Andrew Luck Supplanting One Manning in Indy, Surpassing Another in New York

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This is what the New York Giants coaches need to do.

They need to stand before the team Tuesday morning. Bring the game tape of the Giants offense in that first half against the Indianapolis Colts from Monday night. Bring a large container. Plus some gasoline and matches. Put the game tape into the container. Add gasoline. Throw in those fancy tablets, too. Disconnect the smoke detectors in the room. Then light the match. Poof. Burn it all.

You know a first-half performance is awful when the halftime ceremony of Michael Strahan being honored for entering the Hall of Fame is far more entertaining than the half itself.

Burn the tape. Put it on the rocket. Forget it ever happened.

The Giants' woeful offensive performance was made to look even worse by comparison to the quarterback they were playing, Andrew Luck. He threw for over 300 yards for the seventh straight game, and while we didn't see Spectacular Luck, we saw Pretty Damn Good Luck.

Luck benefited greatly from having receivers who can, you know, get open. Other than Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants receivers run about as fast as Strahan.

The striking juxtaposition between the two offenses was the biggest head-shaker in the Colts' 40-24 win on Monday night. So was the play between the two quarterbacks.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

In the first half alone, Eli Manning had seven overthrows, the most he's had this season. He was off. Way off. His receivers couldn't get open, either, and when they did, they'd drop the football. There was no running game. Burn the tape.

What was impossible not to notice was an almost passing of the torch. Or rather, a yanking of one of the torches out of Eli's hands by Luck.

Eli was once one of the standard-bearers at the position. He beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, not once, but twice, in Super Bowls. His performances in those games were electric and eternal.

Since those wins, Manning has been average, at best. He's gone 19-21 since his last championship—9-7 in 2012, 7-9 in 2013 and 3-5 this season. It hasn't all been his fault. The team has dumped players and is clearly rebuilding, but Eli hasn't been the same.

Through that 2012 Super Bowl, Manning had 202 touchdowns to 137 interceptions (playoffs included). Since that 2012 Super Bowl, 60 touchdowns and 47 picks. Manning has been one of the most error-prone quarterbacks in all of football.

Against the Colts, Manning threw a pass that was partially deflected. Manning caught the football, started to run awkwardly, then dropped it. We see more of those types of plays now than the excellence just a few years ago.

Meanwhile, a legion of young stars has caught Manning. One of them, obviously, is Luck.

"We knew full well (about) the explosiveness of this team," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said, "the production of the quarterback.

"His throws to the tight ends tonight were outstanding."

There was also a gorgeous dart to Reggie Wayne that only a handful of quarterbacks can make.

What you're seeing with the Giants is a superpower in decline (for now). What you're seeing with the Colts is the emergence of one. A slow, deliberate march toward becoming something special, the way we once saw Manning take those steps, leading to those wins over Brady and Belichick.

Luck will make his mistakes. Sometimes my media friends think Luck can do no wrong. He makes mistakes, but they are becoming more rare. The arc is starting to steep dramatically into that Super Bowl direction.

Luck, unlike Manning, has significant talent around him. But even if he didn't, Luck has the capabilities to carry his team. 

After the Colts were power-washed in Week 8 by the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger, the team could have crumbled. Instead it traveled to a tough road environment and handed out their own shellacking. It was an impressive turnaround. There was three minutes and 50 seconds left in the third quarter and Luck already had 350 yards, four touchdowns and put 37 points on the board.

Consider this: Luck is on pace to throw for 5,484 yards. That would break Peyton Manning's single-season record of 5,477. Luck this season has 3,085 passing yards. That number, through nine games, is second-best in NFL history. The only player with more through nine games was Peyton last year with 3,249.

Meanwhile, the Giants might miss the postseason for the fifth time in the last six years. "I gotta play better," Eli Manning said.

But that's the question. Just how much better can Manning play at this point? Have we already seen the best of Eli Manning? Is it almost the end for him in New York?

Luck's performance against the Giants was one we would have once seen from Eli.

Years ago.

Now it's Luck's turn.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.