I’ve
been trying to imagine what it must’ve been like for the tens of thousands of
Broncos fans who sat through sub-zero wind chills only to drive home knowing
their football season was over. Before Saturday, I would guess most pigskin
pundits and bobbleheads – and most fans – had ceded the AFC spot in the Super
Bowl to Denver. Home field, eleven game winning streak, Top 5 defense, Top 5
offense and Peyton Manning playing like it’s 2009. The AFC Championship was
scripted for Peyton to face Tom Brady one more time in a game certain to
coronate Manning and his Comeback/MVP Season. The Patriots would present a
worthy challenge, but that relentless defense, Manning, home field and high
altitude would carry the day.
Super
Bowl XLVII.
Right
there.
Gone.
There’s
no good way to lose but the Broncos seemed to find the worst possible ways
imaginable. How can you explain the 70-yard TD pass with under a minute to play
that tied the game? How do you leave time and timeouts on the board at the end
of the first half and the end of regulation when you have Peyton Manning at QB?
And to have it end on Manning’s Farve-esque rolling right/throwing back across
the body interception had to be the ultimate frozen junk punch.
I
guess it’s a good thing Colorado legalized pot.
Broncos’
head coach John Fox’s defense of the game-losing interception thrown by Manning
also echoed memories of Brett Favre. “He was trying to
make a play.”
It’s one of those sports clichés that we shrug and accept even as we wonder, Isn’t that what he’s always trying to do?
Manning is still a first ballot Hall of Famer, a likely record 5th
MVP award pending, following his remarkable comeback season, but his 9-11
playoff record has to call into question his status as the greatest QB of all
time. Granting there are no objective metrics and given the changes in the game
over its history, it’s nearly impossible to compare Otto Graham to Johnny Unitas
or Joe Montana or Dan Marino or Peyton Manning. Manning’s consistent excellence
in the regular season has his name in the conversation. And it’s fun to debate
these questions; it’s part of the reason we love sports.
Manning
had three turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble – and remained winless at
0-4 in games played in temps below 40F. Granting that four games is small data
sample, there has always been the notion that Manning played better inside than
outside, enough to make some observers (me) wonder why he chose Denver. It
turned out the statistical
difference is actually small enough to be nearly insignificant as Manning
proved while playing 15 games outdoors in 2012. Indeed, when Denver took a
35-28 lead, the Ravens’ defense looked old and tired while Manning looked to be
in total control of a Broncos’ offense that looked unstoppable, even with
Knowshon Moreno on the sidelines with a bad wheel.
Obviously,
the 70-yard bomb from Joe Flacco to Jacoby Jones wasn’t Peyton Manning’s fault
but Manning’s mistake in overtime just as obviously put Baltimore in position
to kick the game-winning field goal.
Super
Bowl XLVII.
Right
there.
Gone.
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