Peyton Manning proved himself once again in a crucial AFC Championship victory over the New England Patriots. I mean, how many times does this guy have to prove to everyone that he's the greatest quarterback of this generation?Manning entered the game at 10-11 in the playoffs and 1-1 versus Tom Brady in the AFC Championship, and he made those records a thing of the past while silencing his haters in an all-star performance over the Patriots in the AFC title game.
Manning was 32-of-43 for 400 yards and two touchdowns, shredding apart the Patriots defense. Manning beat Bill Belichick's genius defensive mind when it mattered most. He never let the Patriots come back, with it only being close when Denver led 10-3 before they scored again before halftime.
Brady was able to do pretty good, going 24-of-38 for 277 yards with one passing and rushing touchdown, but it wasn't enough. Brady had some big throws that were inaccurate. He overthrew his receivers twice, and had it been converted it would have been an easy touchdown.
Brady was exposed. When the pressure comes, Brady panics. Like Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark said a long time ago, all Brady sees is ghosts when the pressure comes.
Brady was unable to convert at all when things got tough, and was only able to score a touchdown when garbage time came in. Denver had this game wrapped up once it was 26-10. After that, it was history.
And all the credit has to go to Manning. He outplayed Brady, just like most of the time his Colts or Broncos meet with Brady's Patriots. Brady always had the advantage with his supporting cast, most notably his stellar defense.
This time, the defense didn't show up and Manning took advantage. As for Brady, he had a chance. The Broncos' secondary was their Achilles' heel and Brady could not take control of it.
Manning silenced the haters this time. I don't know how many times it can take, but he did it again. He shoved the talk to "where the sun doesn't shine."
Manning is now 2-1 against Brady in AFC Championship games, you know, where it actually matters — like what the critics say. Manning completely outplayed Brady in this one. He had more touchdowns in this game than Brady had all postseason. He had more yards in this game for the first three quarters than Brady had all postseason.
Now Manning is in for what could escalate his legacy as the greatest quarterback ever. He will now be facing one of the league's best defenses in the Seattle Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers. He will be able to win a Super Bowl, Super Bowl MVP, regular season MVP while also breaking numerous records... all in one season.
In fact, he would be the only quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl with two different NFL teams.
And if Manning can make it happen, he will be better than Tom Bradys, the Dan Marinos, the John Elways and yes, even the Joe Montanas, of this world. He could finally silence the haters and make a legit case for being the GOAT.
Yep, it's a big win for Peyton Manning today.
