It’s going to be a different kind of Father’s Day, but Archie Manning is still hoping to get a tie on Sunday when his two boys face each other for the first time as pros.
Eli and the Giants host Peyton and the Colts in the season opener and the first-ever Manning Bowl, and the proud pop isn’t rooting for one over the other.
“A tie,” Archie Manning told The Post yesterday. “And if they each went 14-1-1? I’ll take that.”
The NFL universe will turn its attention to the Manning clash as the highlight of Week One with the royal quarterbacking family of the sport on display in a high-profile sibling rivalry. Archie, who is in town early to help promote a photo contest with Canon and the NFL that will judge the best “Why You Love Football” snapshots, said he admits he’s going to be nervous for both his sons.
“I’m always nervous,” Archie, also a former quarterback, said. “It’s a rough game, especially for the quarterback. I always have empathy for them because it’s a hard position to play.”
His two sons, though, have made playing the most difficult position in professional sports look easy. Peyton reigns as the dominant arm in the game, last year leading Indianapolis to a 14-2 record. He threw for 3,747 yards and 28 touchdowns and a 104.1 rating and got the Colts as far as a divisional loss to the Steelers.
The Giants won the NFC East last season with an 11-5 mark in Eli’s first full season calling signals. Eli, whom the Giants pried away from San Diego at the 2004 draft because of his impeccable pedigree, threw for 3,762 yards last year with 24 TDs, but Big Blue was blanked in a forgettable wildcard loss to the Panthers.
The Manning entourage will be 30-strong at the Meadowlands on Sunday night when the two brothers square off. While Peyton’s Colts have their horseshoes brimming with Super Bowl hopes, Eli’s Giants also have a chance to reach the big game.
When it’s all said and done, the boys could potentially play the first and last games of the season against each other in a wild twist of fate.
Archie, who never played on an elite team like his two sons now command, didn’t want to look that far down the road. “That’s such a long shot,” he said. “They’re trying to make the playoffs. That’s what you do in September.”
