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Peyton Manning Retirement: Eli Manning Would Need 7 More Seasons To Catch Big Brother

By Neal Lynch

May 4, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning watch the game between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
May 4, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning watch the game between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Sunday, news outlets reported Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning would officially announce his retirement on Monday. Monday came and Peyton held his press conference, delivering arguably the best retirement speech of all-time. By now, you’ve probably seen the tribute video narrated by New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning in which Eli emphasized family before football, but also highlighted Peyton’s numerous, seemingly unbreakable records.

For quite some time, the debate of who’s better – Eli or Peyton – has raged on, with the consensus landing on Peyton. But, with Eli believing he could play into his 40s, what would it take for Eli to surpass his record-setting brother?

At age 35, Eli has played 12 seasons, starting 183 consecutive games. Through 12 seasons, Peyton had started 192 consecutive games. Thus far, when compared to Peyton through 12 seasons in 9 fewer games, Eli has almost 600 fewer completions on around 300 fewer attempts, 72 fewer touchdowns, nearly 6,000 fewer passing yards, 18 MORE interceptions, taken 92 more sacks for 745 more yards, 8 less fourth quarter comebacks, and 11 less game winning drives.

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Eagles Nation still despises Eli Manning despite so much time passing
Eagles Nation still despises Eli Manning despite so much time passing /

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    • Eli would need a little more than five full seasons to catch Peyton for number of games started. Could Eli reach his brother’s numbers in five full seasons? Odds are… probably not. Eli would have to average 30 completions on 39 attempts for 347 passing yards and three passing touchdowns PER GAME over that time.

    What about six full seasons? Well, it’s a little more with reach. Eli would have to complete 25 passes on 33 attempts for 289 passing yards and 2.6 passing touchdowns per game. Still, those figures far exceed Eli’s averages.

    So, what does Eli average per game? If we’re including his abysmal rookie season in 2004, Eli’s stat line per game looks like 19 of 32 for 230 passing yards, 1.53 passing touchdowns and 1 interception. If we remove his rookie season, Eli’s average stat line would be 20 of 34 for 245 passing yards, 1.64 touchdowns against 1.1 interceptions.  If Eli maintains that average over the next seven full seasons, he’ll have a shot at catching his brother and possibly surpassing him.

    Seven seasons. The year will be 2022. Eli will be 41 years old. And, if he starts every game in that span, he’ll still be two games shy of Brett Favre’s regular season record of 297. Right now, Eli is 25 regular seasons starts shy of Peyton’s number (208) and is the active leader in that category. Once Eli hits Peyton’s level, that would be good enough for 10th all-time.

    Of course, even if Eli is able to achieve the feat of passing his brother, there will always be those party poopers who note it took Eli two more years on Earth and one more full season to do it.

    Do you think Eli can do it?

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