Peyton Manning

Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise.

Professional career

Manning was selected first overall in the 1998 draft and has started every game in his NFL career, missing only one snap due to injury and many others due to large leads. He was the NFL co-MVP in 2003. He shared the honor with Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair. After many football insiders criticized Manning for being 0-3 in the playoffs, he won his first NFL playoff game against the Denver Broncos on January 4, 2004. Manning's Passer Rating in the Colts' playoff games against the Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs was a perfect 158.3. However, he had a difficult AFC championship game against the New England Patriots, throwing four interceptions in a 24-14 loss.

Related Topics:
1998 - MVP - Tennessee Titans - Steve McNair - Denver Broncos - January 4 - 2004 - Passer Rating - Kansas City Chiefs - New England Patriots

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In 2004, Manning became the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time, signing a $99.2m contract for seven years with a $34.5m signing bonus, which averages out to $14.17m annually. Under the contract, Manning is also eligible to earn an extra $19m in incentives.

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In 2004, Manning had quite possibly the greatest season a quarterback has ever produced, putting up 4557 yards, a 121.1 quarterback rating, and 49 touchdowns, surpassing the legendary mark previously held by Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino. His quarterback rating in 2004 also surpassed the previous single-season mark of 112.8 set by Hall of Fame San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young. In addition to his individual achievements, Manning also led the Colts to a 12-4 record and their second consecutive AFC South division title. As a result, he was a near-unanimous selection for the 2004 NFL MVP, was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP. However, the Colts' 2004 season ended in Foxboro for a second straight year with a 20-3 loss in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against New England.

Related Topics:
2004 - Miami Dolphins - Dan Marino - San Francisco 49ers - Steve Young - 2004 - NFL MVP - NFL Offensive Player of the Year - Pro Bowl - Foxboro

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In some sports circles, Manning has taken on a reputation of not being able to win big games due to his futility against the Patriots and his 0-4 record against Florida in college. People of this thinking usually make comparisons to Dan Marino, another prolific quarterback who put up gaudy numbers but never won a Super Bowl. Others make the case that it is still too early in his career to make that claim and that the Colts' oft-shaky defense is a bigger factor in the losses. It could be said that this is one of the most contentious topics in football today.

Related Topics:
Florida - Dan Marino - Super Bowl

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