Peyton Manning: Why He Is Still Better Than Little Brother Eli

The New York Giants’ victory in Super Bowl XLVI this past weekend over the New England Patriots propelled Eli Manning into a place where nobody thought he would ever be—a conversation about which Manning is better.

Eli now has two Super Bowl rings, two Super Bowl MVPs, the most playoff wins on the road or at neutral sites in NFL history, and undoubtedly has Tom Brady’s number—something Peyton has never had.

Peyton, on the other hand, has a 9-10 lifetime playoff record against Eli’s 8-3 mark, now has less Super Bowls than his little brother, and is slipping into the back of the minds of sports fans after a neck injury sidelined him for all of the 2011-2012 season.

Clearly, Eli is the better Manning.  Right?  Wrong. 

Those who contend that Eli is a better quarterback than Peyton are prisoners of the moment.  And once the red, white and blue victory confetti settles, so will these thoughts.

In the 10 seasons before this one, Peyton Manning led the Colts to 10 consecutive playoff berths and 10 consecutive double-digit win seasons all while averaging just over 31 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions per season. 

In only one of those 10 seasons did Peyton throw for below 4,000 yards, and in only two of them did he have a QB rating under 90.  In fact, Peyton—a 4-time NFL MVP—through the first 10 seasons of his career had more completions, a better completion percentage, more yards, more touchdowns and fewer interceptions than Dan Marino did in his first 10 seasons.

In the eight seasons of Eli Manning’s career, all played as a member of the New York Giants, he has averaged just over 23 touchdowns and over 16 interceptions per season.  Eli has only had a QB rating over 90 twice, and has never had a rating of 100 or higher; something Peyton has done three times. 

The stats speak volumes, but the intangibles speak the loudest.  Peyton Manning has consistently been one of the best quarterbacks in the league without question for a decade, has been the poster boy for not only the Colts but the city of Indianapolis, but has also essentially served as their offensive coordinator.  Peyton calls every play and runs the offense like no quarterback ever has.  The 10 or so seconds prior to the snap contain the reason why Peyton Manning is the most valuable offensive player in the history of the NFL.

No, he is not the best quarterback ever.  He is not the most talented ever.  He is not the most successful ever.  But he is, without a doubt, the most valuable.  If you need convincing, just look at the season the Colts just had without him.

Peyton took his team to 10 consecutive playoff berths with a suspect defense.  Eli took his team to the playoffs five of the past eight years with a substantially better one.

Eli is well on his way to being a Hall of Fame quarterback with several rings, well on his way to becoming one of the most successful quarterbacks ever, and by no means should anything be taken away from his success to this point.  Yet, there is no denying that Peyton is certainly the better Manning quarterback, for now…