KCNC-TV’s Vic Lombardi likes to call Peyton Manning as PFM, which is Peyton Freakin Manning. After watching Manning’s seven touchdowns last night, it’s easy to understand why the popular Denver sportscaster gave him that nickname. He is amazing to watch. Last night illustrated that.
The Broncos quarterback joined Y.A. Tittle, George Blanda, Sid Luckman, Joe Kapp and Adrian Burk as the only quarterbacks to throw seven touchdown passes in an NFL game. To join Tittle, Bland, Luckman and Kaap, that’s a special company to be in.
Manning was why the Broncos celebrated a 49-27 victory over the Ravens. That’s the best way of saying it. There’s no need to break down other reasons to why the Broncos won this game.
With the Broncos struggling to click early on, Manning had the Broncos keeping up with the Ravens by throwing touchdowns. After he threw his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter, the Broncos seized the momentum and from there, they dominated the rest of the game.
This is what a great quarterback does. He can mask a team’s flaw for a game. He can have his team snap out of their funk during a game. He shows leadership when the team relies on him to lead the way. He can create a momentum. That’s why Manning is one of the best quarterbacks ever.
Good quarterbacks put good numbers, but it means nothing if they can’t show leadership when it matters. Jay Cutler and Jake Plummer demonstrated that when they were under center for the Broncos.
What’s amazing was Manning was not tired in the press conference. He did not seem worn down. He wanted to play more. That showed what a great night he had.
It was one of the best performances I ever watched, and I saw many Manning games. It should make everyone appreciate his greatness. Guys like Manning don’t grow on trees.
There’s new wave of quarterbacks that are good in the NFL. It’s fun watching guys like Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III. They had impressive seasons last year, but it remains to be seen if they can sustain this for so many years. Time will tell. We have to let them grow as quarterbacks before we can call them as special.
With Manning, he is a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback. His ability to be a game-changer is something no one can teach. He is a player that can win games by himself as he showed last night. He is a guy that can make people react. He even made Al Michaels say “WOW” on NBC’s football telecast when he threw his third touchdown of the third quarter last night.
It was a night no one is going to forget ever.
It should make everyone savor what Manning is doing while he is still in the NFL. He is not playing forever as much as we want to see that happen. He is not risking his health to keep playing. For all we know, he could retire after this season.
Instead of moaning about Manning’s failures in the postseason, let’s realize there are not many quarterbacks that can do what the Broncos quarterback is doing.
We like to find out the next special quarterback. We want our quarterbacks to be winners in the postseason. We want our quarterback to be perfect. It seems like we are not satisfied with anything. That seems to be case when we focus on Manning’s deficiencies in the postseason.
Sure we are amazed at what Manning does, but we are quick to turn on him when he has a bad game. It’s ridiculous. He is not going to be perfect. No one is. Even the great Tom Brady has had horrible postseason games in recent years.
Now is the time to not take Manning for granted anymore. With him playing well as a 37-year-old quarterback, this is something fans should reflect.
From reading Twitter last night, Broncos fans expressed appreciation about this performance. It wasn’t like they were saying ho-hum. That’s the smart approach. They should after watching bad quarterback play since Elway’s retirement.
It would be nice if folks around the country would feel the same way. That’s why it was refreshing to hear Michaels say “WOW!” on the telecast. It’s rare an announcer gushes about anyone during the game due to the fact they have to be objective and bland.
This season should be a reflection of how special Manning has been in his 16 years of playing in the NFL.
Last night is a good starting point.
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Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
There are a few athletes that I want to personally want to witness enter the Hall of Fame and Peyton Manning is one of them. I believe that the record will reflect that he changed the quarterback position. Peyton Manning changed what we expect of quarterbacks. Now, we expect them to be smart and understand the game. When they don’t, they seem “less than” or inadequate. No longer is it enough to simply have physical tools. Now, to be an exceptional quarterback you have to understand the game, understand offense. Tom Brady will go into the Hall of Fame along with Peyton Manning. However, he will always be known as Bill Belichick’s creation. Peyton Manning will be known as a Field General.
Excellent comments Em. I share those sentiments.
Thanks for reading and responding. I appreciate it.