Tony Romo (AP)
THE WINNER: The Post’s Steve Serby says it’s no contest: Giants quarterback Eli Manning is better than the Cowboys’ Tony Romo (inset). (
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This is how the Packers feel every week about Aaron Rodgers, how the Patriots feel every week about Tom Brady, how the Saints feel every week about Drew Brees.
It is how the Giants feel now about Eli Manning.
In the most important game of the season, at the most important position, the Giants are certain they have the edge.
They are the ones with the elite quarterback.
They are the ones with the big-game quarterback.
They are the ones with the quarterback with the Super Bowl ring.
Tony Romo? Good quarterback. Dangerous quarterback.
Tony Romo has no ring.
Tony Romo has won one playoff game.
Tony Romo isn’t the fourth-best quarterback in the NFL, behind Rodgers, Brady and Brees.
Eli Manning is.
Because Manning has had to integrate a new wide receiver and tight end, his offensive linemen still are being introduced to one another (Mr. Boothe, meet Mr. Petrus) and he endured nearly a month without Ahmad Bradshaw, I rank him ahead of No. 5, Ben Roethlisberger.
Just as the Packers wanted Rodgers with the ball at the end of the game last week, the Giants want Manning with the ball at the end of the game Sunday night at Cowboys Stadium.
They fully expect him to be a Mann among Boys in what very well could be a shootout with Romo at the Jerry Jones Corral, given Big Blue’s struggles in recent weeks against the Eagles’ Vince Young, Brees and Rodgers.
“It’ll be great, man, if it comes down to it and we’re gonna come blow for blow and going back and forth as far as points and scoring,” receiver Victor Cruz said, “and going back and forth and so be it, I think we’re up to that challenge.”
It isn’t as if Cruz has no faith in the Giants’ defense. It’s simply that it’s every game-breaker’s dream, to light up the scoreboard and fight fire with fire if need be.
I asked Cruz: “Why do you like your quarterback in that scenario?”
“’Cause he’s been in a lot of those situations before, he understands what’s expected, he understands how to play in those tough moments and he’s comfortable with having all the pressure on his shoulders and doing what he has to do to win,” Cruz said.
“So you’ve got the edge at that position in ths game?”
“I feel like I do. … I feel like we do, definitely,” Cruz said.
Manning reminded the Giants why they call him Easy E when he stared down Tom Brady again in Foxborough, and wished he could have gotten one more chance in overtime against Rodgers and the Packers.
I said to tight end Jake Ballard: “If there’s a shootout, you won’t mind having him on your side.”
“Absolutely not,” Ballard said, “I think that’s one of the strengths of our offense in two-minute, is No. 10.”
Manning’s career year has been instrumental in helping Cruz and Ballard come out of nowhere to shock the world.
“We just need to keep giving him time, and he’s gonna do what he does, and that’s win games,” Ballard said.
His teammates respect Manning for talking the talk in the summer about considering himself in Brady’s class and walking the walk the way he has (23 touchdowns, 11 interceptions).
“Everybody last week was talking about Aaron Rodgers and being the Super Bowl MVP and all that stuff, and he’s a great quarterback and he’s having an unbelievable year, but we have the same thing on our side and behind us,” lineman David Diehl said. “I laugh because at the beginnng of the season when he compared himself in the same caliber. He got a lot of heat for that, and everybody said, ‘Oh. How can he do that?’ I thought it was awesome because it showed the confidence that he has in himself and the work ethic that he has and his determination to be the best quarterback out on the field.”
If not the coolest, calmest and most collected.
“He’s playing at his best because he’s just got such a great understanding of our offense,” Diehl said.
Romo has been heroic at times, exhibiting true grit when he outlasted the 49ers with a punctured lung and fractured rib, and magic and moxie at the end against the Dolphins. He is less frequently the little girl with the curl. Moments such as throwing Opening Night away to Darrelle Revis, and failing to call timeout in the last 30 seconds before Dallas coach Jason Garrett’s ill-fated clock management led to Dan Bailey’s missed 49-yard field goal in Sunday’s overtime loss at Arizona keep him from elite status.
Romo will be helped by the expected return of Miles Austin, and a game plan that doesn’t abandon rookie DeMarco Murray (12 carries against the Cardinals), particularly with fullback Tony Fiametta also due back.
“The mindset is looking ahead,” Manning said. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done last week or what your record is. It’s what you’re playing for, who you have this week. And you have Dallas, Sunday night football, that’s a big one.”
Manning beat the Cowboys in the 2007 divisional playoffs — when Romo was intercepted in the end zone by R.W. McQuarters — and has thrown for over 300 yards in each of his two victories at Cowboys Stadium.
“Giants fans right away let you know at the beginning of the season, ‘Hey, make sure you take care of the Cowboys,’ ” Diehl sad.
Manning was asked about Antrel Rolle’s latest playoff guarantee.
“I like the confidence, and obviously that’s the way he feels,” Manning said. “That’s the way we need to play.”
It’s the way the Giants need him to play, starting Sunday night, and the rest of the way.
As a Mann among Boys.