Is C.J. Stroud right to want Eli Manning’s career more than Aaron Rodgers’?

National Football League

Published Jun. 5, 2024 5:19 p.m. ET

One of the most common debates in sports is what matters more when evaluating a player’s greatness — individual accolades or team success.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud indicated his preference when he said Eli Manning’s career over Aaron Rodgers‘ during an appearance on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast.

“You want the rings, dog. … Eli got two,” Stroud said.

Of course, Rodgers has had an accomplished career as well. He’s won four MVPs and has a Super Bowl title himself, holding a résumé that’s arguably one of the few best in NFL history. The only area where Manning has Rodgers beat is Super Bowl wins, as he led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl victories in his career.

While Super Bowl wins seem to be what matters the most to Stroud, there is some pushback to what he said, even if Manning has more rings than Rodgers. FOX Sports analyst and panelist on FS1’s “SPEAK” James Jones, who was Rodgers’ teammate with the Green Bay Packers for seven seasons, vehemently disagreed with Stroud’s assessment of the two players during an appearance on “The Herd.”

“You cannot mention Aaron Rodgers’ name in the same sentence you mention Eli Manning’s name,” Jones said. “They’re not even close as players. You’re talking about a five-time All-Pro to zero [in Manning]. You’re talking about a Super Bowl champion in Aaron Rodgers and an MVP.”

As Jones was making his point, a head-to-head graphic of Rodgers’ and Manning’s career appeared side-by-side. Rodgers had the advantage in every category. He has a better record (148-75-1 to 117-117), completion percentage (65.3 to 60.3) touchdown-to-interception ratio (475-105 to 366-244), passer rating (103.6 to 84.1), more MVPs (four to zero), more All-Pros (five to zero) and more Pro Bowl nods (10-4) than Manning.

“I know C.J. is talking on a podcast, but I’m sure if he’s seen this graphic, he’d change his answer,” Jones said. “This is absolutely crazy. We have a guy who’s going to walk into the Hall of Fame and a guy who has two Super Bowl rings that people [ask], ‘Should he get in?’ When you talk about their careers, you’re talking about a Super Bowl champion, a four-time MVP and we can recognize the numbers on this screen.

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“So, basically, what C.J. Stroud is telling me is, ‘Give me Trent Dilfer over Dan Marino because he’s got one more Super Bowl ring’ or ‘Give me Joe Flacco over Dan Marino because he has a Super Bowl.’ We’re talking crazy.”

C.J. Stroud would take Eli Manning’s career over Aaron Rodgers’

A common point made by Rodgers’ detractors is his playoff record. He’s 11-10 in 21 career playoff starts, but FOX Sports’ Craig Carton believes the majority of those losses aren’t his fault as he pointed to Manning’s inconsistencies in the postseason.

“In his playoff career, Aaron Rodgers averaged 28 points per game,” Carton said on “The Carton Show.” “Their defense failed him, year after year after year in the postseason. Do you want to put some of that on him because he’s the franchise quarterback who won four MVPs? He takes some of it. Absolutely, he has to take some of that blame.

“In Eli Manning’s Hall of Fame career, and it’s really fascinating, do you know how many playoff wins he had in all the other years in his career outside of the two years he won the Super Bowl? Zero. Not a single playoff win in any year other than the two years he won the Super Bowl and he won Super Bowl MVP. That’s almost impossible to do that. And yet, Eli Manning did it.”

C.J. Stroud “wants to be like Eli Manning and not Aaron Rodgers”

As nearly every single stat outside of Super Bowl wins suggests that Rodgers has had a better career than Manning, Stroud isn’t the only one who believes the former Giants quarterback was more successful. One of Manning’s longtime pass catchers — “Carton Show” panelist Plaxico Burress, who caught the game-winning touchdown from Manning in Super Bowl XLII, came to his defense.

“He was just money good when it counted,” Burress said. “That’s all that matters. You get into the tournament, you handle your business and you do what you’re supposed to do. Because of that, he’s going to be one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever played.”

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