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Alexkid

Manning Brothers Manning Bowl

07:37:07AM Monday,September,20,2010.

INDIANAPOLIS –

Can we now retire the term "Manning Bowl" from the NFL vocabulary? It's not fair to poor Eli.

That shouldn't come as news to anybody who watches the NFL. Yet some people insisted on turning Sunday night's game into a referendum on which of Archie's boys is better at their job.

"It's officially a debate," the New York Post declared.

NBC naturally built up the sibling rivalry, though at least it didn't recycle the promo featuring Peyton and Eli as kids accompanied by "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" being sung by a Justin Bieber sound-alike.

Now they're all grown up, and the debate is officially over. The Giants' most impressive completion Sunday came from Brandon Jacobs, who got so frustrated he chucked his helmet into the stands.

Fortunately for Colts fans, Jacobs head was not still in it. Though it appeared Tom Coughlin was ready to bite it off after the incident.

It was that kind of a night for New York, though why would anybody be surprised? Did we really think Peyton would not rise to a prime-time occasion? After last week's stunner at Houston, that he would let the Colts start 0-2 for the first time since his rookie year?

"This was an important game for us to respond," Peyton said.


As for playing his little brother for only the second time in their NFL careers?

"I was just concentrating on their defense," he said. "That was kind of the approach for me."

Eli was even less into the "Bowl" talk.

"They outplayed us," he said. "That's what it came down to."

The Manning brothers may hock every other consumer product. They have always played down their rivalry, however, mainly because there isn't one.

It's just a marketing hook, and an understandable one given the Manning family Q rating. Besides, Eli knows that if he said he was better than Peyton, everybody west of the Hudson River would double over in laughter.

It's not as if we're talking about Sylvester vs. Frank Stallone. Eli is very good at what he does, but he also benefits from the New York magnifying glass. If he played in Indianapolis, New York media wouldn't even know how to pronounce his name. As it was, the tabloids were billing Sunday as a pivotal battle in the struggle for Manning family supremacy.

"Make no mistake," the Post said. "That title is still very much undecided."

The talking points were that at 34, Peyton might be ready to decline. He threw that killer interception in last year's Super Bowl, leaving him with only one title to show for all his MVPs.

Eli has just as many rings, and he's five years younger. And though he insists there's no rivalry, Sunday was a great platform to show how good he really is.

He never really had a chance, not the way Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis devoured his pass protection. Eli had more yards rushing (six) in the first quarter than he did passing (one).

Meanwhile, Peyton was Peyton. His offensive line betrayed him last week, so the Colts decided instead of throwing it 57 times, they'd try a few handoffs. The balanced attack meant Manning only had to complete 20 of 26 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns.

It also meant father Archie had to watch the Colts tee off on Eli after the Giants fell behind 24-0. His youngest son threw a nice 54-yard touchdown to Mario Manningham (of Manningham Bowl fame) to open the second half. But on the next possession, Eli held onto the ball too long.

Around the end steamrolled Freeney, who knocked the ball loose. Fili Moala recovered at the 1-yard-line and rolled in for the score. The only drama left in the Manning Bowl was waiting to see if Archie would show any emotion.

He couldn't cheer for Peyton because it would show favoritism. He couldn't groan about Eli for the same reason. Nobody ever said it would be easy being the sire of two NFL quarterbacks with a combined contract value of more than $200 million.

All Archie and wife Olivia could do was give Eli a hug after the game. Big Brother did the same.

"I told him I loved him," Peyton said. "I'm proud of him."

He should be since Eli can do a lot of good things on a football field. It's just that anything he can do, Peyton can do better.





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Watched until got tired of the miscues from Giants. *

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