SAN JOSE, Calif. — Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has already picked his brother Eli’s brain about the Panthers. Now, he hopes to spend some time with the Giants quarterback on the Levi’s Stadium field before Sunday’s Super Bowl 50.
Eli Manning will be part of a pregame ceremony honoring all of the living Super Bowl MVPs.
Eli Manning won MVPs with the Giants in Super Bowl 42 and 46. Big brother Peyton will be preparing to face the Panthers when the ceremony happens, but he would like to share the moment with Eli.
“I hope to have a chance to get to see Eli on the field Sunday,” Peyton Manning said Monday night. “They’re honoring all of the living Super Bowl MVPs. Eli will be out there. I don’t know who his stand-in is going to be for his second MVP, but he’s going to need to be in two places. I don’t know what the pregame introductions are like, but I’d love to maybe have the chance to run out there and stand next to him. That would be kind of a neat moment.”
Peyton has tried to pick up some intel on the Panthers from Eli. The Giants fell to the Panthers 38-35 in December, a game remembered mostly for Odell Beckham Jr.’s meltdown. Peyton said the brothers talk about all of their common opponents, and Eli’s tips helped last week against the Patriots.
“Eli gave me some good thoughts on New England and shared some notes. They played a really good game against them,” Peyton said. “They got down early against Carolina and then made a great comeback. Any time you can talk to a quarterback who has played against this defense because this is an unfamiliar opponent.”
The bigger question around Peyton Manning this week is whether Super Bowl 50 will be his final game. An NFL Network report Monday said Manning has told close friends that he is retiring after this game. If so, Manning was not revealing his decision on Monday.
“I haven’t made my mind up,” he said. “I don’t see myself knowing that until after the season. Whatever cliché you want to use, but that kind of stay in the moment and focus on the task at hand and just deal with this week, that’s what I’ve done all season.”
Manning has had a difficult season, filled with injuries and ineffective play. He said he has gotten through it by trying to remain in the moment.
“I’ve really tried to focus on one week and not get too far ahead. That has helped me out a lot,” Peyton said. “I think had I been thinking about things past that it would have affected me. It really has served me well up to this point.
“I’m going to stick with that for one more week. Obviously, I have a big task at hand with the Panthers in the Super Bowl on Sunday. I’m going to stick to that philosophy.”