Peyton Manning

Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback for the NFL's Denver Broncos.

He is the son of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and Olivia Manning. He is the older brother of current New York Giants quarterback named Eli Manning. Peyton played high school football in New Orleans, for Louisiana's Isidore Newman School, college football for the University of Tennessee and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts as the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft.

Manning holds several NFL passing records, including: most consecutive seasons with over 4,000 yards passing (6 from 1999 through 2004), and most seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing in a career (7). His career 94.4 passing rating in the NFL ranks first among active QB's with at least 1,500 passing attempts, and second all-time to Steve Young's 96.8. In nine NFL seasons, Manning has thrown for 275 touchdowns in his career (ranking him seventh all-time), and has thrown for a total of 37,586 yards in his career (ranking him thirteenth all-time).

Professional career
Manning was selected first overall in the 1998 draft by the Indianapolis Colts and has started every game in his NFL career, missing only one year due to injury despite sustaining injuries as serious as a broken jaw inflicted by defensive end Lorenzo Bromell. He was the NFL co-MVP in 2003, sharing the honor with then Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair. In 2004, Manning became the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time, signing a $99.2m contract for seven years with a $34.5m signing bonus, an average of $14.17m annually. Under the contract, Manning is also eligible to earn an extra $19m in incentives. In scouting reports, Manning is known as a "pure" pocket passer rather than a "scrambler." Among active quarterbacks Manning is often compared with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Manning is well-known for his frantic hand gestures and shouting before the play while calling out audibles, often stretching play preparation near the end of the play clock.

1998 season
Peyton Manning was the first draft pick of the 1998 NFL Draft, selected by Indianapolis, and started immediately for the team. Manning passed for 3,739 with 26 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. He set five different NFL rookie records, including most touchdown passes in a season and was named to the NFL All-Rookie First Team. The Colts finished 3-13.

1999 season
Prior to the beginning of the season, the Colts selected running back Edgerrin James during the NFL draft. Manning and James lead the team to a 13-3 record, an AFC East championship, and the playoffs. Manning passed for over 4,000 yards and 26 touchdown passes and the team earned a first round bye as the AFC's second seed, behind Jacksonville.

2003 season
Manning threw for 4,267 yards and 29 touchdowns during the regular season, leading his team to a 12-4 record despite having a defense that ranked 20th in the NFL in points allowed (336). In the wild card playoff round Manning and the Colts defeated the Denver Broncos 41-10, Manning's first playoff win after first round losses in the 3 previous seasons. He completed 22 of 26 passes for 377 yards and 5 touchdowns in the game, earning him a perfect 158.3 Passer Rating. In the divisional playoffs, Manning led the Colts to a 38-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the first puntless game in NFL playoff history, throwing for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns, and earning a 138.8 passer rating. In the AFC title game Manning was shut down by the New England Patriots defense and posted the third lowest passer rating of his career at 35.5. The Patriots defense intercepted Manning four times (three of them by Ty Law) as the Colts lost the game 24-14.

2004 season
In 2004, Manning threw for 4,557 yards, had a 121.1 quarterback rating, and 49 touchdowns. He surpassed the record for TD passes in a season (48) held by Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino for two decades and the previous single-season quarterback rating of 112.8 set by Hall of Fame San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young. Manning led the Colts to a 12-4 record and their second consecutive AFC South division title. He was selected as the 2004 NFL MVP drawing 49 of 50 votes (Michael Vick received one vote) and was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year. The Colts' 2004 season ended in Foxborough for a second straight year with a 20-3 loss in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against New England when Manning played his worst game of the year, recording a season-low passer rating of 69.3 and posting a season-low 3 points of offense. It was Manning's seventh consecutive loss to the Patriots in Foxborough, MA. The Colts' three points were their lowest single game point total since their opening game of the 2003 season.

2005 season
In 2005 the Colts had a greatly improved defense over that of recent years. In week 15, the Colts had a perfect 13-0 record, and had secured the AFC South, home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and a first round bye. Nevertheless, Tony Dungy made the decision to play all of his regular starters against the Chargers in the hopes of keeping his team sharp for the playoffs. However, the Colts played a sub-par game against the Chargers and fell short of the win; the score was 26-17. Manning finished the season with 3,747 passing yards, the first time he had thrown for under 4,000 yards since his rookie season of 1998, largely due to the fact that Manning sat out much of the final two games with the top AFC seed clinched.

On January 15, 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers visited the RCA Dome for the second AFC divisional playoff game of the 2005 season. The Steelers gained a 14-3 lead by halftime. In the 4th quarter with only a few minutes left in the game, Manning threw what looked to be the game-ending interception to Troy Polamalu, but the interception was overturned (a call the NFL later admitted was incorrect). The Colts went on to score, and were able to get the ball back down three points near the end of the game. On 4th down Manning was sacked near his own goal line, and the game seemed to be over as the Steelers were one yard from a touchdown. On the play the ball was handed off to Bettis who fumbled the ball. It was picked up by Colts defender Nick Harper who appeared to have a clear path down the sideline for what might have been the game-winning score. However, he cut to the center of the field where Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was running backwards hoping to get into position to tackle. He managed to dive in front of Harper and tackle him by the leg, saving a touchdown. The Colts drove down the field from their own 42 yard line to the Steelers 27 yard line, before Mike Vanderjagt missed a field goal as time ran out. (It was the first time a 6th seeded team would eventually go on to win the Super Bowl when the Steelers won Super Bowl XL.)

Peyton came in second in voting for the 2005 MVP award to Shaun Alexander (19 to 13, out of 50 voters), ending his streak at two years. He was named the 2005 winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and nominated for the 2005 FedEx Air Player of the Year Award, along with Tom Brady and Carson Palmer, the winner of the award. The two runners up were both also quarterbacks for the Pro Bowl that year.

2006 season
The Colts started 9-0 and finished the season with a 12-4 record earning the third seed in the playoffs. Manning threw for 31 touchdowns, 4,397 yards, and lead the NFL with a 101.0 quarterback rating. He threw 9 interceptions during the season. Manning is the second quarterback in league history (the other being Donovan McNabb) to throw 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a single season.

Manning's Colts defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs on January 6 by the score of 23-8. On Saturday, January 13, 2007, the Colts won their Divisional Playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens by the score of 15-6. All of the Colts' points were scored by Adam Vinatieri, whose 5 field goals tied an NFL record. The Colts played the New England Patriots on Sunday, January 21, 2007 for the AFC Championship. The Colts (#3 seed) had home field advantage because of a regular season victory over the Patriots (tiebreaker rule). In the AFC Championship game, the Colts trailed 21-3 before coming back to defeat the Patriots for the title by a score of 38-34. In the fourth quarter, Manning led a 7-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to take the lead with 1:00 left in the game and finished with 349 yards, one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and an interception. The 18-point comeback was the largest deficit ever overcome in a conference championship (NFL record). The win also marked the third straight Colts' victory over the Patriots.

On February 4, Manning led the Colts to a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI (247 passing yards on 25 of 38 passes; 1 TD pass and 1 INT) and was voted the Super Bowl MVP. He finished the post-season with 1,034 yards, 3 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, a 63.3% completion percentage, and a 70.5 QB rating. Manning, who had been criticized for failing to win big games, exorcised his big-game demons with the win. "In years' past when our team's come up short, it's been disappointing," he told reporters. "Somehow we found a way to have learned from some of those losses and we've been a better team because of it." Following the Super Bowl win, Manning agreed to restructure his contract to save the Colts $8.2 million in salary cap space.

2007 season
Manning's Colts opened the NFL season with 7 wins, pitting them against an undefeated Patriots squad in a match-up that was being called "Super Bowl 41.5". Manning and Addai helped the Colts to a 13–7 half-time lead, and an early fourth quarter touchdown upped the lead to 20–10. However, Brady led the Patriots to two late touchdowns, to hand Manning his first loss of the season, 24–20. Manning finished the game with 225 yards passing, including a passing touchdown. He also had a rushing touchdown.Quarterback

Manning did not bounce back from the loss well. Against the San Diego Chargers he threw for a career-worst and franchise-record 6 interceptions. Despite this, he was able to rally the Colts from a 23–0 deficit to 23–21, and gave Adam Vinatieri an opportunity to take the lead with a 29-yard field goal. Vinatieri's miss sunk the Colts to 7–2. Along with six interceptions, Manning finished the day with two TDs, allowing him to pass Johnny Unitas's all-time touchdown mark.Indianapolis Colts Manning did not play particularly well against the Kansas City Chiefs either, throwing no touchdowns. However, he managed to lead the Colts on a late drive for a game-winning field goal, rushing for two yards on 4th and 1 in the process. Manning finished the game with 163 passing yards National Football League, allowing him to overtake 40,000 in his career.New Orleans Saints The Colts won their next 5 games, securing them with yet another AFC South title, as well as the AFC's number two seed in the play-offs.Archie Manning In the final game of the season, Manning played only two series before being replaced with back-up Jim Sorgi; the Colts lost the game to the Titans, 16–10.New York Giants Manning finished the season with 4,040 passing yards Eli Manning, 31 touchdown passes Indianapolis Colts, and a quarterback rating of 98.0.1998 NFL Draft In the divisional round of the playoffs, Manning and the Colts lost to the Chargers, 28–24. Manning helped the Colts to 4 different leads but could not lead a final touchdown drive for the win. Manning finished the game with 402 yards passing and 3 passing touchdowns. Manning was named a Pro Bowl starter and passed for 147 yards and a touchdown in three series.

2011 season
The Colts placed their franchise tag on Manning on February 15, 2011. On July 30, 2011, the Colts signed Manning to a 5 year, $90 million contract after negotiations in which he made it clear that he did not need to be the highest-paid player in the NFL.

After a setback in his recovery from a May 23 neck surgery, on September 7, 2011 the Colts officially ruled Manning out for the season opener against Houston, ending his consecutive starts streak of 208 games (227 including playoffs); the Colts signed Kerry Collins out of retirement and named him interim starting quarterback. After seeking other opinions, Manning had another surgery on September 8, 2011. This surgery was a one-level cervical neck fusion, and the typical minimum recovery time is reportedly two to three months.

Manning stated that while he did intend to play during the 2011 season, he would not "fight" the front office to stay off injured reserve if his roster spot was needed. Manning started practicing throwing footballs again in mid-December, with teammate Joseph Addai even claiming his passes looked "game ready." Ultimately, Manning did not play a single game in 2011, and the Colts went 2–14 without him, only the second season since Manning was a rookie that the Colts did not win at least 10 games. With much buzz in the sports media about his future with the Colts, and several talks with Colts Owner Jim Irsay, Manning was finally released by the Colts on March 7 2012. Upon his release, Colts owner Jim Irsay announced that no Colt will ever wear the #18 jersey again, though it is not being officially retired at this time.

Release from the Colts
Manning was released by the Colts on March 7, 2012. Upon his release, Colts owner Jim Irsay announced that no Colt will ever wear the #18 jersey again, though it is not being officially retired at this time.

Signing with Denver Broncos
Manning reached an agreement with the Denver Broncos on a five-year contract reportedly worth $96 million on March 20, 2012. Although the #18 is retired in honor of Frank Tripucka, Manning was given permission from Tripucka to wear #18.