NFL.com Ranked Eli Manning Where in Its List of All-Time Super Bowl Quarterbacks?
With the Super Bowl a week away, NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal recently released his all-time Super Bowl quarterback ranks, a ranking of its all-time, and the GIants' Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl winner, and MVP, landed in a most peculiar category.
Rosenthal, who assigned different categories such as "G.O.A.T." where Peyton Manning and Tom Brady (whom the Giants beat twice in Super Bowls) landed; the "Best Second Tier Ever," where you'll find names like Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees; "In or Should Be in the Hall of Fame," where Russell Wilson was among those listed; "Fun to Watch " and "Crazy Talent for a Tier this Low," ranked the retired Giants quarterback in the "Fun to Watch" category along with Donovan McNabb, Boomer Esiason, Matt Ryan, and Matthew Stafford.
Noted Rosenthal of Manning's ranking: "Eli's durability and longevity boost him in a career that ended at .500 (117-117), with only two to three seasons in which he arguably could've been considered a top-10 quarterback."
Jan 24, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Two Vince Lombardy trophies sit on display before New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning announced his retirement at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
If the rankings are based on career accomplishments, then the rankings need to go beyond a quarterback's win-loss record, which is influenced by the entire team's performance and not solely that of the quarterback.
For example, Manning and Wilson are tied for 15th on the all-time fourth-quarter comeback list (27), yet Manning is ranked a couple of tiers below Wilson, who, by the way, never won a Super Bowl MVP award as Manning did twice.
Manning, who called it a career after the 2019 season, will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025, figures to have a tough road to get into Canton, considering the struggles at the tail end of his career when the Giants failed to surround him with enough talent, resulting in his posting a losing record as a starting quarterback in six of his last seven seasons before retiring.
But as usual, Manning, who is making his NFL coaching debut in this year's Pro Bowl, where he'll lead the NFC all-stars against the AFC all-stars coached by his brother Peyton, isn't worried about it.
“It’s one of those deals that you can’t control, you can’t worry about," he told the New York Post last year. "Everything has been done. All the passes have already happened. I’m just enjoying retirement and the new things that I’m doing, my family, and coaching my kids in their sports. I’m probably more worried about whether they are going to make the All-Star team than I am about whether I’m going to make the Hall of Fame.”
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