Should we all be considering more seriously the possibility that the Broncos come up short on Sunday. Yes, they went 13-3 in the regular season, but Peyton Manning has a lengthy history of coming up short in playoff games. Ian Allan explores.
Earlier in the week, I pointed out that Manning four times has lost in his first playoff game despite being on a team that won 13-plus games in the regular season. (And if you want to dip back into college ball, he never quite got Tennessee over the hump either -- when Tennessee finally won the national championship, it was with Tee Martin at quarterback.)
Manning's career postseason record is 9-11. The more disappointing games have tended to come recently. In four of his last five playoff appearances, Manning has been a one-and-done. That includes one game with Denver -- the 38-35 loss in overtime to the Ravens last year. While the Broncos were a blown coverage away from winning that game, note that they also benefitted from 2 TDs on kick returns. Manning threw a couple of interceptions.
Remarkably, in his last 13 playoff games, Manning thrown only 18 TDs and has been intercepted 14 times. Doesn't seem like quite the same guy who tends to shred defenses in the regular season.
Can I say with any confidence that San Diego will win on Sunday? No. But they did win there a month ago, and it would not be a huge shock.
| PEYTON MANNING'S LAST 13 PLAYOFF GAMES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opponent | Score | Yards | TD | Int |
| 2004 | at New England | L 3-20 | 238 | 0 | 1 |
| 2005 | Pittsburgh | L 18-21 | 290 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | Kansas City | W 23-8 | 268 | 1 | 3 |
| 2006 | at Baltimore | W 15-6 | 170 | 0 | 2 |
| 2006 | New England | W 38-34 | 349 | 1 | 1 |
| 2006 | Bears (SB) | W 29-17 | 247 | 1 | 1 |
| 2007 | at San Diego | L 24-28 | 402 | 3 | 2 |
| 2008 | San Diego | L 17-23 | 310 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | N.Y. Jets | W 30-17 | 377 | 3 | 0 |
| 2009 | Baltimore | W 20-3 | 246 | 2 | 1 |
| 2009 | Saints (SB) | L 17-31 | 333 | 1 | 1 |
| 2010 | N.Y. Jets | L 16-17 | 225 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 | Baltimore | L 35-38 | 290 | 3 | 2 |
--Ian Allan