Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has the chance to do something spectacular this Sunday; become the NFL’s all-time leader in wins and passing yards in the same game. Fittingly, it could all happen against the team who drafted him, the Indianapolis Colts. And, in Indy.
This Sunday at 2:25 p.m. MT, the 7-0 Broncos travel to Indy to face a struggling Colts squad who, despite a -9 turnover ratio, lead the abysmal AFC south with a 3-5 record.
Manning has faced off against his successor Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts three times in his career; twice here in the Mile High City and once at Lucas Oil Stadium (a loss). Manning is 1-2 all-time against the team who released him following the 2011 season, which he missed in its entirety after neck surgery. The Colts cut Manning despite holding their record for passing yards with 54,828 and his being a major reason why owner Jim Irsay was able to build Lucas Oil Stadium.
Wednesday, Manning was asked how special it would be to break these records in Indy. Classically, Manning replied, “I haven’t thought about that.”
The now 18-year veteran owns a plethora of NFL records already:
- NFL career passing touchdown record: 537
- Single season touchdown record (2013): 55
- Most passing yards, season (2013): 5,477
- Most games throwing for 300+ yards: 86
- Most passing touchdowns in a single game (tied, 2013): 7
- Most games with a perfect passer rating of 158.3: 5
- Highest completion percentage in a postseason game with 450+ yards (2005): 81.8
- Highest yards-per-game, season (2013): 342.31
- Most seasons passing for 4,000+ yards: 14
- Most consecutive seasons with 25+ touchdowns: 16
- One of two quarterbacks to ever beat all 32 teams (along with Brett Favre)
284 yards is all that separates Manning from holding the all-time passing yards record, currently held by Green Bay Packers great Brett Favre. Manning is also tied for all-time wins with Favre. So, a win and a decent game from the Broncos quarterback will allow The Sheriff to re-write the record books once again; Manning has thrown for 285 or more yards in a win 78 times in his career.
“I probably talked a little bit about this before,” Manning said Wednesday about Brett Favre. “Like I know I’ve said previous times, what a great player. You mentioned that gun-slinger type, incredible durability—he played at such a high level for such a long time. Just a lot of respect for the way he played. I have a lot of respect for a lot of quarterbacks. Brett is definitely one of those. It was always fun to watch. He was always a fun guy when he was playing. You always seemed to watch to kind of see what he was going to do out there.”
The NFL knows what they are doing when it comes to creating headline-worthy games. Manning has a career average of 272.2-yards per game, setting the stage for him to surpass Favre on Week 9 in Indy. Coincidence? No way.
When the NFL made the schedule for the 2015 season, they did not foresee the Colts and Luck struggling, rather, they likely saw it as a heavyweight fight. Instead, Luck leads the league in interceptions with 12, despite missing two games already this season due to injury.
No matter how poor the play has been this season form the Colts, though, Manning and Co. have to be careful not to let their emotions get the best of them. Even with Luck slumping, he can still turn things around on a dime and have a fantastic game. Luck and the Colts took the now 7-0 Carolina Panthers to overtime under the lights of Monday Night Football after trailing 17-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Sheriff is having a sub-par season in the eyes if his critics: A 75.1 total QBR, a 62.8 complication percentage, and the league’s worst touchdown-to-interception ratio (7 TD, 11 INT) In spite of all that, Manning is leading the charge of a 7-0 squad and currently sits tied for first in the AFC. These numbers will be in the back of his mind as he prepares for face Indy for a fourth time.
Records or not, this game means so much to the Broncos in the standings. Denver is keeping pace with the New England Patriots and the Cincinnati Bengals, who are also both 7-0. (Ken Pomponio broke down the AFC’s Big Three and their remaining schedules today.)
Manning will say the all-time wins and passing yards records do not matter and all he cares about is the win. All three would be nice, though.
