The Sheriff will make his final stand in Santa Clara on Sunday evening in Super Bowl 50. A few months ago that sentence would have been laughed off and dismissed for insanity, but here the Denver Broncos are playing in their second Super Bowl in three years with Peyton Manning at quarterback.

Greatness is a fleeting thing, especially in the here-today-gone-tomorrow culture of professional sports. I would argue that what Peyton accomplished post neck surgeries tops everything he achieved beforehand. The Denver Days saw Manning win the NFL’s Most Valuable and Comeback Player of the Year awards, as he set records for passing yards and touchdowns in a single season. And yes, who could forget, passing Brett Favre for the NFL’s all-time touchdown and passing yard records in the past two seasons, respectively.

People like to say Tom Brady owns Peyton Manning. But as a member of the Broncos, he never lost to Brady during the month of January, as he led Denver to two victories over New England in the AFC Championship Game. How do you like them apples?

The Broncos have won four division titles with 18 on the roster, which is two more than the franchise won in the fifteen years after John Elway‘s retirement in 1999. Additionally, the Broncos have won four playoff games in the last four seasons, which, again, is two more than they won in the fifteen years preceding Manning.

How about what Peyton does off the field? If it were up to him, we’d never know about the fund he established for slain Marines or phone calls to dying and terminally ill Broncos fans. Heck, let’s ask Jordan Taylor about the suit Manning bought him last week as a way of saying thanks for being his personal wide receiver as he rehabbed his foot injury. Thankfully those stories have been told, but that wasn’t because he wanted them to be told. Peyton is just a genuinely good human being. What a concept in an era of overpaid superstars with prima-donna attitudes.

Let us also not overlook his mentorship of Brock Osweiler over the past four seasons. Manning stood on the sideline helping the young signal-caller potentially take his job, as the Wizard of Os went 5-2 as the Broncos starter this season. So much for Manning not being a leader. Then, he suited up as a backup, for the first time since Todd Helton was ahead of him on the depth chart at Tennessee, just before he was summoned to rescue the season late in the third quarter against San Diego, the epic comeback started right there.

I’ll be blunt, Gary Kubiak putting Peyton Manning in that game was like calling an ex-girlfriend at 2:37 in the morning because you know she’ll come pick your drunk *self* up. What happened next, could be labeled as chance, or not, to Manning’s credit, but one cannot deny that this magical late season the Broncos are on is happening with that old washed up quarterback who couldn’t get it done in January under center.

With, possibly, the greatest defense in franchise history, Peyton doesn’t need to throw for 400 yards and five touchdowns for the Broncos to win on Sunday. He knows that, he’s accepted what his role is on this magic carpet ride to the Super Bowl. But don’t count The Sheriff out on Sunday. If the Panthers make Peyton Manning beat them, I think he will do just that. He’s already come back from the dead twice in his career. What’s to say he can’t do it one last time in his final rodeo?

I’ve spent so much time complaining about the letdowns that I failed to appreciate the greatness of Peyton Manning. Now, despite his claims of being unsure on retirement plans, we sit sixty minutes away from the end of one of the greatest careers in NFL history. Like his boss John Elway, Peyton can ride off into the sunset a world champion on Sunday night in Northern California.

Win or lose, I’ll leave it at this – thank you, Peyton Manning. The Broncos will always be Elway’s team, but let’s not forget to thank Manning for rescuing the franchise from almost two decades of mediocrity. Without Manning, Elway doesn’t win free agency and land the All-Pro talent of DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward which transformed the defense from Orange Hush back to Orange Crush.

Flash forward to Sunday night with Jim Nantz and Roger Goodell on a podium at midfield of Levi’s Stadium. Confetti is falling and Queen’s stadium classic “We Are the Champions” is blaring in the background. The Broncos have, once again, shocked the world and won a Super Bowl as underdogs. John Elway will no doubt say, “THIS ONE’S FOR PAT,” and it should be after all he’s done as owner of the Broncos. However there is no doubt that a victory in Super Bowl 50 will be for Pat because of Peyton.

The Sheriff’s final stand comes in white and blue, much like Elway’s in Super Bowl XXXIII. Here’s a toast to another old washed up Broncos quarterback proving the doubters wrong one last time, with the opponent daring him to turn back the clock and win one last game. See you all at the parade on Monday.