Time to retire, Peyton Manning.
This will never happen again.
After the complete destruction that Denver faced in the hands of the Seahawks two years ago, I was convinced that the once-mighty Manning was no more. I thought he was too hurt, too washed up, and far too old to ever hold another championship trophy unless he was dishing high-fives from the bench all season. Instead John Elway and Friends had a new strategy: completely beef up the defense, ensure a great offensive line, and allow Peyton to ride out this wave and just keep the team in the matchup. The strategy would ensure a good regular season, but in the playoffs it would be a crapshoot.
After they got beat at home to the lowly Colts one year ago, my opinion on Manning remained true: excellent quarterback, Father Time has caught up, and it’s time to go before you embarrass yourself some more (Brett Favre anyone?).
Then the Broncos were handed a beautiful gift: the worst regular season in the history of the NFL.
I mean this from the bottom of my heart—after seeing all the ridiculous plays, cowardly moves, awful refereeing, questionable playcalling, mishandling of simple football fundamentals, and a total collective meltdown of defenses everywhere. We also saw tons of major injuries; ranging from the Patriots losing literally everybody, to the Cowboys losing an emerging Tony Romo, to the sneaky-good Bengals losing their quarterback at the very end of the season and forced to give up the top seed. Injuries, awful play (Thursday Night Football was abysmal to watch), and millions of wasted opportunities (as well as a dozen franchises at least making strange decisions) would open the door for the Denver Broncos to grab the top seed and have a direct path towards the championship.
Before any of you start screaming how I’m not giving any credit to the Denver defense, continue to hear me out. At no point did anyone feel like the Broncos were the best team in the NFL. The Steelers, Patriots, Bengals, Cardinals, Packers and (eventually) the Panthers throughout the season were considered superior teams before injuries crippled their quality. The Broncos peaked mainly in the playoffs when it most mattered, but a lot had to fall apart for them to pave the path to glory.
Even Manning himself got hurt and left for several weeks. This was far and beyond among his worst seasons (it might be the worst ever, truthfully), as his backup quarterback Brock Osweiler looked better in certain spurts. It feels so long ago that Manning had a near-negative quarterback rating as he even got pulled after throwing 4 ridiculous interceptions. Amazing how quickly people forget. If it wasn’t for Brock filling in during the injury/rest/mental recovery/relax until playoffs period, the Broncos would have been pushed out of the postseason entirely.
Injuries, terrible collapses, amazing Denver defense, and surprisingly competent backup quarterback was all the essential ingredients needed to give Manning this final chance at redemption and that long-eluded second Super Bowl ring. Too much had gone right for Denver to mess this up again, and I haven’t even mentioned how Oakland and San Diego within the same division weren’t even sure of their future during the season. And if you think that doesn't have much of an effect, look at the final seasons of any team that wound up relocating---including the St. Louis Rams.
Look, winning a Super Bowl does require much more skill and talent than luck, but can you honestly claim a team with less than 200 offense yards in its most important game deserves to be considered the best? What really happened is that underneath all the garbage that happened in 2015/2016, Denver rose up from the ashes emerging as the last team standing. The Steelers fell apart on a game they weren’t supposed to even be participating in (Bengals absolutely tanked the final two minutes of their Wild Card game), the Patriots’ offensive line was in shambles, and the Carolina Panthers got too cocky and may have underestimated the defense that was the main factor in Denver’s appearance in Santa Clara.
Peyton Manning, this is your peak, you will not be able to obtain this height again. You didn’t even play as a Top 10 quarterback in 2015. You are playing on house money and managed to win. But just like in Vegas, you can never push your luck in the NFL. The Broncos are a well-oiled machine on defense yet still looked shaky until it mattered the most. Retiring is the best option; for you, for your family, and for your legacy.
It has been a great ride. Don’t overdo it.
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