Is this the last we've seen of Peyton Manning?
It is a possibility. The favored Denver Broncos fell to the Indianapolis Colts 24-13 at home yesterday in disappointing fashion. Manning completed just 26 of his 46 pass attempts (56 percent) for 211 yards and one touchdown. The Broncos, who finished the regular season fourth in yards per game (402.9), managed just 288 yards of offense on the day. Manning struggled significantly at times to push the ball downfield.
One playoff loss doesn't guarantee that Peyton Manning is done. But Sunday's disappointing performance continued a trend of downward play for the 38-year-old quarterback. Over the last month of the regular season, Manning threw for an average of just 248 yards per game with three touchdowns against six interceptions. His passer rating of 81.1 during that time was his lowest in any four-game stretch this season.
Manning has now been one-and-done in the post season nine times throughout his career. His playoff record is 11-13. There is no doubt that Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, but even he couldn't say for certain that he'll come back next year.
"Peyton won't guarantee he will return next season," Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post tweeted. "Peyton on next year: 'I need to process this game, and we'll meet tomorrow.'"
Manning was asked shortly before playing the Oakland Raiders back in December what type of scenario would lead to him retiring at season's end.
"I have not thought about those circumstances at all. I certainly plan on being back if the Broncos would have me, but at this point I'm kind of thinking about Oakland," he said at the time. "I know this is the time where conversations about what head coaches are going to return and I guess for some reason I get to fall into that category because I'm closer to the same age as some of the coaches. I have no plans along those lines [of retiring]. I'm enjoying playing, I'm looking forward to Sunday's game and hopefully the game to follow that.''
Will Manning retire and should he retire are two different questions. He finished the regular season fourth overall in passer rating (101.5), but now has two home playoff losses in three seasons with the Broncos. Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that Denver is scheduled to have 17 players hit some form of free agency this offseason, and head coach John Fox is not a lock to be brought back either.
Is Manning even interested in returning to a team with so many question marks?
I guess the NFL world will just have to wait and see.
