Eli Manning named Super Bowl MVP

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Giants Came Together

Eli Manning joins SportsCenter to discuss his most memorable moment from Super Bowl XLVI, compares Super Bowl XLVI to XLII and Ahmad Bradshaw's go-ahead TD with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.Tags: SportsCenter, Super Bowl XLVI, Giants-Patriots, Pats, Eli, Peyton Manning, Super Bowl XLII, Super Bowl MVP

Giants Came Together

INDIANAPOLIS -- Eli Manning is elite, for sure. A king of comebacks, too. And far, far more than Peyton's little brother now.

Spot-on from beginning to end Sunday night, Eli Manning won his second NFL championship in a four-year span -- and second Super Bowl MVP award -- for coolly, calmly steering the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots with a last-minute touchdown drive.

"We've had a bunch of them this year. We've had some fourth-quarter comebacks," said Manning, 30 for 40 for 296 yards, with one touchdown pass and zero interceptions. "We'd been in those situations, and we knew that we had no more time left. We had to go down and score, and guys stepped up and made great plays."

Led, as usual, by Manning himself.

He opened the game by becoming the first quarterback to complete his first nine attempts in a Super Bowl. And he finished the job by directing the nine-play, 88-yard TD drive that put New York ahead with 57 seconds left.

"That was quite a drive that he was able to put together," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "He deserves all the credit in the world, because he really has put his team on his shoulders all year."

This late drive, so reminiscent of the way New York beat New England in the 2008 Super Bowl with Manning as MVP, started on the Giants' 12, with a little more than 3½ minutes left and the Patriots ahead 17-15. It closed with running back Ahmad Bradshaw easing into the end zone from 6 yards out. The Patriots decided not to contest the run, trying to save some time on the clock for a final drive -- a risky and desperate decision by Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

But New England couldn't get the ball back in the end zone, with Tom Brady's final heave from his 49 falling barely beyond the grasp of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

[+] Enlarge

Rob Tringali for ESPN.comEli Manning earned his second Super Bowl MVP award after lifting the Giants to their second NFL championship in a four-year span.

"We had this goal to finish, finish, finish," Coughlin said, "and win the fourth quarter."

That's precisely when Manning takes over.

In the regular season, he threw an NFL-record 15 TD passes in the final period.

He also led six game-winning drives to bring New York back from fourth-quarter deficits.

"He's become confident over time; kind of grew into it," Manning's father, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie, told The Associated Press after Sunday's game. "I always felt like you have to experience those situations before you become confident. He's certainly had his share."

That's true. Manning's even done it before in the Super Bowl.

Four years ago, he took home his first MVP award after a scoring pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left allowed New York to upset Brady and New England, ruining the Patriots' bid for a perfect season. Back then, Manning got a boost from David Tyree's Velcro-helmet grab on the go-ahead drive. This time, the key play was Mario Manningham's 38-yard, over-the-shoulder catch between two defenders along the sideline, which held up after the Patriots challenged it.

The Giants had trouble putting up points Sunday despite getting into New England's territory on every drive except a kneeldown at the end of the first half.

But Manning kept at it, using eight receivers, led by Hakeem Nicks' 10 catches for 109 yards.

"We just tried to be patient," said Manningham, who finished with five receptions for 73 yards. "Got to be patient with this game. We knew big plays (were) going to come. We just had to take advantage of them."

Manning now is one of only five players in NFL history with multiple Super Bowl MVP awards. He joined the guy he got the better of in the big game yet again, Brady, along with Terry Bradshaw, Bart Starr and Joe Montana (the only player with three). And Manning did it in the House that Peyton Built, the stadium where his Big Bro -- a four-time regular-season MVP but owner of only one Super Bowl title -- plays for the Indianapolis Colts.

"It just feels good to win a Super Bowl. Doesn't matter where you are," said Manning, 10 for 14 for 118 yards in Sunday's fourth quarter.

As he spoke, he clutched the silver Vince Lombardi Trophy.

"I think it's special because of the city here," Archie Manning said. "This city has meant a lot to our family for 14 years, and I've been here all week. The city did a great job, and this building looked beautiful.

"Yes, it is special."

The biggest turnaround of all this season for Manning was the way he brought the Giants back from a 1-5 slump that left them 7-7 and in serious danger of missing the playoffs. But from there, he took them on a season-closing, six-game winning streak.

He finished the postseason with nine TDs and only one interception, solid as could be the whole way.

"I never doubt Eli," Giants safety Kenny Phillips said. "I don't think anyone on this team doubts Eli."

There were, however, some doubters outside the organization, those who wondered aloud what Manning was thinking back in August, before the season got going, when he was honest when asked in an interview whether he considered himself an "elite" quarterback a la Brady.

Manning said simply that he belonged "in that class." But it all became quite a big deal in New York -- shocking, right? -- and he was questioned and criticized for the way he seemed to be portraying himself.

"Certainly, Eli has had a very good season," acknowledged Brady, 27 of 41 for 276 yards, with two TDs and one interception. He completed 16 consecutive passes in one stretch, breaking Joe Montana's Super Bowl record of 13. "He made some great throws there in the fourth quarter."

Manning's father recoiled when asked Sunday whether it's likely he now has two sons headed for the Hall of Fame.

"I don't know anything about the Hall of Fame," he said. "Eli's in his eighth year and I know one thing: He might have said earlier in the year that he belonged with the elite quarterbacks. He will not be saying that he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

"I know Eli well. He is in his eighth year, and I hope he can stay healthy for a long time."

Still, Archie Manning was impressed by how Eli handled himself during the Giants' latest championship comeback.

"He just hung in there," he said. "He was patient, and he had to be patient. He was sacked some early, and it wasn't easy.

"There wasn't anything easy out there. He played like a quarterback needs to play."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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