Peyton Manning is a Super Bowl expert.
With this year’s game only days away, Manning’s rooting interests are not attached to either the Chiefs or the Eagles. But he will be focused on two players: Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts.
“I’m a quarterback defender,” says Manning. “For years, I was in that category of quarterbacks that hadn’t won a Super Bowl. Then I won a Super Bowl, and I left that group on paper, but I never really left the group. I wouldn’t abandon them.”
Neither of the starting QBs in this year’s game is necessarily Super Bowl–needy. Mahomes is seeking his second title, and while Hurts is looking to collect his first, this is only his second season as a starter.
Manning, who coached last week’s Pro Bowl for the AFC—suffering the indignity of losing, 35–33, to his brother, Eli, who coached the NFC—would relish the chance to see a masterpiece under center crafted at this year’s game.
“I have great respect for so many great quarterbacks, and I’ve had the fortune of seeing so many great moments at the Super Bowl,” says Manning. “I saw [Brett] Favre win down in New Orleans, I saw [Joe] Montana beat the Broncos in New Orleans, I saw Eli win twice and I played in four of them, too. I’ve been to the last two, and I’ll be there this year.
“But like I said, I’m a quarterback defender. It doesn’t necessarily mean you weren’t great if you didn’t win a Super Bowl. If you’re on a team that was good enough to win it, then you should be grateful for that. It’s not just about you. So I’m a defender of a guy like Dan Marino. He was my favorite quarterback. I don’t think any less of him because he didn’t win a Super Bowl. It’s so different in football. Every playoff game is a Game 7. You think the Bengals wouldn’t beat the Chiefs if they played again? I promise you they would.”
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For those seeking more Manning in their life, he is hosting History’s Greatest of All Time With Peyton Manning, which counts down the top 10 across a single category, from sports stadiums to titans of industry.
“You hear the term ‘GOAT’ all the time, so these are some fascinating lists of the greatest stadiums, sports cars, inventions, dynamic duos,” says Manning, who is also an executive producer for the show. “I wasn’t privy to the voting of the lists, so I was finding out the rankings as I was doing the show. I remember thinking, How can that not be in? or How can that be No. 1? There were some great panelists. I’m looking forward to the arguments that will come out of this.”
Top 10 lists—and the debates surrounding them—can fluster even the calmest individual. Since it felt like Manning was missing out on some of the fun by not making his own list, that is exactly what we asked him to do: provide his list of the top quarterbacks to ever win a Super Bowl. “It’s hard to do that,” says Manning, sounding a lot like the experts on his new show. We settled for three.
“I’ll go with the three games I saw in person. I can still remember Favre taking his helmet off and running across the field. Montana was just on fire against the Broncos, and I think Eli’s game against the Patriots was obviously a magical moment.”
All of those quarterbacks—Favre, Montana, and Eli Manning—delivered impressive showings in the games he listed. Favre overcame an underrated Patriots team at Super Bowl XXXI. Montana was practically perfect against the Broncos at Super Bowl XXIV, setting a record at the time by throwing for five touchdowns. And, of course, Eli Manning’s performance at Super Bowl XLII kept the Tom Brady–led Patriots from an unprecedented 19–0 season.
“That was very special, watching my brother win,” Manning says. “We’d just won the Super Bowl the year before, but I had just as much enjoyment and satisfaction watching Eli perform in that game. I remember I got there early to watch the pregame warmups, and I remember watching all the way to the last touchdown pass to Plaxico [Burress]. Certainly, a very proud moment.”
On the subject of Brady, Manning did share fond memories of when his Colts defeated the Patriots, 38–34, in the AFC championship in January 2007 en route to his first Super Bowl.
“We were at home [in the AFC championship] and overcame a team that had been beating us the last couple years, and we did it in dramatic fashion,” says Manning. “I can still remember the adrenaline and the pulse of the city. That was a special night, and we finished it off two weeks later with a championship.”
The Colts then defeated the Bears, 29–17, at Super Bowl XLI, with Manning winning the MVP.
“It was nice not to have to answer that question anymore, ‘Do you think you can lead a team to a championship?’” says Manning. “I thought I could, and then we did it. There’s still a bond with that team and the fans who were with us, too.”
Listening to Manning discuss football must have been what it was like to hear Albert Einstein break down physics. His knowledge and appreciation of the game are unrivaled, even if his list stirs controversy. Manning hopes that spirit of debate carries over to History’s Greatest of All Time.
“It’s meant to be watched with others and debated,” says Manning. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
