INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Peyton Manning seems to hit a new milestone every week.
On Sunday, he got the hat trick.
The only four-time MVP in league history added two more NFL records to his expansive list and helped the Colts tie a third league mark in a 23-20 victory over Tennessee. Indy clinched its seventh AFC South title in eight years Sunday and tied Dallas’ NFL record with nine straight playoff berths.
“Consistency would be the word there,” he said, referring to the playoff streak. “It’s doing your job every single week and every single year. I guess that’s what you want to be, a consistent player and a consistent team.”
Few players have done that better than Manning.
He’s never missed a start in 13 pro seasons and his latest appearance gave him a league record 208 consecutive starts to open a career, breaking Gene Upshaw’s long-standing record of 207. Manning’s streak hits 226 when playoff games are counted.
There was little doubt Manning would pass Upshaw.
But Manning didn’t even realize he was chasing the other one Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Drew Brees broke his own single-season record for completions. Brees had 440 in 2007 and finished this season with 448. Manning tied Brees with a 12-yard completion to Reggie Wayne on Indy’s next-to-last series, then nearly missed the chance to break it when Dominic Rhodes fumbled the ball away.
Two plays later, though, Tennessee fumbled, and Manning completed two more passes to reach 450. The last was an 11-yard completion to Jacob Tamme, which set up Adam Vinatieri for the winning 43-yard field goal as time expired.
For Manning, it was not just a big day. It was one heck of a season.
He finished with 679 attempts, 88 more than his previous high, and a career-best 4,700 yards.
“You can’t give him enough credit for sticking with it even through his little slump or whatever you want to call it, just fighting,” left tackle Charlie Johnson said.
It could have been an even more historic day for Manning.
With two touchdowns passing, Manning fell one short of becoming the third member of the 400 club – an induction that almost certainly will happen next season. And a handful of drops probably prevented him from posting a record-breaking 64th career 300-yard game. He finished with 264 yards. Manning and Dan Marino are tied with 63 300-yard games, making it only a matter of time before Manning has that record, too.
For now, though, there’s only one thing Manning is worried about: winning a second Super Bowl ring.
“I do believe in that (momentum),” he said. “So that is a positive thing, but everything is even starting next Saturday.”
Add A Comment