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Tom Brady is known as the ultimate clutch performer. But Eli Manning is the one player he could never get the better of in crucial moments. Brady has made it to ten Super Bowls in his career and won seven. Of the three he has lost, one was against the Philadelphia Eagles and the other two against Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
Brady's inability to defeat Manning in Super Bowls is an interesting case study. We take a look at each of the losses and what part Manning played in them.
Eli Manning overcomes Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII in 2008
Perhaps the greatest upset in Super Bowl history came when Eli Manning faced Tom Brady for the first time to vie for the Lombardi Trophy. The New England Patriots came into the game with a perfect 16-0 regular season record and had won all their playoff games too. They were gunning for a perfect season.
Looking at the scores, neither quarterback had much to do with the win as the defenses were dominant, leading to a 17-14 victory for the Giants. What immortalized Manning, however, was his go-ahead championship-winning drive with just 2:42 remaining. The score at that point was 10-14 to New England, with a field goal being insufficient to even tie the score.
On a third-and-five, the Patriots brought the rush and nearly sacked Manning. However, he managed to escape the attention and stay on his feet and throw the ball. David Tyree caught the catch and stopped it from falling to the ground by holding it against his helmet. The Helmet Catch play resulted in a gain of 32 yards and was ranked the greatest Super Bowl catch of all time.
Completing the drive and converting the extra point gave them a 17-14 lead. The Patriots did not have any time to mount a comeback. For his efforts, Manning was awarded the Super Bowl MVP award.
Tom Brady falls to Eli Manning again in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012
The other time Eli Manning met Tom Brady in the big game was at Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. This time, too, the Patriots were the favorites but lost again. It wasn't quite the upset as the previous time because the Patriots were not coming off a perfect season. However, the Giants had won only nine games in the regular season and had the worst running game in the league and a defense ranked 27th. The Patriots, meanwhile, were coming off a 13-3 regular season.
That the Giants made the Super Bowl at all was because of Manning. He threw for more than 4,900 yards during the regular season and masked a weak running game and defense. In the Super Bowl, he threw for one touchdown and had no interceptions. He also led a 88-yard scoring drive in the final minutes while trailing 15-17 in the fourth quarter. His total passing yards were 296, with an exceptional 75% completion rate in his 40 passing attempts. His quarterback rating was 103.8.
Eli Manning's performance in this Super Bowl was genuinely worth the MVP award that he won. He was the talisman on a mediocre team and without him this victory would not have been possible.
