out of these choices and why?
In chronological order.
2007
The drive before halftime in Dallas. Down 14-7 with 47 seconds to go. Stabilizes the game.
Playing pitch and catch with Plax in sub zero temps at Lambeau.
Eli to Tyree in SB 42.
2011
Hail Mary before the half at GB.
3rd and 15 TD to Manningham against Niners.
Eli to Manningham in SB 46.
I have to give it to the throw to Manningham in 46. I'm not sure how that's not the greatest throw I've ever seen in 35 years of watching football. I give it the edge over Eli to Tyree because that play was executed exactly as it was drawn up as opposed to the latter which was more school yard.
I think the drive @ Dallas and the 3rd and 15 is underrated historically. That game may have gotten well out of hand without those 47 seconds. The TD to Manningham at San Francisco was the highlight of what I think was his greatest overall single game performance of his career.
He made clutch throws, managed the game beautifully and did not wince or shy away from contact the entire game against a defense that was truly elite. The niners had pro bowlers and all pros allover the field on D and he kept humming along until it was time to strike.
All that said, the MOST IMPRESSIVE performance for me has to be the NFCC at SF in 2011. Eli was getting his ass kicked left & right, but came through with clutch throws to Manningham & Cruz. I can't remember a more gut-wrenching victory where Eli took such a beating - the kind of performances we'll be talking about for years.
The pass to Manningham down the sideline probably shouldn’t have happened because Manningham (as always) didn’t give Eli enough space to work with. That throw was one only Eli could have made.
The elements during each, sub zero and swamp-like conditions really made for an opponent on top of the opponent in both cases.
It was great to see him dominate like that.
The San Fran game definitely showed his toughness and grit (the TD strike to Manningham was a beauty) but he also put the ball up in harms way a few times in that game and was very fortunate San Fran secondary didn't take advantage.
By Steve Sabol, that is
The most impressive performance without a doubt was 2011 San Francisco. The Niners were the best team in football, the Giants really didn't even deserve to be in the playoffs. Manning carried that team on his back, never more than in that game. SF pass rush overwhelmed a weak Giant OL. Eli was incredible.
I think at Dallas in 2007 was the game in which they were truly written off, ie to say that it was the game that they showed that Eli can win on any day. The Giants were good, but not Dallas good (who beat them handily twice that year), not GB good in freezing conditions, who also beat them badly in week 2 iirc, and certainly not NE good.
The Dallas game, which, if you recall, was the game that Jerrah put NFC Champ tixx in the Cowboys locker room before kickoff, was the real shocker. It was the game that showed that Toomer, Plaxico, Jacobs, Bradshaw and Eli's immense testicles could be too much to handle in a one-and-done season. It was also the game when the healthy depth and experience of the roster proved the difference (RWMcQ).
Until Dallas, they hadn't proved anything. It was their first pelt. After Dallas, anything was possible.
This.
2011 against the 9ers has to be my favorite. He got the crap knocked out of him for 4 quarters plus OT. They out-toughed a tough team.
Quote:
To Tyree. Correctly called (imo) the greatest play in SB history and possibly ever.
By Steve Sabol, that is
If you’re talking about a highlight, It’s Tyree with the escape.
If you’re talking overall game, the 2012 NFCC game
There is a difference.
Quote:
In comment 14948364 Big Blue '56 said:
Quote:
To Tyree. Correctly called (imo) the greatest play in SB history and possibly ever.
By Steve Sabol, that is
If you’re talking about a highlight, It’s Tyree with the escape.
If you’re talking overall game, the 2012 NFCC game
There is a difference.
yep. perfect explanation.
Eli totally outplayed the legend. He played a near perfect game in tough tough conditions. IMO Eli’s greatest game.
It's really, really, really hard to pick between those two.
Unreal
Eli totally outplayed the legend. He played a near perfect game in tough tough conditions. IMO Eli’s greatest game.
Moving the pocket, perfect awareness, darts over the field, down by 11 with 5 to go and still does his job to get the team to win it.
thank god JPP bailed out that atrocious (at that point in the season) defense.
Most heroic was his championship game vs the 9ers. What other QB plays that game? What other QB takes that pounding and doesn't relent? Maybe Favre, maybe Ben, maybe Unitas... I don't know.
But greatest performance? Man, upsetting the undefeated Pats in SB 42 is tough to beat. The patience he exhibited in executing the opening drive alone, the string of third down passes for first downs, calling all the right plays and variations against BB's mastermind defense... That's brilliant QB play, so good and so subtly perfect I didn't see it at the time as real excellence in performance.
So I'm saying 42 was it.
That 49ers D doesn't get the credit it deserves because of Eli Manning.
IMO it was the best D in the NFL since the 2000 Ravens.
And they had Eli at home on an artificially slopped up grass field, in the rain when it had been raining for days.
To beat that Defense, under those circumstances, is truly incredible. Not many QBs would've finished that game.
Picking one moment seems trivial knowing the end game
The mental toughness of the Frozen Tundra and Brett Favre.
The exceptional smarts of dealing with a Belichick coached defense.
Proud of them all and they seemed to do what was needed to get the job done. All were done without having a home game.
The mental toughness of the Frozen Tundra and Brett Favre.
The exceptional smarts of dealing with a Belichick coached defense.
Proud of them all and they seemed to do what was needed to get the job done. All were done without having a home game.
Excellent synopsis.
To rephrase George from PA above, picking any one trivializes the whole. And to restate: these performance make Eli a career HOF QB, despite a middling lifetime W/L record and the many low points.
Eli's HOF career is the sum of an overall slightly above average QB who rose time and again to perform at all time great levels in the most crucial games and most forbidding circumstances.
You can't tell the story of the NFL without Eli.
Down 34-22 with 5:41 left on the road in Dallas, on the verge of going 6-7 (with Dallas being 8-5) and for all intents and purposes being eliminated from the playoffs.
80 yard TD drive in 2 mins and 27 seconds, featuring two great passes to Cruz/Nicks on the sideline as he's being pressured. Best non-SB winning drive of his career.
Dallas goes 3 and out with Romo just missing Austin on what would've been a season-ending play for us
Down 5, Giants drive 58 yards in 1 min and 26 seconds to score the go-ahead TD.
JPP blocks the Cowboys FG game-tying attempt.
That game and that 2nd to last drive in particular are my personal favorite moments of Eli that don't involve the Super Bowl. The season was over, until he decided it wasn't. My favorite regular season game ever.
I'll say something controversial though, I feel like Eli's San Francisco performance is a little overhyped whereas his SB XLVI performance is underrated.
The Niners defense completely shut our offense down in the 2nd half after the Niners adjusted and Cruz stopped being able to burn Carlos Rogers at will. The only times the Giants scored were because of field position given to them by Kyle Williams' fumbles. Don't get me wrong, I still love that game and performance from Eli. He didn't throw a single INT and although he fumbled once, we recovered that so he didn't turn the ball over all game despite intense pressure. Eli outplaying Alex Smith was a big reason the Giants won that game, no question. That game was the epitome of Eli's toughness. I just think maybe a tiny bit overhyped because of the gifts Kyle Williams gave us.
But I think his performance vs. the Pats in the Super Bowl a couple of weeks later was better and overlooked to a degree. Completely different environment than muddy SF and Eli only threw 1 TD in the game, but he was just absolutely on fire and I don't think I've ever seen him be as accurate as he was that game. That game was more than the Manningham pass, Eli was throwing gorgeous passes all game. He was clearly the best player on the field.
Down 34-22 with 5:41 left on the road in Dallas, on the verge of going 6-7 (with Dallas being 8-5) and for all intents and purposes being eliminated from the playoffs.
80 yard TD drive in 2 mins and 27 seconds, featuring two great passes to Cruz/Nicks on the sideline as he's being pressured. Best non-SB winning drive of his career.
Dallas goes 3 and out with Romo just missing Austin on what would've been a season-ending play for us
Down 5, Giants drive 58 yards in 1 min and 26 seconds to score the go-ahead TD.
JPP blocks the Cowboys FG game-tying attempt.
That game and that 2nd to last drive in particular are my personal favorite moments of Eli that don't involve the Super Bowl. The season was over, until he decided it wasn't. My favorite regular season game ever.
I totally agree with you on this.
Also the reason why I'll always love JPP.
I'll say something controversial though, I feel like Eli's San Francisco performance is a little overhyped whereas his SB XLVI performance is underrated.
The Niners defense completely shut our offense down in the 2nd half after the Niners adjusted and Cruz stopped being able to burn Carlos Rogers at will. The only times the Giants scored were because of field position given to them by Kyle Williams' fumbles. Don't get me wrong, I still love that game and performance from Eli. He didn't throw a single INT and although he fumbled once, we recovered that so he didn't turn the ball over all game despite intense pressure. Eli outplaying Alex Smith was a big reason the Giants won that game, no question. That game was the epitome of Eli's toughness. I just think maybe a tiny bit overhyped because of the gifts Kyle Williams gave us.
But I think his performance vs. the Pats in the Super Bowl a couple of weeks later was better and overlooked to a degree. Completely different environment than muddy SF and Eli only threw 1 TD in the game, but he was just absolutely on fire and I don't think I've ever seen him be as accurate as he was that game. That game was more than the Manningham pass, Eli was throwing gorgeous passes all game. He was clearly the best player on the field.
We watched the San Fran game from start to finish a few weeks ago. Eli was tough as nails and clearly better than Alex Smith. However, while he didn't throw a pick in the game there were at least two occasions where SF guys in their secondary had easy ints of Eli throws but they ran into each other (maybe 3 times). That's the way the ball bounces though.
Two: It was a freaking monsoonal rain all game. The fact that he dropped back to pass 58 times in that, against that defense, in those conditions, is just incredible.
Two: It was a freaking monsoonal rain all game. The fact that he dropped back to pass 58 times in that, against that defense, in those conditions, is just incredible.
No such thing as “almost didn’t play” with Eli..:)