Last Updated:8:47 AM, November 1, 2012
Posted:1:26 AM, November 1, 2012
Eli and Ben. Whom would you have built your franchise around eight-plus years ago and whom would you rather have today?
Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger entered the NFL as members of the same 2004 draft class and they might someday go to Canton together in the same Hall of Fame class given their remarkable career accomplishments.
Because of NFL scheduling and the fact they play in different conferences, the two will meet for only the third time Sunday when the Giants play the Steelers at MetLife Stadium.
But they will forever be linked because of when they were drafted and the wild way that draft went down with the Giants shrewdly maneuvering to acquire Manning but prepared to pick Roethlisberger if they didn’t land their Mann.
Mostly, the two quarterbacks will be linked because of how they’ve performed since that draft, both forging himself as the face of their respective franchises and each having won two Super Bowl championships.
“Early on, for me it was more wanting to do better than him,’’ Roethlisberger said. “I don’t want to say [there was] animosity, but he was the No. 1 pick, and as a guy that’s not picked No. 1 or anytime someone’s picked ahead of you, you want to beat that guy out.’’
By helping the Steelers win the Super Bowl in his second season, Roethlisberger did just that early in his career. Manning’s struggles in his first three seasons further solidified Roethlisberger’s edge in his personal competition.
But, in step with what has become Manning’s career calling card, he’s a better closer.
So after spending his first three seasons in the wilderness of inconsistency while Roethlisberger took the express elevator to the elite floor, Manning has led the Giants to two Super Bowl titles in the last five years. He has overtaken Roethlisberger in the big picture despite the fact that Roethlisberger continues to play at a high level.
There isn’t a quarterback in the league playing better than Manning when it matters.
“I think it’s a fair assessment to call both of them winners,’’ Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “Both guys have been to the big dance and delivered. That’s what this profession is about. That’s what that position, particularly, is about.’’
There are similarities to the routes Manning and Roethlisberger have taken to their successes, but they’ve done it with contrasting styles — both on and off the field.
Off the field, Roethlisberger has twice been accused of rape and, after the second incident, was suspended for four games by the NFL. He, too, once nearly killed himself in a motorcycle accident.
By contrast, Manning, who’s married to his college sweetheart, makes as much news off the field as your neighborhood pastor, with little evidence he’s ever even gotten a parking ticket.
On the field, while Roethlisberger has been lauded for his toughness for playing with injuries, it is Manning who owns the longest current streak for consecutive games started with 137 (including postseason).
While Roethlisberger has a reputation for being elusive in the pocket and difficult to take down, Manning has made some of the greatest plays of his career extricating himself from heavy pass rushes.
“I don’t think Eli is quite as elusive as I am, but he is very slippery,’’ Roethlisberger said. “He gets out of a lot of sacks — as we’ve seen in Super Bowls, making plays down the field and keeping plays alive. I don’t think he gets enough credit for that.’’
Roethlisberger and the Steelers won the first meeting between the two, a 33-30 win in 2004 at Giants Stadium when both were rookies. When they met in 2008 in Pittsburgh, Manning and the Giants won 21-14.
Where the personal rivalry goes from here will be shaped by Sunday’s result. The Giants are 6-2 and on the verge of running away with the NFC East. The Steelers are 4-3 and in the middle of the muddled mix in the AFC.
“I think they’re still writing the story,’’ Tomlin said. “Those guys are at a sweet point in their careers where they’re both experienced and still in their primes. I’m sure they’re excited about continuing to write that script.’’
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com
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