The Legacy of Peyton Manning
When you talk about Peyton Manning, you’re talking about a guy that is in his 9th season in the NFL and has accomplished a great deal. He is 7th all-time in passing touchdowns, 13th all-time in passing yards, 10th all-time in completions, and 17th all-time in pass attempts. For a guy to be 17th and pass attempts and to be further up the list in every other category is saying a lot. Basically it says he is on pace to be #1 in all of them. When talking about his playoffs experience and performance, you’re talking about a guy that has been around the block, but has never crossed home plate, figuratively speaking. He has been in the playoffs in all but his 1st and 3rd seasons as a pro. Unfortunately, for him, every year has ended with a loss. His career playoff record is currently standing at 6-6, with three of those wins coming this season. His first three playoff appearances were all losses, with the 3rd coming at the hands of the Jets to the tune of 41-0. At this point people were beginning to question whether Manning had what it took to make it in the postseason, despite his track record in the regular season. Following that embarrassing loss to the Jets, the Colts came back the following season and dominated their way to the AFC Championship game, where they met their soon to be arch rival, the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, once again for Manning, things didn’t go the Colts way. The Patriots won by the count of 24-14 in a game that sent a message from the patriots to the rest of the NFL that they were the top dogs. The next season, 2004, the Colts were back in the playoffs again and had a whole new bag of tricks. They pounced on the Broncos 49-24 and set up a rematch with the reigning champion New England Patriots. Unfortunately, and this seems to be a trend now, Manning and the Colts failed even worse than before, amounting only three points against one of the most stingy defenses. Sorry, the story isn’t getting any better any time soon. The following season the Colts started an amazing 13-0. Everyone thinks this is the year. No one could match this team’s offense, and newly powered defense that now ranked at #2. The Colts lock up home-field advantage and wait for their first opponent. That opponent was once again the team that would eventually be crowned world champions. But this time it was different. This time it wasn’t the Patriots. The Colts would face the Pittsburgh Steelers in what would go down as one of the most amazing finishes to a playoff game of all-time. But as before, the Colts finish the season with yet another loss. That brings us to this season. This season Peyton Manning has been th8e comeback kid. From the opening game against his brother, to his most recent comeback against his arch nemesis in the AFC Championship, Peyton Manning has led his team to victory even when the odds heavily favored against doing so. They started the season a mere 9-0 which was hardly anything to marvel at after seeing what had happened the previous season after starting 13-0. So this season the Colts had no one believing in them. No one cares about the team that wins all year and loses in January. But that didn’t faze Manning, or the Colts. Even after suffering a devastating final seven games in which their defense gave up more rushing yards than any other team in the NFL and effectively causing them to miss a first round bye, the Colts weren’t deterred. They took care of business by starting off their 2006 playoff campaign by holding one of the league premier rushers to his lowest total of the season. The Colts sent the Chiefs packing in a 23-8 victory, despite Manning’s un-Manning-like numbers. The next week, once again, it was the Colts defense, rather than its offense, that got the job done; and the Colts advance to the AFC title game one more time. And who would fate match them against? Who else but the New England Patriots? Could there be a more cruel fate for Peyton Manning? Who knows? But Manning wasn’t riding a losing streak this time. The Colts had beaten the Patriots this season and the previous season, in New England no less. The game starts. The Patriots take a 21-3 lead. Everyone is thinking the same thing, Peyton Manning can’t beat the Patriots in the playoffs, and he is done. But Manning had a different idea. Manning thought it would be a good idea to score points. So that is what he did, he scored points. And he scored enough of them to bring the Colts back and win the most exciting game that I have ever witnessed. He did it. Peyton Manning is going to the Super Bowl. But this isn’t over. He isn’t finished. He isn’t in the clear. He has to win this game. He can’t lose, again, to the eventual Super Bowl champions like he has the previous three seasons. Peyton Manning must tame the most dangerous defense in the NFL in order to do what no one thought he could do. Can he?
