Since Week 11 of 2004, only two QBs have started games for the New York Giants – Eli Manning (232) and Geno Smith (1). This week, the future of the “Big Blue” begins with Daniel Jones, as they leave behind their potential Hall of Fame QB for the hopes of a brighter tomorrow.
Manning has had an interesting career. His qualifications for the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be debated until the day he’s likely enshrined and beyond. Winning two Super Bowls as a QB pretty much guarantees you a spot in Canton, but other than those two fantastic runs, Eli Manning has been wildly mediocre.
In terms of the statistics, Manning has been average. While his career totals may seem impressive, in today’s NFL, they’re nothing to marvel at. At this point, he ranks eighth in passing touchdowns (362) and seventh in passing yards (56,537). However, he ranks 14th in most passes intercepted (241) and 45th in passer rating (84.1 – just ahead of Mark Brunell). He’s led the league in interceptions three times while never leading in any other stat.
The other side of a QB’s Hall of Fame resume comes from winning. Eli Manning is a career 162-162 in the regular season. He’s a walking .500 record. He had two great shots at Super Bowls and capitalized, beating arguably the greatest offense assembled in the ’07 Patriots. In his 14 years as the full-time starter, Manning has made the playoffs just six time and was one-and-done in four of them.
In the coming years, we’ll see more and more quarterbacks continue to re-write the record books. This will lessen the importance of guys like Eli Manning. Matt Ryan is four years younger than Manning and is only 62 touchdowns and 9,000 yards behind. Matthew Stafford is seven years younger than Manning and is only 120 touchdowns and 17,000 yards behind. If Patrick Mahomes keeps up his current starter pace, he’ll pass Manning in yards in just over 11 seasons and touchdowns in just over seven. Are these statistics truly meaningful for Eli?
A second Manning will likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame following his retirement. And, he’ll do so because of two seasons. They were two great runs, but is that truly worth the gold jacket?