When you mention the name “Mr. October,” you think of one man. At least, that’s the way it always has been around here until now.
Reggie Jackson, the Yankees Hall of Fame slugger who earned the nickname for his World Series heroics, might have to share it with another New York athlete: Eli Manning.
Don’t laugh.
October might be when the best in baseball compete for pennants and World Series rings, but it’s also the month when the Giants quarterback has played some of the best football of his career. Heading into Monday night’s game against the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Manning is 19-4 as a starter in games played in October, for an .826 winning percentage. That’s better than any quarterback who began their career in the Super Bowl era with at least 20 starts.
It’s better than Tom Brady (25-8, .757), better than Philip Rivers (8-10, .444), better than Ben Roethlisberger (17-5, .772), better than Brett Favre (37-29, .560), and better than his older brother Peyton Manning (33-14, .702). Eli Manning — New York’s other Mr. October.
To Manning, it’s not so much coincidence as it is preparation, an approach he takes whether it’s October or a postseason game in January.
“It’s about being prepared,” he said. “It’s about being ready for situations that are thrown at you. A lot of times you make your own luck or make your own bad luck.”
Manning has certainly been Mr. October this year, leading the Giants to three straight victories this month to take a 4-2 record into their first division game of the season. In victories over the Bears, Texans and Lions, he has completed 65 of 102 passes for 669 yards and five touchdowns against two interceptions.
He was especially efficient in beating the Lions Sunday, as he completed 20 of 30 passes for 177 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
He improved his career yardage total to 20,123, joining Phil Simms (33,462) as the only two quarterbacks to throw for more than 20,000 yards for the franchise. Manning’s motto, however, is to never be content.
“I’m just trying to get better every week and learn from every game,” he said. “We’re doing some things well each week.
“But we can try to improve and get better with the receivers and our decisions, and do different things to try to make this [offense] even stronger.”
The Giants will need Manning’s October magic against Dallas, because the 1-4 Cowboys are desperate. This will be only the third time Manning has played the Cowboys in October, losing at Dallas 16-13 in 2005 and beating them the next year, 36-22, at Texas Stadium.
Overall, Manning is 7-5 against the Cowboys in his career, including wins in four of the last five meetings.
Despite that success and the Cowboys’ struggles this season, Manning is taking nothing for granted.
“They are always dangerous,” he said. “They’re a talented team. They have playmakers on both sides of the ball, guys you have to pay special attention to that can change the game.
“They’ve lost some close games, and every game has come down to the fourth quarter.
“If they get a play here, play there, if they get a bounce, their record can easily be reversed. They could have four or five wins. We have to go down there and play great football.”
It still has to burn the Cowboys and their fans that the Giants beat them in their first game at Cowboys Stadium last year. Manning was an incredible 25 of 38 for 330 yards and two touchdowns in that victory.
But that came in September. A victory Monday night only will add to the legacy of football’s Mr. October.
george.willis@mypost.com