2012 Super Bowl MVP: Eli Manning's Legacy Grows After Beating Tom Brady Again

Eli Manning was openly scorned for saying he belonged in the same class as Tom Brady in the offseason.

Who's laughing now?

After Manning beat Brady and the New England Patriots for the second time in four years and grabbed the Super Bowl MVP on Sunday, he not only surpassed older brother Peyton in rings, but we can surely place him in the same stratosphere as Brady now.

Keep in mind, Manning did this with everyone laughing in his face all season long.

He led the New York Giants to the postseason by beating the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys in the final two games of the regular season. He had an outstanding regular season, passing for over 4,900 yards and 29 touchdowns to 16 interceptions. He threw for 923 yards and eight touchdowns to one interception in three playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl.

And he outperformed Brady in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, completing 75 percent of his 40 throws for 296 yards and a touchdown.

Beyond that, Manning led the Giants to seven fourth-quarter comebacks and eight game-winning drives this season alone. He continues to prove that he's not only a great quarterback, but a true leader who rises to the occasion when his team is on the brink of disaster.

If there were any questions about Manning's elite status before this season, they have now vanished. Anybody that says he isn't one now is either delusional or a Patriots fan.

You could even make the argument that Manning played better than Brady in both Super Bowl matchups. You know, the same Brady who was being considered in the same class as one Joe Montana, the greatest quarterback who ever lived.

So much has been said about Brady and Peyton, but Eli Manning proved in Super Bowl XLVI that he's becoming one of the best quarterbacks not only of this era, but of all time.