Peyton Manning has choked numerous times in the playoffs throughout his career. Sunday was not one of those times.
The Denver Broncos quarterback simply couldn’t make the throws. Peyton didn’t panic with the game on the line and throw a costly interception — he just never stood a chance. And judging by what one player told Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com, the Broncos were not surprised by the way their season ended.
Some inside the organization wonder. I talked to some Broncos players who said Manning was throwing more picks in practice in the past six weeks than at any other time. Before the game, some Colts veterans expressed to Broncos players that Manning’s arm looked spent.
“You could tell something wasn’t right,” one Broncos player said of practice the past month. “He just didn’t look like 18 out there.”
The only question is whether Manning is battling a significant injury or is finally starting to feel 38 (he’ll turn 39 in two months). Both have likely been a factor, and Manning alluded to the thigh injury he suffered in a game against the San Diego Chargers earlier this season.
“It’s hung around but I felt like I tried to manage it,” he said. “I felt like I could manage it. Completed some passes, won some games with it. It just hung around, just that one thigh, but there is nothing more to it than that.”
Manning has long been known for throwing the ugliest pretty ball in the game. On Sunday, he threw the ugliest ugly ball. His deep balls were nowhere near the mark and his short passes were frequently knocked down because they lacked zip. Some of Manning’s tosses were so bad that the internet memes have come rolling in.
Would anyone be surprised if Manning underwent offseason surgery and came back to throw 40 touchdown passes in 2015? Given his age and what we saw against the Colts, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be.
