Peyton Manning

College

Peyton Manning went to University of Tennessee, where he set many records including the all time passing record. When Manning was drafted the school retired his number and even named a street after him.

NFL

In 1998, Peyton was one of the most talked about quarterbacks in the NFL draft. The other quarterback being discussed was Ryan Leaf. Analysts thought that both Leaf and Manning would compete at a very high level in the NFL and questioned who would go first in the 1998 Draft. The Indianapolis Colts, who had had minimal success after their controversial move from Baltimore, held the first pick and decided to draft Manning. The San Diego Chargers, who got the second pick in the draft after trading with the Arizona Cardinals, drafted Leaf. Leaf ended up being a major bust. Manning's 1998 season was not stellar either, and the Colts went 3-13 for the second consecutive year.

Things would improve greatly in the coming seasons. During Manning's tenure, the Indianapolis Colts won one AFC East and seven AFC South division championships. From 2003 to 2009, Manning and the Colts had 12 or more wins in every season. In 2006, the Colts won Super Bowl XLI, beating the Chicago Bears 29 to 17. Manning was named the game's MVP. The Colts would make one more trip to the Super Bowl in 2009, but lost to the New Orleans Saints by a score of 31 to 17. Manning made a crucial fourth quarter mistake when Saints cornerback Tracy Porter returned a Manning interception for a 74 yard touchdown.

Many analysts thought that Manning and Leaf would be the definitive quarterback rivalry of the AFC. The real rivalry would come between Manning and Tom Brady. Brady and the New England Patriots would meet the Colts during the playoffs three times during Peyton's time in Indianapolis. In all three games, the winner would go on to win the Super Bowl (in 2003 and 2004 with the Patriots and 2006 with the Colts). During the regular season, the Manning and Brady have meet 21 times. The Patriots currently lead the series, 14 to 7.

In 2011, Peyton underwent several neck surgeries which prevented him from playing the entire season. Without Manning, the Colts went 2-14, breaking the streak of consecutive AFC South titles (2) and playoff appearances (9). It was the worst record the Colts have posted since 1991. Their 0-13 start is only matched by the 2008 Detroit Lions, who went 0-16.

The Colts decided to release Manning, after they had just signed him to a five year extension, in 2012. Manning then signed with the Denver Broncos, replacing their starter Tim Tebow. In his first game with the Broncos, a Sunday Night Football match with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Manning broke the 400 touchdown milestone. The only other two quarterbacks to do this are Dan Marino and Brett Favre. The Colts used their first pick in the 2012 draft to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. Colts owner Jim Irsay said that no Colts player will ever wear #18 again, although it has not yet officially been retired. In the 2012 season, both the Colts and Broncos made the playoffs, but neither made it to the AFC Conference Championship game.

Peyton is known for his intense work ethic and rigorous pre-snap routine. Manning almost exclusively runs the hurry-up offense.

He holds many NFL records, both regular and post-season including most years of 4,000 yards passing (12), most MVP Awards (4), most games with a perfect passer rating (4), and largest TD-INT differential (201). Manning is also reached the quarterback milestones of 50,000 yards, 4,000 completions, and 400 touchdowns the fastest.

Peyton Manning appeared as the cover athlete on each NFL Fever release on Microsoft's Xbox system.

NFL Career Stats

Year	Team	Games	Completions	Completion %	Attempts	Yards	TD	Int	QB Rating	Sacks (# of times sacked)
1998	IND	16	326	56.7	575	3739	26	28	71.2	22
1999	IND	16	331	62.1	533	4135	26	15	90.7	14
2000	IND	16	357	62.5	571	4413	33	15	94.7	20
2001	IND	16	343	62.7	547	4131	26	23	84.1	29
2002	IND	16	392	66.3	591	4200	27	19	88.8	23
2003	IND	16	379	67.0	566	4267	29	10	99.0	18
2004	IND	16	336	67.6	497	4557	49	10	121.1	13
2005	IND	16	305	67.3	453	3747	28	10	104.1	17
2006	IND	16	362	65.0	557	4397	31	9	101.0	14
2007	IND	16	337	65.4	515	4040	31	14	98.0	21
2008	IND	16	371	66.8	555	4002	27	12	95.0	14
2009	IND	16	393	68.8	571	4500	33	16	99.9	10
2010	IND	16	450	66.3	679	4700	33	17	91.9	16
2011	IND	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Because Peyton Manning has not yet played any games in 2011 due to a neck injury, all of his statistics for 2011 are 0.

Awards and Highlights

• AP NFL MVP (2003*, 2004, 2008, 2009)
• AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2012)
• Pro Bowl (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004** ,2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012)
• First-team All-Pro (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012)
• Indianapolis Colts All-time leader in career wins, passing touchdowns, pass attempts, pass completions and passing yards.
• AFC Player of the Year (1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009)
• Named the NFL Player of the 2000's decade by Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports.
• Currently third in all time passing yards.

*Shared with Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair.

** Named Pro Bowl MVP