Whether he plays another down in the NFL or not, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts is without a doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer. His impressive 399 touchdowns, 54,828 passing yards, four league MVP’s and 94.9 career passer rating makes him a shoe in. Given those stats it would be absurd to come out and say that the younger of the Manning brothers, Eli, is better than Peyton, right? After all, in what amounts to seven and a half seasons Eli has accumulated 185 touchdowns, 27,579 passing yards, no league MVP awards, and a career passer rating of 82.1. On Eli’s current pace he will not catch Peyton by his 14th season so hands down, Peyton is better right?
Well not so fast. Keeping the aforementioned stats in mind, ask this question. Would you rather have a superior regular season quarterback who shatters records and stockpiles individual accolades or a pretty good quarterback who is clutch in the postseason and seems to get better under pressure? Here are 10 reasons Eli is better than Peyton.
10. Most passing yards in a season - Believe it or not, this one goes to Eli. This season Eli passed for 4933 yards with the New York Giants. Peyton’s best season came a in 2010 with 4700 yards.
9. Postseason QB Rating – Peyton’s postseason passer rating is 88.4, six and a half points lower than the regular season. Eli’s postseason passer rating is 88.1, six points higher than his regular season average.
8. Postseason record – Eli is 7-3 in the playoffs. That’s a winning percentage of .700. Peyton is 9-10 or .493.
7. Postseason touchdown to interception ratio – Peyton has thrown 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, a 1.5 to 1 ratio. Eli has 15 touchdown tosses to seven interceptions for a 2 to 1 ratio.
6. Rise to the top – Peyton got to his first Super Bowl in his sixth season. Eli did it in his 3rd season as a full-time starter and only a year after Peyton.
5. Environment – Eli has found success in the toughest media market and fan base in the country, New York. Peyton played in Indianapolis. Additionally Eli has had the added pressure of playing in the shadow of his All Pro brother his entire career.
4. Touchdowns in Super Bowl runs – Both brothers have made it to two Super Bowls. In the Giants 2007-08 Super Bowl run, Eli threw six touchdowns and one interception. In the Giants 2011-12 run he’s thrown eight touchdowns and again one interception. For Peyton, in the 2005 playoffs he threw three touchdowns and seven interceptions. In his second Super Bowl run Peyton threw 6 touchdowns and two interceptions. Everyone remembers the costly pick six to Tracy Porter in the Super Bowl
3. The Tom Brady factor – Both brothers lost their first games against Tom Brady; Eli won his next two and Peyton lost his next five. Peyton would go on to win three straight. Eli 2-1, Peyton 3-6.
2. The “C” Words – For Eli it’s clutch, for Peyton it’s choke.
1. Can’t spell elite without “eli” – After February 5, Eli will have two Super Rings to Peyton’s one. Two championships will put Eli in elite company.
Aaron can be followed on Facebook and Twitter @Da_Bear_Truth.
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