Eli Manning vs. Ben Roethlisberger: Who Ya Got?

Quarterbacks Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger are two of the best offensive players of their generation.

Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger will forever be linked for as long as we evaluate their careers and remember the draft class from 2004. Manning, of course, was the first-overall pick of that draft, but he and his family orchestrated a move from the San Diego Chargers to the New York Giants. While the Chargers landed Philip Rivers, among other talents, the Giants unquestionably won that trade.

What’s interesting, nearly 13 years after the fact, is that the Giants could’ve had Roethlisberger without giving anything up to get him. Roethlisberger fell past the Chargers, the Giants and all the way down to No. 11 and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, Big Ben “thought it was a possibility” the Giants would draft him.

Things worked out rather well for all involved.

Both Manning and Roethlisberger are two-time Super Bowl champions. Both are responsible for some memorable Super Bowl moments that will live on via highlight-reel packages decades after they call time on their careers. Both will, at some point between now and 2030, be stars of ceremonies held at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It’s easy to forget the two are different in a plethora of ways.

Manning has been a mainstay in the New York lineup since taking over for Kurt Warner back in the fall of 2004 and—knock on wood for all you Giants fans out there—hasn’t missed a start since. Roethlisberger, meanwhile, has suffered numerous injuries over the years, so much so that he has missed at least one regular season game in six of the eight past seasons.

Roethlisberger’s massive frame—he’s built more like a linebacker than a quarterback—and his willingness to remain in the pocket and take punishment has probably taken seasons off of his career. Manning has a reputation for going to ground and living to fight another down whenever he sees he has no chance against oncoming pass-rushes.

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Roethlisberger has made more playoff appearances, in part because he has played for better teams over the past decade. According to Pro-Football-Reference,com, Roethlisberger currently possesses 17 postseason starts on his resume. Manning hasn’t started a playoff game since the Giants defeated the New England Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday back in February 2012.

Manning, however, has the better playoff winning percentage. According to The Football Database, Manning owns the best postseason winning percentage among active quarterbacks. Manning has a playoff record of 8-3, while Roethlisberger has won 11 of his 17 postseason starts.

Outside of the events surrounding his going to the Giants back in 2004, Manning is one of the least-controversial athletes of his time. Roethlisberger, on the other hand, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that could’ve cost him his career back in 2006. Moreover, multiple women accused Roethlisberger of sexual assault years ago. The NFL suspended Roethlisberger in 2010 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Fantasy football aficionados would probably select Roethlisberger over Manning if forced to choose. Roethlisberger produces more consistently, but Manning is more dependable as it pertains to health and reliability. Manning, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, has a slight advantage over Roethlisberger in career passing yards largely because Manning has been on the field more since 2004.

With all that said, one can’t help but realize how similar the two are when looking at the numbers. So long as they remain healthy, both will accumulate over 50,000 total passing yards before they retire. Manning and Roethlisberger are two of the most-clutch quarterbacks in NFL history. Via Pro-Football-Reference.com, Manning owns a 30-27 lead in fourth-quarter comebacks.

Roethlisberger has beaten every team in the NFL other than the Steelers (for obvious reasons). Manning, somewhat ironically, still needs to notch victories over the Chargers, the Indianapolis Colts (his brother’s former team) and of course the Giants.

As previously stated, both Manning and Roethlisberger are two-time Super Bowl champions. Manning is a two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, while Roethlisberger has yet to win that award. Both produced all-time great Super Bowl plays that will be mentioned in top-ten lists and in NFL Films productions for the foreseeable future.

Pittsburgh fans likely wouldn’t trade Roethlisberger for Manning. They’d tell you Big Ben is the perfect quarterback to face AFC North opponents and play December and January home games in Pittsburgh. Perhaps they’d mention all of those “Bad Eli” moments we’ve witnessed over the years as reasons for why they’d take Roethlisberger over Manning in a heartbeat.

Passionate Big Blue supporters wouldn’t trade Manning for Roethlisberger in any instance, though. They could argue a younger version of Roethlisberger wouldn’t have thrived had he lived in the New York City region and been forced to deal with a relentless New York media on a weekly basis. They could point out Manning’s road victory over the Dallas Cowboys, his superior postseason record and even suggest Manning would have better overall numbers had he played for the Steelers and not the Giants.

Our memories and biases, for those who have followed the two men and the two teams, affect who of the two we’d choose.

Roethlisberger is the toughest quarterback I’ve ever watched play at any level of the sport. The man has taken beating after beating. And yet he has always returned to the lineup and to the field regardless of the severity of the injury. Nobody could blame Big Ben if he hung his cleats up after this season, even though he probably still has plenty left in the tank.

Manning is football royalty because of his family history and his on-the-field contributions, and he is also one of the most unappreciated players in NFL history. It sometimes feels some observers and even pockets of New York fans take for granted that Manning is the greatest quarterback in the long history of the Giants and also that there isn’t a close second to Eli.

No disrespect meant to Mr. Rivers, but the Giants chose wisely in 2004.

Such pieces and similar arguments that aired on ESPN leading up to the Dec. 4 showdown involving the Giants and Steelers are meant to drive clicks and generate arguments and discussions. There is something entertaining about imagining a world where Roethlisberger features for the Giants and Manning is forced to wear those ridiculous Pittsburgh bumblebee throwback jerseys at least once per season (there’s a task for you Photoshop masters to undertake).

The real winner of any “Manning vs. Roethlisberger” debate is the team lucky enough to be in such a situation. Either way, you’re getting a quarterback who will lead a club to two championships and who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Give me Manning or Roethlisberger for my team any day of the week.

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