INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Manning is elite, for sure. A king of comebacks, too. And far, far more than Peyton’s little brother now.
Spot-on from beginning to end Sunday night, Eli Manning won his second NFL championship in a four-year span — and second Super Bowl MVP award — for leading the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots.
Manning completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He opened the game by becoming the first quarterback to complete his first nine attempts in a Super Bowl. And he finished the job by directing the nine-play, 88-yard TD drive that put New York ahead with 57 seconds to go.
“That was quite a drive that he was able to put together,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “He deserves all the credit in the world, because he really has put his team on his shoulders all year.”
This late drive, so reminiscent of the way New York beat New England in the 2008 Super Bowl, started on the Giants’ 12, with a little more than 31/2 minutes remaining and the Patriots holding a 17-15 lead. It closed with running back Ahmad Bradshaw easing into the end zone from 6 yards out. The Patriots decided not to contest the score, trying to save some time on the clock for a final drive.
But New England couldn’t get the ball back in the end zone, with Tom Brady’s final heave from his 49 falling barely beyond the grasp of tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“We had this goal to finish, finish, finish, and win the fourth quarter,” Coughlin said.
That’s where Manning takes over.
He also was the MVP in 2008, when his scoring pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds to play allowed New York to upset Brady and New England, ruining the Patriots’ bid for a perfect season. Back then, Manning got a boost from David Tyree’s Velcro-like helmet grab on the key drive. This time, the key play was perhaps Mario Manningham’s 38-yard, over-the-shoulder catch between two defenders along the sideline, which held up after the Patriots challenged it.
The Giants had trouble putting up points Sunday despite getting into New England’s territory on every drive except a kneel-down at the end of the first half. But Manning kept at it.
“We just tried to be patient,” said Manningham, who finished with five catches for 73 yards. “Got to be patient with this game. We knew big plays (were) going to come. We just had to take advantage of them.”
Manning became one of only five players in NFL history with multiple Super Bowl MVP awards. He joined the guy he got the better of in the big game yet again, Brady, along with Terry Bradshaw, Bart Starr and Joe Montana (the only player with three). And Manning did it in the House that Peyton Built, the stadium where his Big Bro — a four-time regular-season MVP but owner of only one Super Bowl title — plays for the Indianapolis Colts.
“It just feels good to win a Super Bowl. Doesn’t matter where you are,” Manning said, clutching the silver Vince Lombardi Trophy. “It’s been a wild season. We had a great, tough bunch of guys who never quit, and had faith in each other. I’m proud of these guys sticking together.”
As usual, he was as good as it gets down the stretch, in the crucible of the fourth quarter. During the regular season, he threw an NFL-record 15 TD passes in the final period.
“Eli’s certainly had a great season,” said Brady, who threw for 276 yards (27-for- 41), with two TDs and an interception. He completed 16 consecutive passes, breaking Joe Montana’s Super Bowl record of 13.
Back in August, before the season started, Manning was asked in an interview whether he considered himself an “elite” quarterback a la Brady. Manning said simply that he belonged “in that class.”
Hard to imagine anyone arguing now.
M-V-P! M-V-P!
Players who were Super Bowl MVP more than once:
Player, teamMVPsYears
Joe Montana, 49ers31982, 1985, 1990
Eli Manning, Giants (above)22008, 2012
Tom Brady, Patriots22002, 2004
Terry Bradshaw, Steelers21979, 1980
Bart Starr, Packers21967, 1968
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