced by how many games he played in.
He was not a flamboyant, in-your-face type of athlete, but he did his job and made his teammates look good with minimal fanfare and ego.
On This Date 11/23/2014: Odell Beckham Jr made this incredible catch!#NYGiants @obj @EliManning https://t.co/Iu763Fc99O pic.twitter.com/iYwAbSo20k
— Brad Badini ⚾️ (@celeBRADtion) November 23, 2020
Because of this, it is confusing why people debate whether Eli Manning should be in the Hall of Fame.
Of course, he should be.
He should stand alongside his father and brother in Canton.
Interestingly enough, there is a third generation Manning coming to us soon.
That would be Peyton and Eli’s nephew Arch.
Arch is Cooper Manning’s son and a top college prospect in the Class of 2023.
The Manning bloodline could continue to flow through the NFL for years to come.
NEXT: The 3 Biggest Draft Needs For The New York Giants
