Peyton Manning: golden boy, playoff choker ... NFL Legend

Peyton's final season and playoffs are like a sports movie. The guy whose body is about to force him to quit the game he loves, going for one last chance, and he finishes with a championship. I mean, Von Miller and that defense won it for him, but you can't take that ring away.

Fun Fact: Peyton heading to Tennessee led to the backup pursuing a baseball career. That backup was none other than Todd Helton, who would go on to have a great baseball (I would argue a HOF) career.

Back when Madden was good, this man used to give me nightmares. Changing the play 5 times at the line of scrimmage. One of the main reasons I went undefeated after awhile. Big Legend

Say what you want about Peyton in the playoffs, but you cannot deny the fact that the man played quarterback.

Let me put this in perspective. The first year Peyton was on the Broncos he had less interceptions than neck surgeries. He went from somebody who might not throw again to throwing the most touchdowns in a season ever

Take a look at the one season he was out injured and how hard the Colts plummeted without him. He carried them hard and he got Denver relevant again before the defense elevated to get him that second title in his twilight. For some of his shortcomings. football would mean nothing in Indy without him. Now, it means a heck of a lot to them. And he came back from an injury that could have permanently ruined his ability to throw. And yes people, they Sucked for Luck, ya think? Polian was a good GM and Grigson sent Luck to hell with his incompetence. Still doesn't distract from the fact that Manning was essential to the Colts being relevant, even in a team game.

It was a pleasure to watch him play. The on the field at the line calls and audibles were amazing to watch.

Growing up in Indy, Peyton was this golden figure. I know all franchise QBs get invested in their cities, but I didn't even grow up in a sports household and we loved him. He always seemed so proud to be here and had that plainspoken earnest quality that Hoosiers see in themselves. Learning more about Cooper really puts perspective on his unceasing work with Riley's Children Hospital. When he was injured, we just said, "What an incredible coach he'll be. Hope he stays with us." Always rooting for him, Colt or Bronco or stay at home daughter-wrangler. Thanks for an amazing career.

I’m a pats fan, didn’t hesitate to watch this video, got me nostalgic, like I spent almost 15 years hating this dude, he made me pissed when he won his first, made me cry when he almost beat us in 2010, but when he retired I broke, that rivalry with Brady was unmatched, it was THE GAME, after that I started appreciating him, his greatness, hard to tell Brady story without this Goliath, impossible to tell nfl’s without him

As a kid I rooted against him his entire career. But as soon as I watched that retirement speech I cried, especially as a Pats fan when he called us out and thanked us. Never in my life have I ever realized I was so wrong about someone in just a singular moment. Absolute class act and legend.

Colts' management and ownership cost us so many championships. The fact that Peyton even got us a championship is insane.

despite the playoffs loses, Peyton will always be one of my all time favorite QBs.

Crazy that his career / legacy could have been 10x more impactful had 3 or 4 games gone his way

Something about that first shot of the family - at 1:13 - makes me feel really bad for Cooper before the narrative even gets started. Glad that you touched on his influence on the story.

Please do a Prism episode on Dirk. Very similar to this story, without that one title, he’d just be another Barkley. Keep up the great work 🙌🏽

Peyton Manning is my favorite qb of all time, he's probably the best in just raw talent

Clicked faster than the 2013 Broncos offense

As a colts fan through those years. It was so frustrating to see a team so talented, just get beat up in the playoffs. That 05 team is one of the best of all time, and got smacked by Pittsburgh and a missed kick. Also, people don’t realize, that Indy did NOTHING to help their offense schematically, especially their receivers. They NEVER moved their receivers around. Wayne and Harrison stayed in the same spot, every play, no matter what. Also, they weren’t very physically tough. So when they matched up against strong tough defenses, Indy’s receivers and line got beat up. Peyton manning made that offensive line look much better than it actually was. It was middle of the pack to bottom half in talent and skill. They were small. It wasn’t so much Peyton manning choking, as it was the team being exposed for what it was, and Polian and Dungy being too stubborn to get better players in there. Their answer to those losses were “we just have to play harder and better”. It took that team being desperate, playing desperate, and running into the bears in a super bowl, to have one title during the manning era. Best regular season teams of all time. But weak physically comparatively speaking.

Been near a decade since I was happy as a Bronco fan, and it was thanks to this man.

Thank you. Your videos are so well presented that they teach this know nothing about your sports Englishman a great deal. Brilliant.