What was up with the face? NFL quarterback Eli Manning explained his stoic reaction to older brother Peyton Manning‘s Super Bowl-clinching touchdown drive during the big game on Sunday, February 7, and it has nothing to do with sibling rivalry.
The New York Giants quarterback, 35, was captured on Sunday looking apathetic and slightly upset inside the Manning family suite at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, after his brother, 39, secured the 2016 championship for the Denver Broncos against the Carolina Panthers. His reaction was a huge contrast from how the rest of Peyton’s family members (including their oldest brother Cooper) cheered and got super excited.
Eli told TMZ on Monday that he was in full quarterback mode when the moment went down. “I was just focused on whether they’d go for two,” he explained. “And uh, the defense had to step up and make some stops.”
The athlete also said he was amused by the viral memes of his Super Bowl face. “Uh, yeah,” the star said with a smile. “It’s all good stuff.”
Prior to the big game, Eli spoke affectionately about his older brother’s 19-year career in the NFL. “He’s kind of changed the game,” the Giants standout said during a press conference last month. “He [has] five MVPs and Super Bowl appearances and won a lot of football games, thrown a lot of touchdowns, and he’s played at a high level for a long, long time.”