Eli Manning did it again.
The New York quarterback again channeled John Elway. He won his duel with counterpart Tom Brady in the waning seconds as the Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday in Indianapolis.
By beating the Patriots in the final minute for his second championship in five seasons, Manning stakes his claim as the best Giants quarterback ever and a probable Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Not only that, it’s arguable he’s in the same class as his older brother Peyton.
Amazing.
Eli Manning’s poise was remarkable. Down 17-15 with 3:46 remaining, Manning opened with a 38-yarder to Mario Manningham. He hit Manningham again for 16 and 2 yards and Hakeem Nicks for 14. The Giants finished with a short pass to Nicks and three red zone runs.
So much for Brady being the next Joe Montana or Terry Bradshaw. The 34-year-old remains one title behind both of them, falling to 3-2 in Super Bowls after two straight losses to Manning.
Indeed, in some respects Manning can be considered the best quarterback in the game. He doesn’t put up the numbers of Brady or Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers or New Orleans’ Drew Brees, but no one can beat Manning’s flair for happy endings.
The Super Bowl is more than the game, though. Spread among all the dramatic moments are the commercials.
The Skechers ad featuring the dog race was the best spot even though Mark Cuban appeared at the end. The runner-up was the Audi commercial in which the partying vampires were vaporized by the car’s headlights. Clint Eastwood’s opus on America’s rise gets the bronze.
At $100,000 a second, commercials should be awesome. But that wasn’t always the case this year. Budweiser threw in two clunkers with its early Bud Lite ads. The one with Coke’s polar bears was also so-so. Really, about half the ads were so-so.
But you had to love the naked M&Ms. The commercial with Elton John and Flava Flav for Pepsi was a hit, as was the ad with the Chevrolet Silverado surviving the 2012 apocalypse — but not Ford. That Chevy used Barry Manilow was a real surprise.
David Beckham underwear? How much do you want to bet they don’t make them in my size?
Madonna’s halftime show was easily the best of recent Super Bowl acts. Who thought the Material Girl would be a safe choice? It had a taste of Las Vegas and a good mix of old and new music. She didn’t even sing “Like a Virgin.” The pop icon showed NFL owners they don’t need to hire geezer acts — even if Madonna is a baby boomer.
Next year’s halftime performer has to be Lady Gaga. Then again, New York is already gaga over Manning surpassing Joe Namath as the city’s greatest quarterback ever. At age 31, Manning has time to surpass Brady and maybe catch Montana and Bradshaw.
That is, if two more Super Bowls come down to the end.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
