Kevin Luthringer
Seeing what has become of Peyton Manning, one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game of football, has been an ending to remember. The man who holds the record for the most passing yards and passing touchdowns in NFL history has now become nothing more than a game manager. Who was once the most prolific passer the league has ever seen, to an old vet on his second team finishing his career with every bit of juice he can find in his tank.
On this improbable run to the Super Bowl by the Denver Broncos, led for the most part by the defense, we have seen a considerable dip in the play of a quarterback Peyton Manning. This began to occur about two seasons ago, when the Broncos made it to the Super Bowl to play the Seattle Seahawks. By those who watch consistently it was clear that Manning was beginning to lose a little bit on his throws. While he had a good season in the 2013 leading the Broncos for the majority of the season. Still, there was a noticeable decline in the production of a guy who was looking like the best quarterback in the NFL in the first four weeks to struggling in the last four weeks. Then in the 2014 season he started the year out fine, but as the weather got colder, he took more hits, and his aging body was hurting leading to another disappointing end of the season.
Peyton Manning started to make a comeback in the next season in which he broke the career passing yard record set by Brett Favre. It seemed as if we may had seen the end of the future Hall of Famer. In the game in which he broke that record against the Kansas City Chiefs he was benched for the young Brock Osweiler. Later in that week news came out that Peyton Manning, was suffering from Plantar Fascia in his heel, along with other injuries. The Broncos stated that he was going to sit out until he was fully healed while they decided who the starting quarterback would be moving forward. By saying this it seemed there was a chance of Manning not starting once he was healthy.
As this season went on, the Broncos won a few big games, and lost a few give-me games. They were winning due to the play of their league-leading defense, but were struggling to figure something out on offense. Then in week 17, the final week of the NFL’s regular season, Manning returned to action. With the number one seed in the AFC on the line due to an unexpected Patriots loss to the Dolphins, the world got to see number eighteen again. In the second half, Manning came in to replace starting quarterback Brock Osweiler. The Broncos came back to win that game and got a first round bye in the Playoffs with home-field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs.
Then all of a sudden the world was seeing something that we all thought would never happen. Manning was playing to not lose, rather than playing to win. Instead of seeing Manning carving up defenses, seemingly knowing what the other teams were running, and throwing darts all over the field leaving defenders looking at each other confused, we saw a game manager. With one of the best defenses the league had seen in a few years, and one of the smartest quarterback, the Broncos were poised to make a run at the title, but just how far Manning could lead them was a major question mark.
The Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots in back to back weeks to earn a chance at the title. In both games the offense has done just enough to win the games by kicking field goals and winning the field position battle. Even when it seems Manning can’t quite get enough behind his throws, or receivers are unable to make even simple catches, the defense would force a timely turnover, or have a big stop that would give the offense another chance.
In a clash between the League MVP Panther quarterback Cam Newton and the NFL’s league leading scoring team against the Broncos, the NFL’s league leading defense in points allowed, we saw that once again defense wins’ championships. The Broncos were able to leave Cam Newton and the potent Panther offense looking confused the whole game forcing them into their worst output of the season. However, on the other side of the ball it was the same story. Peyton Manning and the Denver offense continued to do just enough to win the game. The Broncos won Super Bowl 50, beating the Panthers 24-10. The Bronco offense drove down on the first drive, but stalled at the end and kicked a field goal. That was then followed by a sack-fumble by linebacker Von Miller that was recovered by the Broncos for a Touchdown, two field goals, than eventually an offensive touchdown set up by another sack-fumble by the defense.
Although Peyton Manning was not the Peyton Manning we all grew to love, and he was not the same quarterback that has won four League MVP’s, he did go out a Champion. It is not known whether Manning is going to hang up the cleats and call a career yet. However, the overall assumption is that he will ride off into the sunset and retire as a Super Bowl Champ. One thing we know for sure is that Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, and if Super Bowl 50 was his last game, it was an honor to watch him play.