Top 20 quarterback performances in Super Bowl history

MIAMI, FL - January 14, 1968: Quarterback Bart Starr #15 of the Green Bay Packers turns to hand the ball off against the Oakland Raiders during Super Bowl II at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The Packers won the game 33-14. Starr played for the Packers from 1956-71. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

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Mar 24, 2008 – Glendale, Arizona, USA – New England Patriots against New York Giants BRANDON JACOBS and ELI MANNING during Super Bowl XLII. The Giants won 17-14. (Photo by Bob Leverone/Sporting News via Getty Images) /

10. Eli Manning, Super Bowl XLII

If you look purely at numbers, this performance wouldn’t belong on the list. Eli Manning had a good game for the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, completing 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Those numbers are like Starr’s in Super Bowl I, which we ranked 20th on the list. What the stats don’t provide, however, is context. Context is king in explaining why Manning’s effort in Super Bowl XLII is historic.

Manning and the Giants were a wild card team in 2007, winning three road playoff games just to get to the Super Bowl. Standing on the other side of the field were Brady and Belichick, who had gone 3-0 in Super Bowls to this point, and the 18-0 New England Patriots.

The Giants entered this game as 12.5 point underdogs, and they stayed in it thanks to their defense, giving Manning a chance to pull out a win. Manning put the Giants ahead early in the fourth but had to watch on the sideline as Brady drove the Pats down to take the lead with 2:42 to go.

What happened next went down in the history books. Manning led the Giants on a remarkable drive, complete with David Tyree’s helmet catch (the unforgettable moment of the game) and the go-ahead touchdown to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds to go. That one Giant upset made Manning’s legacy, earning him Super Bowl MVP honors and putting New York in the history books.

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