As current and former Colts QBs clash, burden of expectations sits on Manning
ENGLEWOOD, COLO.— Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck will always be intertwined, but perhaps never more so than on Sunday when the former Indianapolis Colts quarterback (Manning) hosts the current one (Luck) in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
They’ve met on the field before. Manning played in Indianapolis as a visiting Denver Bronco for the first time in 2013, when the normally composed five-time MVP was an emotional wreck in a game his team lost. The Colts also opened this season in Denver and fell short 31-24 despite a furious second-half comeback.
But neither of those games meant so much. Sunday’s game is a legacy chapter for each quarterback, even as both dismiss the never-ending storylines that link them.
For Luck, this is a chance to lead the Colts to their first AFC title game of the post-Manning era. A loss would be a sign that, despite the ascendance of the 2012 draft’s top pick as the league’s best young quarterback, the Colts aren’t ready to compete with the AFC’s elite teams.
Clearly there is pressure on Luck, but it doesn’t compare to the burden on Manning as he tries to lead the Broncos back to the AFC championship game. A loss, especially at home and against his former team, would be devastating given Denver’s Super Bowl-or-bust quest and Manning’s reputation for failing in the biggest games.
“The pressure is back on him now. Win or lose in the playoffs, it’s always going to fall on the quarterback. It doesn’t matter if we play terrible defence, or if the other team plays terrible on defence. I mean, it’s always going to go on the quarterback,” Broncos cornerback Chris Harris told USA Today Sports.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be on Peyton Manning.”
Yet the Broncos enter these playoffs with perhaps the least Manningcentric team since he came to Denver in 2012, and that has certainly been by design.
The Broncos offence shattered passing and scoring records in 2013 only to falter in the Super Bowl when the Manning-led air game disappeared. There have been some brilliant passing moments this season, notably his 14 TD passes in four October games. But lately, Denver has been winning in spite of Manning. He failed to throw for a touchdown in two of the final four games (wins against the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders) and had only one 300-yard passing game in the final six weeks (a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in week 16). “We are a team now to where we have all the pieces. It’s not, ‘Hey Peyton, you have to score 40,’ ” Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware told USA Today Sports. “This is one of the first teams he’s been on, probably, that he goes out and he’ll have guys come and talk to him and say, ‘Hey, we got your back.’ ”
It’s a notable contrast not just to the 2013 Broncos, but to many of Manning’s Colts teams, too. Last year, prior to his first game in Indianapolis, Colts owner Jim Irsay drew the ire of the Broncos when he said Manning’s Colts teams were too much about “Star Wars numbers” with not enough Super Bowl rings.
Irsay is nothing but complimentary of Manning now, and said this past week that the divorce worked out perfectly for both sides.
“I think it’s going to be a great game, and having these two great quarterbacks go against each other at this point in their careers is really exciting,” Irsay said.
Yet Luck’s Colts also rely heavily on him in a largely unbalanced offence. Indianapolis boasts the No. 1 passing attack with nearly 306 yards per game, but ranks 22nd on the ground.
“However you want to spin it or manufacture that balance, then we’re going to do it,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “At the end of the day, we’re going to do whatever we have to do. Whatever gives us the best chance to win a game, that’s what we’ll do.”