According to most people in 2016, Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game of football and will be remembered as a legend. Manning has declared this season to most likely be his last one playing in the NFL, and what a way to go out: by winning Super Bowl 50 this past weekend. This ending to Manning’s career is reminiscent of the way that Ray Lewis’s career concluded. I’ll never forget when he and the Baltimore Ravens toppled the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 48. It was a fairy tale ending, and it was truly glorious to watch such a great player get the ring he deserved in his last outing as a professional.
Yet, when we look at it closely, Peyton Manning isn't the legendary signal caller we all have come to imagine in our heads. Those who vehemently defend Peyton as being one of the all-time greats are simply delusional and caught up in the hype, because his regular season success and accomplishments very clearly do not outweigh his post-season shortcomings.
For starters, he is a notorious choker in the playoffs. He holds the record for the most playoff losses among all NFL quarterbacks at 13 defeats in the post-season. While it is impressive that he has played in that many post-season games, it doesn't take away from the fact that Manning loses a lot during the playoffs. When it comes down to it, in whatever sport it may be, people remember the individuals that won championships and didn’t simply make it to the first or second round of the playoffs each year. That is the point where we can begin to discern between elite players and all-time greats.
Manning’s first championship victory in Super Bowl XLI with the Colts back in 2007 was a masterpiece and the cornerstone performance of his career, as he phenomenally carried a very mediocre Colts team to the Vince Lombardi trophy and earned MVP honors for himself. But in his second time around in the Super Bowl, that same magic and prowess which he once exhibited on football’s biggest stage was nowhere to be found. The reason that his play was lacking is two-fold. Firstly, to be brutally honest, Peyton Manning’s play in Super Bowl 50 was barely able to be labeled decent for a supposed “elite quarterback." The Bronco’s signal caller completed a meager 13 out of 23 passes for 141 yards, and none of those passes came in the fourth quarter. He also fumbled twice and threw a pretty bad interception that was incredibly easy for Kony Ealy to grab, considering he caught it with one hand. Secondly, Peyton Manning has the best defense in the NFL this season and perhaps one of the best all time. I mean, the Broncos were able to sack the elusive Cam Newton four times, and Von Miller played out of his mind to deservedly earn that Super Bowl MVP award.
People will be talking for weeks about how Peyton Manning pulled off quite the upset against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. No doubt it is impressive that Manning could achieve victory, and especially way out of his prime, at age 39. Yet, when we throw around names such a Joe Montana and Tom Brady into the discussion of all-time great quarterbacks, Peyton Manning doesn't make the cut in my book.
