This past weekend we watched the class of 2020 and 2021 be inducted into the the NFL Hall of Fame. Players and coaches who went above and beyond throughout their careers. The hall is somewhere for the best of the best, greats of the greats, the true elite of the sport. One of the greats who were inducted was legendary quarterback Peyton Manning. His induction sparked more debate about his younger brother Eli and if he should be in or not. The answer is no. Eli Manning is not a hall of fame worthy quarterback. I will address each reason why but let’s start off with super bowl rings. Championships are team accomplishments, your team has to be good through all three phases of the game. Your quarterback can outplay the opposing quarterback and still lose, ask Aaron Rodgers he knows a lot about that. So I can’t fully involve rings in this argument so let’s talk numbers.
Eli Manning ranks 9 in all time passing TDs with 366. Matt Ryan has 347 he could knock Eli down to 10 this season. Matt Stafford and Russell Wilson rank 16 and 17, they could both knock Eli out of the top 10 in the coming years. Aaron Rodgers and Ben Rothethlisberger are the only active players already over top of Eli Manning. That 366 doesn’t hold that much weight in the sense of what makes a hall of fame quarterback especially when there are 244 interceptions to go along with it. Manning didn’t have a season as a starting quarterback without double digit quarterbacks. There were three seasons where Eli threw 20+ interceptions. In 2013 he threw 27 interceptions and 18 touchdowns, does that sound hall of fame worthy to you? Eli Manning ranks 8 in all time passing yards with 55,767 yards but Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers could knock him right out the top 10. Eli Manning’s numbers are not that great so what makes him a hall of fame quarterback?
Eli Manning has two great playoff runs. In 07 he threw for 854 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 1 interception. In 2011 he threw for 1,219 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Beating Tom Brady two times in the Super Bowl is something only Eli can relate too, but those Giants defenses held Brady to under 20 points both times. Eli played great but without his defense or a helmet catch what are we talking about today? Outside of the two super bowl runs Eli Manning has four one and done playoff appearances. So let’s go back to the Super Bowl MVPs, he has no regular season MVPs. What holds more water, being the best player on the biggest stage two times or not being the best player over 16 games during the season? The argument could go either wait but MVP wins are as personal achievement, in 16 years Eli Manning has never been the best player in the league. So what makes him a hall of famer? Nothing. Eli Manning does not belong in the Hall of Fame.
