Peyton Manning: One game for the rest of your life
This is the end of the line for Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning — this is one game for the rest of your life, for the rest of your NFL career. The final chapter in a legendary story…
I didn’t think it would get this far…
The last two weeks, I have written about how these playoffs would be the defining final moments of Peyton Manning’s NFL career. After beating the New England Patriots just over a week ago, Manning told another NFL legend in Bill Belichick that this might be his ‘last rodeo’.
Reports have since emerged that Manning has told those close to him that he will indeed retire after this game.
He refuses to acknowledge those reports in public right now, but we certainly know his inner circle will be smaller after the game. Way to blow the secret, man.
At any rate, this is the most important game of Manning’s NFL career in my opinion. Despite the fact that he has revolutionized the game as an essential coordinator on the field, and despite the fact that he has already won a Super Bowl, this game will be one that could forever define how he is remembered…
….as a winner, or as the guy who couldn’t win the big one.
The great news for Manning is, he doesn’t have to do the heavy lifting. The Broncos are equipped with the top defense in the NFL, and have been one of the most cohesive groups we’ve seen in the NFL this season. That’s where the media and every NFL fan outside of Denver and Broncos Country is vastly underrating the Broncos.
This isn’t Peyton Manning vs. the Panthers. This isn’t Peyton vs. the MVP — Cam Newton. This isn’t even about Peyton vs. his own legacy.
This game is about Broncos vs. Panthers.
Peyton Manning doesn’t have to do it on his own. He hasn’t had to all year. In fact, like the Broncos with John Elway back in the late 90s, this team is so good, it went almost two months without Manning and still managed to lock down the #1 overall seed in the AFC. It went almost two months without Manning and strung together some of its most impressive wins of the season against the AFC’s best teams.
The 2015-2016 Denver Broncos are not defined by Peyton Manning, but the 2015-2016 Broncos will help define his career.
Win this game — as a team — and Peyton Manning’s legacy is forever cemented…as a champion.
Can the Broncos make it happen?
They are vast underdogs. No one has any faith in this team to win against the mighty Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. That’s exactly where they should want to be. They are the ones being doubted, despite having the top defense in the league. Despite being led by the great Peyton Manning.
And in what should be the last game of his NFL career, Manning has a chance to be part of a Super Bowl champion, and not the focal point. It’s an unusual position for him to be in, considering what he’s done in the NFL to this point, but he is a secondary character. A supporting actor. He is still capable of being the game’s MVP, or he could simply play a key role.
His greatest act as an NFL quarterback might just be playing the role of facilitator, allowing others around him to make plays and letting his teammates elevate him to victory.
For the first time in his life, Manning can be comfortable letting the team around him help cement his legacy.
And it’s such a crazy idea, it just might work.