Peyton Manning
"The Sheriff"
The Backround
On March 24, 1976, in New Orleans, Louisiana one of the the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game was born. He was the middle child of three: Cooper, Peyton, and Eli. His Dad Archie was a pro football player, the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints. His dad was the second overall pick in the draft of 1971. Cooper and Peyton both went to Newman High School and Peyton was the QB and Cooper was a wide receiver. Unfortunately, Cooper had a career ending injury. Peyton went to the University of Tennessee. He attended school for four years, but never won Heisman or a National Championship. He was the number one pick in the 1998 NFL draft.
First couple of seasons
The first season was a bad start to his career, but it was his first year. the team ended the season 3-13. It was a disappointment. The second year was such a turn-around though. The Colts ended the season 13-3, first place in the AFC. But they lost in the divisional round to the Titans; 19-16 was the final score. Then the season in 2000 was not quite as good. They finished the season 10-6, and second in the AFC. They made the playoffs for the second year in a row, but it was another disappointment. The Colts lost to the Dolphins 23-17 in overtime. People started to wounder if Peyton could ever win a big game. They ended the next season 6-10 and didn't make the Playoffs. Yet again, another horrible season. Next, they had another good regular season but a bad finish in the playoffs. They played the Jets and lost 41-0. Then it was a promising season in 2003. They finished 12-4 and were second in the AFC. They played the Broncos in the Wildcard game. They won 41-10! Then they had to play the Chiefs. The final score was 38-31. They won again! Finally they had to play the Patriots in the AFC championship game. They were the underdogs facing the Patriots. They did in fact lose 24-14. A promising season came to an end. Then in 2004 they finished 12-4 again, and made the playoffs. They won their first game against the Broncos 49-24. Then they had to face the Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots. It was an embarrassing game for the Colts. they lost 20-3. Then in 2005 they had an extremely promising season. they ended 14-2. First in the AFC. They had to play the Steelers. They lost 21-18. It seemed that the 2006 year was their year. They ended their season 12-4. They were first in the AFC. In the first round of playoffs, they played the Chiefs and won 23-8. Then they had to play the Ravens. They won! 15-6 was the final score. Then they had to play the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. They were the underdogs again. But they upset the Patriot in a 38-34 win! They were off to the Super Bowl. They were to face the Chicago Bears. They had a strong defense while the Colts had a superior offense. It was a close game at first, but then the Colts pulled away in a 29-17 win! They finally won the Super Bowl!
The 2011 Season
Peyton Manning's contract was up so the Indianapolis Colts put their franchise tag on him. But Manning got injured. He was out for the season. They ended the season 2-14. It was the worst record since 1991. It was an embarrassment. It showed that they needed Peyton to be there to win. Since he got hurt the Colts decided to release him.
Moving On
After he was injured the Colts released Peyton. He was on the market in the NFL. The Denver Broncos swooped in and made a move. They needed a quarterback and they got the best to play the game. Fans said he would never play as well as he had before he was injured. They said the Broncos would be a bad team. They said he was too old. But they were all wrong. He broke many records with the Broncos, He finished every season 12-4 or better. They were great! He made a bad team into a Super Bowl contender.
The 2013 Season
The 2013 season was Denver's season, they got a lot of offensive weapons (wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs). They were the Super Bowl favorite throughout the season. But there was another extremely good team; the Seattle Seahawks. they had the best defense in the league. If the Broncos had to face them, it would be tough. The Broncos started out 7-0 but lost to the colts 24-27. Peyton Manning was having a historic season. He was averaging about 3.7 touchdowns a game. He was on pace to break Tom Brady's single season touchdown record. The Broncos lost again to the Patriots. They were 9-2, then they had to play the Chargers. The Broncos lost once again. They ended the season 13-3. They were first in the AFC. Their first game was the Chargers who they lost to in the regular season. They won! Then they had to play the Patriots who they also lost to in the regular season. It was a game that the Broncos had dominated the entire game. They won 16-26. Finally they were off to the Super Bowl. They had to play the Seahawks. They were the favorites. But the Seahawks thought differently. They blew the Broncos out 41-8. They lost it. The Broncos historic season to a end.
The Season
The Broncos were not the same Broncos from previous years. First they had a weak offense, second they had the best defense, finally, Peyton was playing poorly. They started 7-0 all with clutch defense plays. Then they lost to the Colts. Next, they lost to the Chiefs, it did not look good for the Broncos. Then the Broncos beat the undefeated Patriots. Then they lost to the Raiders and Steelers. The Broncos ended the regular season 12-4. They earned the number one seed in the AFC. In the first round they had to play the injured Steelers. It was a defensive type of a game. The Broncos were victorious with a last minute touchdown. Then they had to play the Patriots in the AFC championship. It was a lopsided game that ended very close, but the Broncos won 18-20! Then they were in the Super Bowl against the Carolina Panther, who were 17-1. The Broncos were the underdogs once again. But they thought differently, they played the best defensive game of their season and won 24-10. They won the Super Bowl! Peyton Manning is a two time Super Bowl champion!