BLUE 1,026 Posted January 8, 2015 By NOEY KUPCHAN STATS Writer (AP) -- Seeing Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts again shouldn't faze Peyton Manning, who got the best of his former team back in Week 1. There's a ton more on the line this time around. All eyes figure to be on Manning and Luck as the well-rested Denver Broncos face Indianapolis in this AFC divisional matchup Sunday at Mile High. "It was my hope and dream that this sort of situation would occur. I feel blessed that it has," Colts owner Jim Irsay said of facing Manning under these circumstances. "I think it's going to be a great game and having these two great quarterbacks go against each other at this point in their careers is really exciting." This marks Manning's third matchup against a Colts team with which he spent the first 14 years of his career before getting cut loose following the 2011 season, which he missed after undergoing multiple surgical procedures on his neck. The Broncos suffered a 39-33 loss in Manning's much-anticipated return to Indianapolis last season before holding on for a 31-24 home win Sept. 7. "We had them the first game of the season and he was fine," Broncos Pro Bowl wideout Demaryius Thomas said of Manning. "It's a playoff game so it's a little bit different because if you lose, you're done and if you win, you keep going. I can't really talk for Peyton, but I think he's fine." The iconic signal-caller has thrown for 655 yards with six touchdowns against his former team, while Luck has racked up 598 yards and five scores in those games. "It's not the quarterback versus quarterback thing. We're not on the field at the same time," Luck said. "I have a lot of respect for (Manning), what he does, what he still does is amazing. He's a stud. I'll worry about the Denver defense, that's what I worry about." Denver (12-4) had an extra week to prepare for Sunday's showdown after earning the conference's No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. The break couldn't have come at a better time for a Broncos team that listed 22 players on the injury report heading into a 47-14 rout of Oakland in its regular-season finale. The 38-year-old Manning sat out all of last week's workouts before returning to practice Monday. Leading tackler Brandon Marshall also participated for the first time since suffering a foot injury in Week 15. "It was much needed," safety Rahim Moore said. "I needed it, our team needed it, especially guys like Peyton, who's been playing since I came out the womb. ... He's an older guy. He needs it. You can't run a Ferrari - or no, a Bugatti - too much. He's our Bugatti. That's how Peyton is to his team, so you've got to give him some rest." Manning wasn't anywhere near his best over the last four games, posting a quarterback rating of 76.8 with three TDs and six interceptions while averaging 247.5 yards. He'll likely need to post better numbers to keep pace with Luck, who completed 31 of 44 passes for 376 yards with a TD in last Sunday's 26-10 wild-card win over Cincinnati. Luck led the NFL with a career-high 40 touchdown passes and finished third with 4,761 yards, just ahead of Manning's 4,727. "He's one of those guys that you have to play a 60-minute game against," Broncos Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Ware said of Luck. "He has really good pocket awareness. He's always one of those guys, just like Peyton, where he hits the open guy the majority of the time. He plays a fundamentally sound game." T.Y. Hilton caught six passes for 103 yards against the Bengals while running back Daniel Herron had 10 for 85. Herron also ran the ball 12 times for 56 yards and a score but fumbled twice, giving him four over the last seven games. Turnovers could prove costly against a Broncos team that racked up 13 takeaways in winning five of its final six games, with its only loss coming 37-28 at Cincinnati on Dec. 22. Denver finished .500 on the road, but it outscored opponents by an average of 14.6 points in going unbeaten at home. Manning posted a QB rating of 117.5 at home to rank second in the league, significantly higher than his road mark of 89.0. "They're a great football team and obviously they've got a great, great quarterback," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "It's always a huge challenge and at the same time, we're going to embrace the opportunity, embrace the moment. It's exciting, it's fun. It's always a great chess match." The Colts (12-5) will need to be wary of C.J. Anderson, who led the NFL with 648 rushing yards and eight TDs over the last six weeks of the regular season. The Broncos are 12-0 when compiling at least 88 yards on the ground. Indianapolis has allowed an average of 126.2 rushing yards over its last five games, including last week's victory. "The biggest thing is stopping the run before you can get to (Manning)," Colts defensive end Cory Redding told the team's official website. "We have to focus on that. That's where all our attention is going to go. Then when it's time to focus on 18, our coaches will draw up a good game plan, and we'll attack it the best way possible." Indianapolis will likely be keeping a close eye on Julius Thomas after the Pro Bowl tight end posted seven catches for a season-high 104 yards and three touchdowns in September. While Thomas hauled in 12 TDs over the first nine games, he hasn't scored since due in large part to a nagging sprained left ankle suffered in Week 11. Thomas is fully expected to suit up, and the Broncos are hoping to have left guard Orlando Franklin available after sustaining a concussion against the Raiders. Safety David Bruton Jr. is uncertain to play due to the same injury. Denver had dropped back-to-back divisional-round games before beating San Diego 24-17 en route to last season's Super Bowl, where it was embarrassed by Seattle in a 43-8 loss. The Colts haven't won in the divisional round since getting by Baltimore 20-3 on Jan. 16, 2010, with Manning leading the way. Source: Hosted.Stats.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025 Posted January 10, 2015 23 30 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradyFan81 404 Posted January 10, 2015 Don't see how the Colts can win. Their defense is bad against the run, okay vs the pass but Manning will probably shred them at home. I think the Broncos pass rush forces a Luck fumble and a few interceptions. 33 20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted January 10, 2015 Nothing is safe, nothing is sacred. Peyton is preparing to choke in the most vainglorious fashion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theMileHighGuy 656 Posted January 11, 2015 Razor pls - 136 - 17 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge+ 3,436 Posted January 11, 2015 Gonna take the upset in this one. Luck dominates, and Peyton plays well until he blows it at the end. 27 23 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted January 11, 2015 Age has finally caught up with Peyton. He's going one and done again. A close game until a signature Peyton pick-six seals it in the fourth. 38 27 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted January 11, 2015 Broncos WLB Brandon Marshall is active for Sunday's Divisional Round matchup with the Colts. Denver's inactives are WR Cody Latimer, CB Tony Carter, RB Juwan Thompson, OL Paul Cornick, OT Michael Schofield, TE Dominique Jones, and DL Mitch Unrein. Trent Richardson is a healthy scratch for the Colts' Divisional Round game versus Denver. Third on the depth chart behind Dan Herron and Zurlon Tipton, T-Rich was given a chance to earn a game-day helmet by practicing on the Colts' punt-coverage team this week. He apparently didn't show enough special teams prowess. The rest of the Colts' inactives are CB Jalil Brown, CB Sheldon Price, OLB Andy Muamba, OT Xavier Nixon, C Jonnothan Harrison, and DL Zach Kerr. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wattafan 28 Posted January 12, 2015 Nothing is safe, nothing is sacred. Peyton is preparing to choke in the most vainglorious fashion. He's not a choker - he is just done. A shame indeed, but the great one has seen his best days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) Why do these PeyPey-led teams just disappear in the playoffs more often than not? Sure, PeyPey doesn't play well, but receivers that break tackles consistently do nothing, RBs that are capable of going for 150+ a game get bottled up and do nothing, and defenses that are mostly solid do nothing but let plays happen. It's crazy. Edited January 12, 2015 by Vin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted January 12, 2015 https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/554440974391590913 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted January 12, 2015 Nothing is safe, nothing is sacred. Peyton is preparing to choke in the most vainglorious fashion. Fuck, I hate it when I'm right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted January 12, 2015 And now we'll be treated to moar PJ's shitty pizza commercials Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted January 12, 2015 Is Peyton done? Is John Fox out in Denver? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FartWaffles 1,857 Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) Is Peyton done? Is John Fox out in Denver? Who knows? Time will tell. Only thought in my mind right now is if Peyton made the right decision going to Denver. Oh what maybe could have been... Edited January 12, 2015 by FartWaffles 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wattafan 28 Posted January 12, 2015 Who knows? Time will tell. Only thought in my mind right now is if Peyton made the right decision going to Denver. Oh what maybe could have been... His accuracy on his deep balls is off just a fraction and that is not the young Peyton. I think the extra effort he has to put on them is effecting his accuracy. You will notice he is still good on the short to intermediate throws, so buyers beware. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted January 12, 2015 His deep ball has been junkier than usual ever since the neck injury though. He can float them and if his WRs are wide open, can still get the ball out there... But on plays that he needs to add some zip and not so much loft, he really can't make those throws. But there are ways around that, as he has proven most of the last few seasons.What we have seen lately and what is most concerning is that it looks like the mental side of his game is beginning to deteriorate. That's what has made him so deadly, even with the physical limitations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted January 12, 2015 Who knows? Time will tell. Only thought in my mind right now is if Peyton made the right decision going to Denver. Oh what maybe could have been... The 49ers aren't his style of team, really (and he probably would've murdered Harbaugh at some point) and could you imagine him having to play the Seahawks, Cards, and Rams twice a year... I love PeyPey but he would've retired by now had he gone to the Niners. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted January 12, 2015 Better teams though, with better coaching... The 49ers could have won a SB with Alex Smith, you could argue. Imagine Peyton... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sacks98 28 Posted January 12, 2015 I don't mean to disrespect Peyton but i feel like if you stop his short passing game and tackle well you have a great chance of beating him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted January 12, 2015 Welp. https://mobile.twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/554667776384589824 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted January 12, 2015 hahaha, why were even fielding him an injury in the first place... The jokes are real. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
