INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Eli Manning is elite, for sure. A king of
comebacks, too. And far, far more than Peyton's little brother now.

Spot-on from beginning to end Sunday night, Eli Manning won his
second NFL championship in a four-year span - and second Super Bowl MVP award - for coolly, calmly steering the New York Giants to a
21-17 victory over the New England Patriots with a last-minute
touchdown drive.

"We've had a bunch of them this year. We've had some
fourth-quarter comebacks," said Manning, 30 for 40 for 296 yards,
with one touchdown pass and zero interceptions. "We'd been in
those situations, and we knew that we had no more time left. We had
to go down and score, and guys stepped up and made great plays."

Led, as usual, by Manning himself.

He opened the game by becoming the first quarterback to complete his first nine attempts in a Super Bowl. And he finished the job by directing the nine-play, 88-yard TD drive that put New York ahead with 57 seconds left.

"That was quite a drive that he was able to put together,"
Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "He deserves all the credit in the
world, because he really has put his team on his shoulders all
year."

This late drive, so reminiscent of the way New York beat New
England in the 2008 Super Bowl with Manning as MVP, started on the
Giants' 12, with a little more than 3½ minutes left and the
Patriots ahead 17-15. It closed with running back Ahmad Bradshaw
easing into the end zone from 6 yards out. The Patriots decided not
to contest the run, trying to save some time on the clock for a
final drive - a risky and desperate decision by Patriots coach Bill
Belichick.

But New England couldn't get the ball back in the end zone, with
Tom Brady's final heave from his 49 falling barely beyond the grasp
of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

"We had this goal to finish, finish, finish," Coughlin said,
"and win the fourth quarter."

That's precisely when Manning takes over.

In the regular season, he threw an NFL-record 15 TD passes in
the final period.

He also led six game-winning drives to bring New York back from
fourth-quarter deficits.

"He's become confident over time; kind of grew into it,"
Manning's father, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie,
told The Associated Press after Sunday's game. "I always felt like
you have to experience those situations before you become
confident. He's certainly had his share."

That's true. Manning's even done it before in the Super Bowl.

Four years ago, he took home his first MVP award after a scoring
pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left allowed New York to
upset Brady and New England, ruining the Patriots' bid for a
perfect season. Back then, Manning got a boost from David Tyree's
Velcro-helmet grab on the go-ahead drive. This time, the key play
was Mario Manningham's 38-yard, over-the-shoulder catch between two defenders along the sideline, which held up after the Patriots
challenged it.

The Giants had trouble putting up points Sunday despite getting
into New England's territory on every drive except a kneeldown at
the end of the first half.

But Manning kept at it, using eight receivers, led by Hakeem
Nicks' 10 catches for 109 yards.

"We just tried to be patient," said Manningham, who finished
with five receptions for 73 yards. "Got to be patient with this
game. We knew big plays (were) going to come. We just had to take
advantage of them."

Manning now is one of only five players in NFL history with
multiple Super Bowl MVP awards. He joined the guy he got the better
of in the big game yet again, Brady, along with Terry Bradshaw,
Bart Starr and Joe Montana (the only player with three). And
Manning did it in the House that Peyton Built, the stadium where
his Big Bro - a four-time regular-season MVP but owner of only one
Super Bowl title - plays for the Indianapolis Colts.

"It just feels good to win a Super Bowl. Doesn't matter where
you are," said Manning, 10 for 14 for 118 yards in Sunday's fourth
quarter.

As he spoke, he clutched the silver Vince Lombardi Trophy.

"Certainly, Eli has had a very good season," acknowledged
Brady, 27 of 41 for 276 yards, with two TDs and one interception.
He completed 16 consecutive passes in one stretch, breaking Joe
Montana's Super Bowl record of 13. "He made some great throws
there in the fourth quarter."

The biggest turnaround of all this season for Manning was the
way he brought the Giants back from a 1-5 slump that left them 7-7
and in serious danger of missing the playoffs. But from there, he
took them on a season-closing, six-game winning streak.

He finished the postseason with nine TDs and only one
interception, solid as could be the whole way.

"I never doubt Eli," Giants safety Kenny Phillips said. "I
don't think anyone on this team doubts Eli."

There were, however, some doubters outside the organization,
those who wondered aloud what Manning was thinking back in August, before the season got going, when he was honest when asked in an interview whether he considered himself an "elite" quarterback a la Brady.

Manning said simply that he belonged "in that class." But it
all became quite a big deal in New York - shocking, right? - and he
was questioned and criticized for the way he seemed to be
portraying himself.

Hard to imagine anyone arguing now.