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Could Eli Manning Unseat Cam Newton As NFL MVP?

By Christopher Schwarz

Dec 27, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Giants 49-17. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 27, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Giants 49-17. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jamie Dukes, one of the hosts of NFL HQ on NFL Network, believes that if Cam Newton wants to repeat as the MVP, he has to go through Eli Manning.

Dukes listed New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning as the stiffest competition in the run for Most Valuable Player in 2016. Here’s his explanation:

“Eli Manning could be that guy. Think of the pieces that they’ve had, ‘cause it’s about the pieces they’ve had. Here you have a team that’s desperate, and they’ve been desperate for a while. Eli’s going to put up big numbers… Because he plays in New York, I think that all the attention’s going to be there on him and I think he’s going to have the opportunity to win it.”

While Dukes didn’t give the most thorough analysis on air, he raises an interesting question: could Eli possibly be the NFL’s MVP?

Manning is coming off two of his best statistical seasons under the tutelage of now-head coach Ben McAdoo. In 2015, Manning threw for 4,432 yards, completed 62.6 percent of his passes for a career-high 35 touchdowns.

Newton’s 2015 passing stats are just as impressive. While his 3,837 passing yards are far fewer, he also threw for 35 touchdowns and his completion percentage was just under 60 percent. Newton of course has an element to his game that Manning has never and will never possess: he can run. Cam ran for 636 yards at 4.8 yards a clip and ten touchdowns.

Manning has something that Newton doesn’t though: game-changing receivers. If all goes as planned, Eli will be passing to Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz, who have only been on the field together for six quarters. Odell missed the first four games of his rookie season and Cruz was injured Week 6 that year in the third quarter.

Cruz, Beckham and rookie Sterling Shepard could make a fierce trio with the potential for big plays and lots of yards after the catch. All that obviously depends on if Cruz can stay healthy and Shepard actually pans out, two big ifs.

And then there’s Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer and the rest of the NFL who would like to dethrone Newton as MVP. Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Joe Montana and Jim Brown are the only players to ever repeat as Most Valuable Player.

If Eli were to be named MVP, he would be the first Giant since Lawrence Taylor in 1986 to receive that honor. The only Giants quarterback to be named MVP was Y.A. Tittle in 1963.

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