In 2011, the New York Giants were the best team in the National Football League when the dust settled. Four seasons removed from their startling upset of the undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, the 9-7 Giants mounted another successful Super Bowl run, knocking off the Pats again to hoist the fourth Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
What went unnoticed in that season was the stellar play of quarterback Eli Manning, who would once again be named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl. But Manning should have been recognized even further for his performance. There were many who believed he should’ve been the NFL MVP that year, a distinction that went to Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.
Some 2011 Eli stats
– 90.1 passing grade
– 1st in yards on passes that traveled 20+ yards down the field (1,667)
– Pressured on 39% of his dropbacks https://t.co/hyNOOOytKJ
— PFF NY Giants (@PFF_Giants) June 20, 2020
Manning threw for 4,933 yards with 29 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. As noted in the PFF graphic above, he was certainly worthy. The MVP is decided upon, however, by regular season performance alone. Rodgers threw 45 touchdowns in his 15 starts in leading the Packers to an overall record of 15-1. It was hard not to give it to him.
That meant nothing to the Giants though when they blew into Green Bay for the Divisional Playoffs that January. Big Blue’s defense harassed Rodgers all night long in a stunning 37-20 win. Eli, by the way, completed 21 of 33 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
The next week in San Francisco, Manning delivered one of the most courageous performance I’ve seen in my 55 years of watching NFL football.
Under constant pressure, Manning threw 58 passes, completing 32 for 316 yards and two scores. He was sacked six times and hit a total of 12. He kept getting up and kept on delivering, unlike Rodgers the week before who appeared defeated on the field while his team was routed by the Giants.
Then, in the aforementioned Super Bowl victory over New England, Manning pieced together the second-highest grade in big game history, according to PFF.
Whether or not Eli Manning belongs in the Hall of Fame is another topic of discussion, but he did have the second-best Super Bowl performance by a quarterback of the 36 PFF has graded. Eli had four big-time throws and no turnover-worthy plays for the game and was near perfect when throwing under pressure. He had 14 pass attempts under duress and had a perfect adjusted completion percentage while averaging 9.3 yards per attempt.
On several occasions, Manning former teammates lauded his play from that season, going as far as to outright say he deserves to be league MVP.
“How [Manning] played this year, I think he should have been league MVP,” defensive end Justin Tuck said during the 2011 America’s Game.
Yes, he should have.
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