Manning the Spotlight: Eli Must Outshine Peyton to Win Super Bowl

With Eli Manning struggling to find his groove in the regular season, how fitting is it that his shadow that was once blocked by his brother Peyton is lit up by the spotlights of Glendale?

 

It’s clear that the younger brother wanted to overcome constant criticisms by the New York media, and he has almost done that.

 

But to truly surpass the doubts, Eli must reproduce Peyton’s performance from XLI, and have a Manning hold the Lombardi Trophy high two years in a row.

 

It won’t be easy; the Bears of '06–'07 don’t match up with the current, perfect Pats.

 

Eli has been stellar in the postseason. With a record 10-straight road wins, Manning has led the underdog Giants team to Arizona, and surpassed even his brother.

 

In the regular season, Eli threw 20 picks. However, in the playoffs Manning hasn’t thrown a single interception.

 

With improved effort from everyone on the team, the G-men have overcome every obstacle that the NFC could throw at them. But the AFC told me the NFC throws like a girl.

 

The Patriots are one of the greatest teams ever assembled, and are looking for victory number 19 to complete the perfect season. It’s hard to know what pressure can do to a team, especially when it could make or break the season, but I’m pretty confident that Tom Brady won’t be too nervous about it. After all, he’s played there two more times than the entire Manning family.

 

Eli will have to produce more than Peyton ever did to beat the mighty Patriots. But if Eli can analyze the Pats’ D as well as he did on week 16, then I think we’re in for a great match.

 

It’s expected that Eli won’t ever be as good as Peyton, but at least a Super Bowl victory would shut the NY media up, right? Not the case. Eli must outperform his brother in nearly every way—the Super Bowl MVP is required—before the media will stop hounding him. I’ve had my doubts about the younger brother, but after my Buccaneers were beaten by a sharp Giants team, I think Manning has what it takes to lead the upset over New England.

 

With that said, I think that Brady will have a ring for each finger come Sunday. There’s no stopping the receiving corps of the Patriots, no hope in the trenches, and no shot of slowing down the defense.

 

But are they invincible? Ask the Ravens.

 

Prediction: NE: 24 NYG: 21 (Gostkowski must learn the ways of Vinatieri and win XLII by a field goal)

 

Will the perfect season come to an end, or will it be the 11-game winning streak on the road that is lost? This could be one of the greatest upsets in sports history, and the Giants are fresh off three upsets on the road. Why not up the ante and make it four?