On Sunday, we got the official word regarding the status on Peyton Manning in 2016: he’s calling it a career.
After winning his second Super Bowl, Peyton is going out on top, along with the likes of former pro athletes John Elway and David Robinson (NBA).
Truth is, most if not all people knew, this was Peyton’s “last cup of coffee for the road”. Despite his worst season ever as a professional, Peyton saved his best for his biggest rival, tossing for two scores in the first half of the AFC Title game against the Patriots and Tom Brady.
His final pass in the NFL was a successful two-point conversion to put the finishing touches on a 24-10 Super Bowl win over the Carolina Panthers.
One month later, Peyton is officially announcing his retirement.
For the next 48 hours (in case you haven’t noticed over on ESPN already), it’s going to be a Peyton Manning lovefest with former coaches, players, fans, and management coming out to express just how awesome he was.
My favorite Peyton Manning moment wasn’t his first Super Bowl win, or the crazy comeback against the Patriots in the 2006 AFC Championship game, or the seven touchdown performance in the season opener against Baltimore, no my favorite moment was a Monday Night game from 2012 when the Broncos went into Qualcomm Stadium to play the Chargers.
I’ve never been to a game in San Diego, but I can honestly say that’s my favorite stadium in all of football. It seems whenever a game is played at “The Q” in primetime, there’s always a lively crowd.
On this particular night, the Chargers got off to a 24-0 halftime lead. It was the kind of game where maybe one or two more non-scoring drives for Denver in the second half would all but close the book on the night. Instead, Peyton Manning went crazy.
In the second half, Peyton fired for touchdown passes from 29, 7, and 21, as the Broncos rallied to win 35-24.
To some, it may have been just another game, lost in the history of great Monday night football contests, but this was awesome. This was Peyton’s sixth game back after missing the entire 2011 season, and it signaled that he was back to full form.
The crowd seemed in awe as “The Sheriff” led his team back from four scores down, and with each throw, they couldn’t help but smile and laugh, this was something special. I think at some point, Charger fans might have even been rooting for Peyton (ok maybe not, but it felt that way).
Of all the games, the throws, the Omaha’s, that was my favorite Peyton Manning moment. It was a primetime game for the world to see, and Peyton put on a show.
No. 18 wasn’t just a great quarterback, he was a great student of the game, and watching him orchestra an offense with mixed signals and barks was amazing. From one football fan to another, thanks for the memories Peyton, we’ll miss you!
