Eli Manning engineered two of the most epic Super Bowl upsets in NFL history, but he was never known for putting up gaudy numbers. The only major QB category he ever led the NFL in was interceptions (three times). Still, the younger Manning certainly had his juggernaut moments.
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One of those came in 2015, which was something of a career year for Manning individually. He set career highs in TDs (35) and passer rating (93.6), and earned the fourth and final Pro Bowl nod of his career. The centerpiece of his big campaign was a midseason matchup with the New Orleans Saints, which, in true Giants fashion, New York lost … despite an all-time performance from their QB.
Going into the game, the Giants were 4-3 and right in the thick of things. They had won four of their last five and seemed to be on a bit of a roll, thanks in large part to Odell Beckham Jr.‘s impressive follow-up to his epic rookie season in 2014.
The Saints, meanwhile, were trying to bounce back after a rough 7-9 season the year before, tied for their worst mark in the Drew Brees era. Entering this Week 8 matchup at 3-4, they had won three of their last four. Neither team was dominating the standings, but they put on an all-time show at the Superdome on November 1.
Manning, Giants record-breaking day ends in heartbreak
OBJ scored on a two-yard strike from Manning to get the scoring started about five minutes into the game, and we were off to the races. Drew Brees answered with two TD passes before Manning evened things at 14-14 with another short throw to Beckham.
A couple more Brees touchdowns to Marques Colston and Willie Snead made it 28-14 before another two-yard pass, this time to Shane Vereen, brought New York back within one score.
The third quarter picked up right where the first half left off. Just two minutes in, Manning found OBJ in the end zone for the wideout’s third TD of the game (Manning’s fourth), this one from 50 yards out. Once again, Brees responded with two more TD passes of 21 and 20 yards to Brandin Cooks and Ben Watson to make it 42-28 Saints.
Two quick TD tosses to Dwayne Harris from Manning tied the game again at 42 with over nine minutes left. Manning had now thrown six touchdown passes, and his team still wasn’t ahead.
Thankfully, Brees threw his second interception of the day a couple of minutes later, which was returned 63 yards for a 49-42 Giants lead. But Brees marched right back down the field on a seven-minute drive to throw his seventh TD pass, tying it again with just 36 seconds remaining.
Unfortunately, the Giants then went three-and-out. And after a big punt return that included a 15-yard facemask penalty, the Saints were set up for the game-winning field goal from 50 yards out. Kai Forbath nailed it as time expired.
The Giants won their next game but then dropped six of their final seven to finish 6-10. The Saints didn’t fare much better. This thrilling win brought them to 4-4, but they went on to lose four straight, falling out of the playoff race and finishing 7-9.
The 101 combined points are tied for fourth-most in NFL history. And interestingly enough, in a game that featured 14 TDs, none came via a rushing score. In the end, Eli Manning threw for 350 yards and six touchdowns, and still lost the game. Even in defeat, Manning couldn’t help but be proud of his offense’s effort, which included 130 yards and three TDs from OBJ.
“Happy about the way the offense responded in being down a few times and firing back and tying the game up and taking the lead. A lot of good things. … Proud of the way we fought, but obviously would have been nice to get a victory.”
Eli Manning became the first (and he remains the only) QB in NFL history to throw for six touchdowns and zero interceptions and still lose the game. But when you really think about it, it does make some sense. Eli had some of the greatest NFL luck during his two Super Bowl runs. So it’s fair that he got the bad end of the stick once in a while.
