In the regular season Peyton Manning is far better than Eli, whose regular seasons are inconsistent and unspectacular. But in the postseasons I don't think there's any doubt that Eli has been the better quarterback.
And this season it looks as though inconsistent and unspectacular could be good enough to win the NFC East.
Peyton, more often than not, has come up small in the playoffs. See 1999-2005, 2010, and last year. In baseball terms, Peyton is "Mr. May," which is the snarky nickname George Steinbrenner once used to describe Dave Winfield. I would call Peyton "Mr. Regular Season."
Eli has two Super Bowl rings. The first came against a team that was 3 minutes from having a perfect 19-0 season. His second ring was earned by calmly making great throws in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl and having a fabulous playoff run.
Edit: Eli also has two of the most iconic throws in SB history. He threw a rope along the sidelines in his most recent SB. Of course, he engineered one of the most amazing plays in a Super Bowl, where he nearly was sacked, threw the ball up for grabs, and it was caught against the WR's helmet.
This season is wide open. The NFC seems stronger with teams like SF, Seattle, Atlanta, & New Orleans. The AFC is experiencing a change of the recent guard as teams like New England and Pittsburgh are getting old. And not since 1999's Denver Broncos have I seen a defending Super Bowl champion have such a roster upheaval than the Baltimore Ravens. Houston, Denver and perhaps Indy & Cincinnati all have the talent to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. But each of these teams have flaws. If I had to pick an AFC team, it would be Denver. But all it takes is another bad Peyton Manning playoff game and the Broncos could be on the outside looking in.
