It starts with Fox, who received a contract extension last offseason but failed to coach a better roster deeper into the playoffs this season. He missed six deep throws in the first half - only one of which was remotely catchable, and in a moment that so acutely showed the difference between Manning and Luck, he passed up the chance to scramble for a first down while facing a wide-open field and instead missed a throw on the sideline.īut in their first game of the postseason - dubbed the "real season" earlier this week by head coach John Fox - it all failed, leaving the Broncos facing huge questions as they head into another bitter offseason facing major questions. Hilton, but the quarterback's mistakes were massive. Manning wasn't the only reason the Broncos lost to the Colts - the Broncos supposedly fearsome pass rush disappeared, and cornerback Aqib Talib couldn't cover Colts receiver T.Y.
FUTURE COLTS VIKING GAMES FREE
The Broncos their offseason trying to improve the roster around the Manning, shelling out more than $60 million guaranteed to a trio of big-ticket defensive free agents, and spent the second half of the regular season changing the offense to take pressure off Manning. Maybe Sunday's home loss - a game in which the crowd at Sports Authority Field repeatedly booed Manning and the offseason - is worse because the expectations were so much higher. Then came the Super Bowl blowout last year, when the Broncos' high-powered offense that set so many records in the regular season floundered. There was the Ravens' double-over divisional round loss in 2012 that, while disappointing, considered just the start of a promising era under Manning after he proved he had recovered from his neck injury. Now each of Manning's three seasons in Denver has ended in heartbreak, each of a different variety. It was a stark contrast to what Manning and the Broncos could not do, as they watched their Super Bowl dreams go bust in their second home divisional round loss in three years. "He believes that every play is going to be a big play for us. No matter what the situation, no matter how bad we're behind the eight ball, he still goes out there and keeps everybody under control," Colts receiver Reggie Wayne said. The Colts are stunningly unbalanced on offense, but Luck has made it work. Luck was precise with his passes (he threw for 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns), was clutch on third downs (the Colts went 5-for-13 on third down attempts) and he was tough (scrambling two times for 21 yards) while deftly avoiding the Broncos' feeble attempts at a pass rush.
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So much like he had been for almost the entire game against the Broncos, when, in so many ways he was everything that an aging Manning was not. He sipped from a bottle of water as he chatted with his parents. He pulled on a black overcoat and grabbed his girlfriend's hand. Just down the hall, Luck too had joined his family. Manning took a knee, and pulled the child in for a hug. Manning's three-year-old son, Marshall, found his father just outside the Broncos' locker room. He needs to reassess his body, and what the 2015 Broncos might look like, from the coaching staff on down.īut before Manning could be begin processing, he had to be dad. He needed to process not just the loss to the Colts, but how he and the Broncos got here. Manning was noncommittal Sunday night about his future – backing off a proclamation he made last month that he planned to return to the Broncos in 2015.
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1 pick in the draft, and that the biggest win of Luck's career came on what ultimately might have been Manning's final game. It was fitting that Luck's postseason breakthrough came against Manning, the quarterback to whom he will always be compared after the Colts parted ways with Manning in 2012 shortly before drafting Luck with the No. He knows that, and he worked that much harder in practice." So for him to take that next step, he has to beat Peyton.
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At some point in time, you have to beat the great ones," Colts wide receiver T.Y. "It takes the great ones to beat the great ones. 1-seeded New England Patriots in the AFC Championship at Gilette Stadium in Foxboro next Sunday. Luck was masterful in a 24-13 AFC divisional round win against Manning's Denver Broncos on Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, a game that now has Luck and the Indianapolis Colts one game away from the Super Bowl. Watch Video: Andrew Luck pushes Colts past Peyton Manning, BroncosĭENVER - Consider Andrew Luck completely out of Peyton Manning's shadow.