Manning comes up short in the postseason once again
If one were to look up Peyton Manning’s stats from Super Bowl XLIV, they would assume that he did enough to propel his team to a victory. After all, he completed 31-of-45 passes for 333 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
But as has been the case his entire career, Manning’s numbers weren’t enough.
Football is a team sport and one play doesn’t settle the outcome of a game. But when Tracy Porter intercepted Manning (who forced a pass into Reggie Wayne in the face of a New Orleans’ blitz) and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth, it sealed the Colts’ fate. In essence, Manning delivered the nail in the coffin for his own team, although it isn’t a surprise that he failed in the postseason.
The Colts have been very average in the postseason with Manning under center. Don’t believe me? Even with their Super Bowl victory four years ago, Indy is just 9-9 in the postseason with Manning as their starter. Considering he’s referred to as one of the best to have ever played the game, is it a stretch to say that the Colts should be better than that? I don’t think so.
Don’t get me wrong: Peyton Manning is brilliant. He’s always the most prepared player on the field at all times and he’s the definition of being a student of the game. But isn’t this always the same story with him? Aren’t we always talking about his numbers and forgetting the fact that he only has one Super Bowl victory despite countless appearances in the postseason? Something is wrong here.
Manning wasn’t the only reason the Colts lost tonight. Had they recovered the onsides kick to start the first half and scored, they would have stolen all the momentum from the game and probably would have won. Had they sustained the momentum from the first quarter (a quarter in which they absolutely dominated), they probably would have won. Had their defense produced more second half stops, they probably would have won.
But I can’t shake the fact that when the Colts needed him most, Manning threw a pick six to essentially ensure a Saints’ victory. That’s not to take anything away from the Saints because they played great, but if we’re going to talk about Peyton being one of the best ever, then he needs to win this type of game. (After all, Joe Montana was 4-0 in the Super Bowl and Tom Brady was 3-1.)
It wouldn’t surprise me if Manning won another Super Bowl before his career is finished. But until then, let’s slow down with all the “best ever” talk, shall we?
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Great call… When all the talk was on the decade team I was dissappointed to see Manning over Brady… Regardless of what people say, I believe records in the post season and the big game should play a major role… Personally I love Peyton from his days in TN, but I can still be man enough to call it as it is…
I don’t think Brady would have thrown that pick and thats why I’d still take Brady of Manning all day long!
Wow…I had to keep looking back at the title of this article because I could have sworn it was written about Brett Favre.
Marty, I think the old Brady wouldn’t have thrown that pick. The new, skirt-wearing Brady would have thrown a girl-pass to avoid being touched.
And, if Reggie Wayne catches that easy touchdown pass with 1 minute remaining, he and Manning at least give their team a chance. Manning delivered the ball, Wayne choked bad but nobody is going to care about that play.
Great point, and great call on the Saints!
Amen…People talk like he is the best ever, but he typically fails in big games. You can go back to Tennessee when he was such a great QB. What happened after he left? They won the National Championship with Tee Martin the next year.
“I don’t think Brady would have thrown that pick.”
Really? He had one-on-one coverage with his best receiver. Porter just made a great read and a great play, jumping the route before Wayne had a chance to catch the ball.
It wasn’t a bad throw or a bad read by Peyton, just a great play by Porter.
There is alot of quarterbacks that would have thrown a pick there! Why, apparently not because Porter made a great break on the ball. Let’s forget about him. Jamey nailed it, Porter was all over that. I don’t care who threw it.
Jeb: We are talking about the Colts here. Why do you want to bring up old shit? Stay focused.
T-Bone: You are reminding me of Rachel Nicolas with your Bret Favre fascination. And yes, Reggie Wayne catches that ball and the Colts still have 2 minutes to do an on-sides kick and attempt to tie.
JayG…I think it’s a valid point. If people are going to hammer Manning for his underachievement in the postseason, then the same has to be said for Favre who is barely above .500. It’s far from a fascination with Favre but after the 3 million posts on him before the the Vikings 15 minutes of success came crashing down, I thought I’d throw a shot out there for Favre fans to enjoy. I haven’t dug into all of the stats but there is a definite parallel between the two.
And Wayne’s drop in the end zone was with barely a minute to play. Still enough time for an onsides kick and Manning to take them down the field though.
T-Bone: If Favre comes back next year pay attention to how many times his team is covered by Rachel Nichols (called her nicolas earlier). I swear she is stalking him!