Eli Manning’s two Super Bowl runs weren’t enough to get him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first try.
The 2025 Canton class includes Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, cornerback Eric Allen and San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates
But the Giants’ quarterback will need to wait at least one more year, if not more, to don a gold jacket. Because the voters have spoken: this is no sure thing.
Manning, 44, a two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP, obviously has a case based on his postseason heroics and historic place in some of the NFL’s biggest moments.
He and the Giants knocked off the undefeated New England Patriots, 17-14, in Super Bowl XLII to cap the 2007 NFL season. Manning’s final-drive completion to David Tyree for his famous helmet catch still stands as the most remarkable play in Super Bowl history.
Then Manning and the Giants beat Tom Brady and the Patriots again, 21-17, in Super Bowl XLVI to close the 2011 NFL season with another championship ring.
It undercut Manning’s Hall of Fame case, however, that he never won another playoff game outside of those two seasons and only posted a .500 career regular season record at 117-117-0.
He finished with 57,023 passing yards, 366 touchdown passes and 244 interceptions. He reached the postseason six times in 16 years. And he only won in the playoffs on those two magical runs.
Those conflicting realities about Manning’s career have made his case a hotly-debated and controversial one for years, from the local bars of New York City, New Jersey and Long Island to the official voting process that ultimately decides who gets into Canton.
Manning is revered for his clutch gene and performance under pressure in some of the biggest moments of those runs. Tom Coughlin’s New York defense, though, was the backbone of those championship chases.
They held Bill Belichick’s Patriots, who were averaging 36.8 points per game during their undefeated 2007 season, to 14 points to lift the Lombardi Trophy that year.
Not that football isn’t a team game. When judging Manning’s initial effort to qualify for Canton, however, the Hall of Fame voters did not view him as worthy of an obvious nod.