Before the Manning Bowl, there was the Jenkins Bowl.
Big brother Kris Jenkins, on the defensive line for the Panthers, versus Little brother Cullen Jenkins, on the defensive line for the Packers. Opening game, 2004 season.
“When we got into the league, a lot of people don’t know but, when I finally made the team in Green Bay second time around, the first game we had was against my brother’s team, Carolina, in Monday night Football,” Cullen Jenkins told The Post. “That was a pretty big deal for me then. We went out there and we were able to get the win against him. The sibling rivalry always adds to it.”
Kris was a year-and-a-half older. “We used to always race,” said Cullen, now with the Giants. “My dad was in football and a coach, so he would have us competing a lot, whether it be little pushup competitions, or jumping rope or we would play basketball against each other a lot. We always competed in pretty much everything we did.”
So Cullen, who will be looking to put some heat on Peyton Manning and the Broncos Sunday, said he knows how Eli Manning feels on the eve of Manning Bowl III.
“Oh yeah, oh yeah,” Cullen said. “Just like Eli — I don’t know if Eli’s really in the shadow much anymore, because he has an extra ring, one more ring than his brother, but I know I was always kind of in the shadow because my brother was All-Pro, Pro Bowler. Even though I finally got in and made a name for myself, I was still always the little brother, because [of] my brother’s status and how good he was when he played, and stuff like that. You know, you work hard to get up out of that shadow and get your own identity.
“He probably won’t admit it, but I know this game means a lot to him.”
Eli?
“Yeah. Oh, yeah — to both of them, too.”