Eli Manning knows that coming into Sunday's New York Giants home-opener, he'll have to go through his brother Peyton Manning in order to get his team back on track in Week 2 when the Giants take on the Denver Broncos, but the Giants quarterback also remembers a time when he wasn't sure if Peyton would ever be the same again after a debilitating neck injury.
"I knew it would get better with time," Eli Manning told ESPN. "But after several surgeries and you're dealing with nerves -- you didn't know how quickly [he would recover]. That was the scary thing for him -- he didn't know how quickly it would get better."
Peyton Manning underwent fusion surgery on his neck two years ago and had to wait for his nerves to regenerate. He was nervous he wouldn't be the same quarterback after missing the entire 2011 season. Last year, Peyton Manning showed that he had nothing to be nervous about, when he returned to the NFL and threw for 4,659 yards with a career-high 68.6 completion percentage while throwing for 37 touchdowns compared to just 11 interceptions.
His brother Eli wasn't too shabby either, as he took charge for the Giants with 3,498 passing yards and a 59.9 completion percentage with 26 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Now, the brothers will square off for the third time ever in the Giants home-opener at MetLife Stadium. According to ESPN, it's the first time in NFL history that two starting quarterbacks will face each other coming off 400-yard passing games--add in the fact that they're brothers, and the storylines and intrigue for this game continues to grow.
Yet two years ago, it seemed as though this matchup would never occur again. Peyton Manning missed the entire 2011 season and was subsequently released by the Indianapolis Colts, and speaking with ESPN, Eli can distinctly remember having a catch with his brother that year and feeling something very different with Peyton's throws.
"It just wasn't the same ... it was frustrating and scary for him," Eli Manning said per ESPN. "He would look at me and say, 'What looks wrong? Why is it coming out without any pop?"
There will be no shortness of pop when the brothers square off two years later following a vigorous rehabilitation for Peyton in 2011 that got him ready for 2012, his first season with Denver. Peyton Manning is coming off of a game where he tied an NFL single-game record by throwing seven touchdown passes in the Broncos (1-0) blowout defeat of the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens last Thursday while also throwing for 462 yards.
"He's obviously back and full throttle," Eli Manning said, according to ESPN. "After seven touchdowns, there isn't any doubt. And maybe there wasn't after 40 touchdowns last year. You know, he never ceases to amaze me."
Eli Manning threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns while throwing three interceptions in Week 1, but New York (0-1) ultimately dropped its season-opening matchup with the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday night and are looking to get back on track. It will be a tall task as the Giants are playing a Broncos team that made the defending champions look terrible.
"All you can do now is hope [Peyton] has gotten it all out of his system," Eli Manning half-joked to ESPN.
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