Who’s the better Manning? Hint: he wears goofy mustaches on TV. {Thanks, AP}

A year ago, Eli Manning was mostly known as Peyton Manning’s goofy, little brother. Reviled by New York fans, dissed by former teammate Tiki Barber and viewed by some around the league as a borderline bust, Eli was the Donnie Wahlberg to Peyton’s Marky Mark. He was Orville Wright. Fredo Corleone. The stoner Baldwin brother who starred in “BioDome.”

You get my point.

Then, out of nowhere, Eli led the Giants on a magical run to Super Bowl XLII, where they “shocked the world” — I can assure you that most Kyrgyzstanis were unfazed — and knocked off the undefeated Patriots.

This summer, Peyton missed training camp and the preseason after twice undergoing surgery on his left knee. The Colts stumbled out of the gate, going 2-2 to start the season. Meanwhile, Eli’s Giants coasted to four straight victories against teams with a combined record of 6-16. Little Eli looked like a new man, turning the ball over just once and completing 64 percent of his passes.

Suddenly, proclaiming that the best of Archie’s boys was Eli, not Peyton, became all the rage on the Internet, with reputable writers such as ESPN’s Gregg Easterbrook and Yahoo! Sports’ Roy S. Johnson steering the bandwagon. Seriously? Slow news days, guys? What a joke.

With all apologies to Eli — who has become an upper-echelon quarterback — Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the National Football League, and he showed that Sunday against the Ravens.

Peyton picked apart the top-ranked pass defense in the NFL, completing 19 of 28 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns. His passer rating was a season-best 134.7, which was approximately 245 points higher than Joe Flacco’s (OK, I kid. Flacco’s was 57).

Peyton’s masterful performance against the tough, resurgent Ravens defense was impressive to watch. Just ask Chris McAlister, who had a great view of Marvin Harrison as the 36-year-old receiver blew by him for a 67-yard touchdown five minutes into the game. That was an easy throw for Peyton — heck, Cooper Manning probably could have completed that one — but his other throws were significantly more awe-inspiring.

His gorgeous, over-the-shoulder touchdown toss to Reggie Wayne, who had Corey Ivy all over him like R. Kelly on a teenage fan (allegedly), gave the Colts a 14-0 lead and pretty much sealed Baltimore’s fate before the end of the first quarter. Early in the third quarter, Peyton fired a 34-yard strike to Wayne between a pair of Ravens defensive backs and the left sideline. I’d like to see one of the NFL’s 31 other starting quarterbacks fit that throw in there. Twenty bucks says Eli couldn’t do it, at least not on his first 15 tries.

Even when Peyton wasn’t throwing the football, he was still remarkable — the way he changed plays at the line of scrimmage; how he slid around in the pocket to avoid pressure; when he smartly took a sack by falling to the turf, avoiding a punishing hit or a costly turnover — something Flacco hopefully took note of.

Simply put, Peyton’s the smartest quarterback in NFL history, and his physical abilities don’t lag far behind. And while Eli is no slouch, the notion that he’s a better quarterback than his big brother couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Just ask the Ravens’ secondary.

Matt Vensel is a content creator for b. Contact him at matt@bthesite.com.

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