If you walk into a sports bar in Midtown Manhattan and ask if Eli Manning belongs in the Hall of Fame, you’re basically starting a fight. It's one of those debates that never dies. Some people look at his career 117-117 regular-season record and shrug. They see the interceptions—244 of them, to be exact. But then someone else will point at the jewelry. Because when you ask did Eli Manning win a Superbowl, the answer isn't just a simple "yes."
He didn't just win one. He won two.
And he didn't just win them against some "happy to be there" wild card team. He took down the greatest dynasty in the history of the NFL—the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick-led New England Patriots—not once, but twice.
The 18-1 Heartbreak: Super Bowl XLII
Let’s go back to February 3, 2008. The scene was Glendale, Arizona. The Patriots were 18-0. They weren't just favorites; they were widely considered the greatest team to ever step onto a football field. Most experts didn't even give the Giants a puncher's chance.
The Giants were a 10-6 wild card team that had spent the entire month of January winning gritty games on the road. Honestly, nobody expected them to keep it close.
The game was a defensive slugfest. It was ugly. It was tense. With 2:42 left on the clock, the Patriots took a 14-10 lead. It felt over. But then Eli did what Eli does. He started a drive at his own 17-yard line with under three minutes to go.
Then came "The Play."
You know the one. 3rd and 5. Eli is basically swallowed by a swarm of Patriots defenders. His jersey is being yanked, he's stumbling, and somehow—god knows how—he squirts out of the pile and heaves a ball downfield. David Tyree jumps, pins the ball against his helmet, and maintains possession as he hits the turf.
A few plays later, Eli found Plaxico Burress in the corner of the end zone. 17-14. The perfect season was dead. Eli Manning was a Super Bowl champion and the game's MVP.
Lightening Strikes Twice: Super Bowl XLVI
Fast forward four years. It’s February 5, 2012. Indianapolis.
The Giants were 9-7 in the regular season. They actually had a negative scoring differential that year, meaning they gave up more points than they scored over 16 games. By all statistical measures, they shouldn't have been there. But Eli was having a career year, throwing for nearly 5,000 yards.
Once again, it was the Patriots. Once again, the Giants were the underdogs.
This game was different in tone but similar in the clutch. Eli started the game on fire, completing his first nine passes—a Super Bowl record at the time. But New England clawed back to a 17-9 lead.
Late in the fourth quarter, trailing 17-15, Manning got the ball back at his own 12-yard line. This is where he turned into a surgeon. On the very first play of the drive, he launched a 38-yard dime down the left sideline to Mario Manningham. It’s arguably a better throw than the one to Tyree, dropped right into a bucket over Manningham’s shoulder.
The Giants marched down the field, and Ahmad Bradshaw eventually "fell" into the end zone for the go-ahead score. The Giants won 21-17.
Eli Manning walked away with his second Super Bowl ring and his second Super Bowl MVP trophy.
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The "Elite" Debate and the Legacy
It’s kinda funny looking back at the summer of 2011. Michael Kay asked Eli if he was an "elite" quarterback in the same class as Tom Brady. Eli said, "I think I'm in that class."
People laughed. They mocked him. Then he went out and proved it.
When we talk about whether Eli Manning won a Superbowl, we’re talking about a guy who belongs to a very exclusive club. Only five players in NFL history have won multiple Super Bowl MVP awards:
- Tom Brady (5)
- Patrick Mahomes (3)
- Joe Montana (3)
- Bart Starr (2)
- Eli Manning (2)
Notice the names he's standing next to. Terry Bradshaw and Peyton Manning have more rings, sure, but they don't have the two MVPs.
The nuance of Eli's career is that he was a "volume" quarterback who played his best when the stakes were highest. He holds the record for the most passing yards in a single postseason (1,219 yards in 2011). He was 8-3 in the playoffs.
He wasn't always pretty. He led the league in interceptions three different times. But in the final two minutes of a championship game? You’d be hard-pressed to find many guys you’d want under center more than Number 10.
Why It Matters Today
As Eli heads toward Hall of Fame eligibility, these two Super Bowl wins are his entire resume. If he hadn't won them, he’d be remembered as a solid, durable starter who stayed with one team for 16 years.
Because he did win them—and because of who he beat—he’s a legend. He's the giant killer. He's the only man to truly haunt the dreams of the Brady-Belichick era.
If you're looking to dive deeper into the stats that define this era, your next step should be comparing the "Clutch Rating" of 2000s-era quarterbacks or watching the full "Helmet Catch" drive to see how many times that season nearly ended before the miracle happened. You can find the full play-by-play breakdowns on the official NFL and Pro Football Reference archives to see exactly how those final drives were engineered.