For the ninth time in his career, Peyton Manning ended his season a loser: bounced out of the playoffs in his team's only postseason game, another double-digit win season wasted.
A 24-13 home upset by the Indianapolis Colts was head coach John Fox's last game with Denver, per Fox Sports' Jay Glazer on Twitter, and may mean the end of Manning's playing days. Unlike 2012's divisional-round upset by the Baltimore Ravens, this game didn't seem like a wild fluke—and the Colts don't seem likely to roll to the Super Bowl championship, as those Ravens did.
A reputation for failing to win the big game followed Manning from the University of Tennessee to Indianapolis. Despite going to two Super Bowls and winning one, it also followed him from Indianapolis to Denver. Now, has Manning's legendary inability to finish in the postseason permanently tarnished his legacy?If you believe "most" means "best," Manning's got the most or second most of all the major passing stats: touchdowns, yards, games, wins, you name it. Manning's right up there with Brett Favre as the No. 1 compiler of everything.
What if you don't believe in career records? What if you don't care about epic longevity and consistency? What if you like your players scintillating, devastating, dominant? What if you like your quarterbacks heavy-laden with awards, titles and medals?
Manning's decorated like a military dictator. His uniform sags under the weight of the honors. He's a 13-time Pro Bowler and seven-time first-team All-Pro. He's a five-time AP Most Valuable Player. He's won a Super Bowl MVP too.
Maybe all that glittering hardware looks like fool's gold to you. Maybe you like your quarterbacks ruthlessly efficient, dangerously effective and surgically mistake-free. Manning's right there with the best. Here are the top 10 passers' career adjusted net yards per attempt:We can blame Manning for his body finally giving up on him. It happened to Favre, it's happening to Brady, and someday it'll happen to Andrew Luck too. Nobody denies Johnny Unitas his place in history because of his miserable final act in San Diego; anyone saying Manning is second-rate because he only threw for 4,727 yards and 39 touchdowns in a 12-4 season at age 38 just doesn't know what he or she is talking about.
Manning couldn't carry the Broncos to the title, but the failure wasn't solely his—just like the Murphy's law disaster of Super Bowl XLVIII wasn't all his fault, nor was the Rahim Moore debacle of 2012. True, we should credit Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson and whichever quarterback hoists the Lombardi Trophy this year for accomplishing something rare and great and wonderful.
But Peyton Manning's place as one of the absolute best of all time was secured long ago. Even if he fell short of being the first quarterback to win a championship with two different teams—and that's not yet a given—he's achieved things no other quarterback has. No one game can undo what he's done, and no other star can shine bright enough to dim his legacy.th Rodgers involved is a good one. Just ask the Cowboys, who might have been one 3rd-and-long stop away from prepping their own return to Seattle.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2327244-another-disappointing-playoff-exit-doesnt-diminish-peyton-mannings-legend
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