With Eli Manning going on 37, the “Brother Brawl” debate will arise once more. When Eli decides to hang up his cleats, people will again question who was the better brother.
If you look strictly at the regular season numbers, Peyton is strides ahead of his brother in the competition, even with Peyton being retired and Eli having perhaps a few more years left in him.
Peyton is the all-time leader in passing yards at 71,940. Eli is eighth on that list, but is far below his brother at 48,214, and will not be able to catch him by the time he retires. Peyton is also the all-time leader in passing touchdowns at 539. Eli sits at seventh on that list with 320 and, once again, most likely will not be able to catch his brother’s historic mark.
If you compare quarterback rating between the years 2006 (when QBR first started being recorded) and 2015 (when Peyton retired), Peyton gets the nod there, too; Peyton’s average QBR from 2006-2015 is 76.33, whereas Eli’s is 61.41. In fact, Peyton has the second highest QBR in a season at 87.5, behind only Tom Brady. Eli’s best ever QBR only ranks at 36.
On a broader scale, here’s all the categories Peyton leads his brother in:
Peyton sits at fifth all time in completion percentage at 65.3, and Eli sits at 46 at 59.7
Peyton is fourth all time in yards per game at 270.5 and Eli is fifteenth with 239.9
Eli has a higher interception ratio with at 3.2 percent compared to Peyton’s 2.7 percent
Peyton has 45 fourth-quarter comebacks compared to Eli’s 30
Junior Tony Shaker said, “Peyton is by far the better quarterback. All of his stats exceeds his brother and he retired with two rings, so Giant fans can’t use that as debate on how Eli is better in the postseason.”
If you look at almost any statistical category, Peyton exceeds Eli. However, the place where Eli Manning fans seem to make an argument for him is when it comes to the playoffs.
When you look at the numbers, Eli does match up against his brother a lot better during crunch time. When Eli is needed in the clutch, he comes through.
Sophomore and Giants fan Isaiah Johnston said, “Playoff Peyton can’t touch Playoff Eli.”
Eli’s playoff record is 8-4. Eli has two Super Bowl rings, which were as a wild-card seed, meaning he had to win three playoff games just to make it to the Super Bowl. Eli’s completion percentage increases slightly to 60.5 percent, but his QBR skyrockets to 87.4. However, Eli’s interception ratio rises to 5 percent, his yards per game drops to 234.58.
Peyton’s playoff record is slightly worse at 14-13. Peyton also has 2 rings, with a higher completion percentage at 63.19, and the same QBR as his brother. Peyton, however, has been a much more frequent visitor to the playoffs, making it to the post-season 15 out of his 17 years in the league. Eli, after making it every year from 2005-08, only made it back in 2011 and 2017, but he did win the Super Bowl in 2011.
The proof is in the pudding. Looking at all of the factors, stats during the regular season and playoffs, you make the decision for yourself. Who’s better: Peyton or Eli? Why?