Never bring it up. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t show up in the conversation.
Eli Manning is the only living defender to have this over Tom Brady – the seemingly ageless wonder heading into the 10th Super Bowl, his first with the Buccaneers. Brady is 6-3 in his previous Super Bowl appearances, all with the Patriots, and the first two losses came at the hands of Manning and the Giants.
With so many (deserved) discussions this week about Brady, 43, being the best he has ever done, Manning will be forever 2-0 against him on the biggest stage.
Not bad.
“It’s one of those things, it’s not something I will ever say or think about much,” Manning told The Post on Tuesday. “I’ve been around Tom many times and never brought a Super Bowl or our games against them. He’s actually bringing it up. It still bothers him a little, especially the one from 07 when they had the chance to come down as the biggest team of all time.
“But I have no right to boast about Tom. This is the 10th Super Bowl and I am so impressed with his entire career. ”
Manning was the MVP of the Super Bowls after the 2007 and 2011 seasons, returning first to Glendale, Arizona, then Indianapolis in the fourth quarter to upset Brady and the Patriots. The only other defender to beat Brady in a Super Bowl is Nick Foles, three years ago. Manning is left alone as a two-time Brady killer.
“I don’t think I took root for him or against him for that reason,” Manning said. “I still watch the game and I usually take root for the defenders in certain situations, especially in the fourth quarter – whoever has the ball, we root it for the defender and root it to provide games.
In Tampa, on February 7, Brady and the Buccaneers face Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Brady, in a place unknown to him, is the most inanimate.
“It’s really impressive what Tom has been able to do,” said Manning, who is involved in Frank’s RedHot Big Pour challenge to raise $ 100,000 for Tackle Kids Cancer. “Just the fact, the change of teams after 20 years, with only one team in which you were so successful and you go to a new team, a new city, a new state during a pandemic, where you have a short off-season and different rules and get pretty much the same results. Going back to a Super Bowl, at 43, yes, it’s so impressive. It was hard to believe it would be possible. Obviously, he has a special behavior and a special ability to get the boys to gather around him. ”
Manning does not make predictions, but he offered this, insofar as he won the Super Bowl 2021: Every team and defender has the last ball.
“Usually,” Manning said, “that’s how it works with these guys.”
He should know.