To suggest that the only man to twice slay the greatest dynasty in NFL history doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot is, quite frankly, indefensible.
It was a brutal gut punch for the Ole Miss fans as they saw the greatest legacy built in Oxford left at the doorstep in Canton.
However, CBS Sports' Douglas Clawson had a reason — three stats to be precise, that try to reason why the greatest product of Ole Miss was denied a Hall Of Fame induction yet again.
"I looked at Manning's yearly ranks among qualified quarterbacks in a variety of stats. The comparisons range from unflattering to shocking. He is nowhere close to a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback when it comes to efficiency measures," Clawson said.
You can deny him his rightful spot in the NFL Hall of Fame. But you can't take away what he means to Giants fans, and what he's done for this game. Eli Manning will forever be my QB! @EliManning #NYGIANTS pic.twitter.com/4mzCkIp347
— Chuck Knoxx (@chuckknoxx) January 28, 2026
Three stats show why Eli Manning wasn't induced in HOF
"First, I looked at EPA per play (expected points added per play). He ranked 18th on average when ranking every season of his 16-year career. That's below average play! It's worse than Derek Carr. Manning finished in the top 10 three times and none in the top five."
"Next up, Pro Football Reference's ANY/A+ (adjusted net yards per pass attempt index). It's a mouthful, but essentially a better version of passer rating that is era adjusted, perfect for comparing Manning to both his peers and quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame. His average annual rank was 17th, or worse than Andy Dalton. The average Hall of Fame QB ranked 10th on an annual basis."
"There's also passer rating for the dinosaurs out there! His average rank was 19th. Worse than Carson Wentz. Ouch. He had zero top-five finishes and just one top-10 finish, in 2011. The average Hall of Fame QB (I looked at 14 to debut since 1969) ranked 10th on an annual basis. None had fewer than five top-10 finishes in their career. In other words, Manning never sniffed consistent greatness in terms of efficiency and that's very far below the bar for a HOFer."
If it is all about stats, than HOF would be nothing more than an excel sheet for the Rebel Nation.
Whatever happened to eye test? egacies? Wasn't that what HOF was actually supposed to be about?
Hall of Fame induction or not, no award would come close to where Eli Manning is for his faithful in Ole Miss.