I wrote my post-Super Bowl column for NBCSports.com on Eli Manning outplaying Tom Brady down the stretch of Sunday’s game.
While Brady had his moments against the Giants, the Patriots didn’t score for the final 26 minutes of the game. Brady got the ball with the lead twice in the fourth quarter and couldn’t capitalize. Manning, like he’s done for so much of the season, played his best when the pressure was greatest.
Manning was the best fourth quarter and third down quarterback all season long. The same trend played out on the game’s biggest stage. It’s enough to make Brandon Jacobs say his quarterback is the best in the league overall.
“Now [Eli] has two titles,” Jacobs said, spittle flying from his mouth. “Drew Brees is a pretty good quarterback and he’s at home. Aaron Rodgers is a pretty good quarterback and he’s at home. Tom Brady is a good quarterback. . . . And Eli beat him twice. Ask Tom Brady if that means [something].”
Football is a team game, so Jacobs is oversimplifying things. But for the last six weeks, no quarterback has been better than Eli Manning.
Eli played well all year, even when the Giants were losing games. He’s always been known as a streaky quarterback, but he was on a hot streak for the whole season.