Tonight, Peyton Manning will officially be enshrined into the NFL Hall of Fame.  To honor one of my all-time favorite athletes, here is a Top Five list of some of my personal favorite games and moments from his legendary career that I had the privilege of experiencing in real time.  Spoiler alert:  The New England Patriots appear A LOT.

Honorable Mention:  2004 Thanksgiving Day Indianapolis Colts @ Detroit Lions

This game certainly had the lowest stakes of any of the games on this list, but I had to include it simply for the level of nostalgia it produces in my brain.  Whenever I think about this game, I get washed away with the feelings of Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandparents’ house. 

Every year for Thanksgiving, my extended family would always gather at my Grandparents house in the early afternoon to cook and visit and have the NFL games on in the background.  The Lions would always play the early game before we ate, the Cowboys would play the late afternoon game while we were all in a food coma. But in 2004, the vibe was different.  You see, I grew up in East Tennessee, about an hour and a half from Knoxville.  We took Peyton Manning VERY seriously.  If you don’t understand why, just do some light research on Peyton’s career and you’ll figure it out. 

By Thanksgiving Day 2004, Manning was firmly in the midst of his best statistical season that he would have as a Colt.  The Colts were finally true Super Bowl contenders and Manning was on pace to break Dan Marino’s highly respected single season passing touchdown record of 48 TDs (Peyton would end up breaking the record with 49 TDs which was broken by Tom Brady’s 50 TDs in 2007.  Peyton would then re-break the record in 2013 with 55 TDs.  Take that, Tom).

The game wouldn’t be mere background noise this year.  This year, it was all eyes on the Colts.  100% focus required.  Burn the turkey for all I care.  We have touchdown passes to count.  I vividly remember my 14-year-old self, racked with anticipation for the game.  I had my Peyton Manning jersey on.  The living room was packed with myself, my dad, granddad, my 8-year-old brother, and my uncle who didn’t even care for football but wanted to watch just to see what all the fuss was about, my grandmother asking me questions about the game as it went on, and my mom checking on us to make sure we hadn’t choked on any pre-meal snacks while yelling at the tv. 

Indy wore throwback uniforms with solid white helmets that had two little blue horseshoes on the very back.  Peyton brought his usual business-like attitude with Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley, Dallas Clark, and Edgerrin James in tow. They won by a score of 41-9.  Manning was a crisp 23-28 for 236 yds and a QB Rating of 141.4.  He added 6 touchdowns to his record-breaking pace and euphoria to our pounding hearts. 

I then ate my body weight in turkey, stuffing, and my grandmother’s undefeated pumpkin pie.  I don’t remember anything that happened after that.

You can watch the entire game for free here: 2004 Colts vs Lions Thanksgiving Day

Number 5:  2013 Week 1 Baltimore Ravens @ Denver Broncos

This game makes the list for one reason:  revenge. 

The previous season’s AFC Divisional Playoff game was one of the most soul-crushing defeats that I ever experienced in my sports fandom.  2012 was a special season because most everyone had written Peyton Manning off.  He was just coming back from the neck injury that cost him the entire 2011 season and ultimately his Indianapolis Colts career (which was devastating enough in itself).  But in 2012, Peyton came roaring back, proving that he could not only still play the game, but he had a new team with new tools and he was here to compete for Super Bowls.  He led Denver to a league best 13-3 season and the number one seed in the AFC. 

Late in the fourth quarter, the Divisional matchup with the Baltimore Ravens was basically over and the Broncos were looking toward another AFC Championship matchup with Peyton’s archrival Tom Brady when it happened… 

With 58 seconds remaining, the Ravens down 7 with no momentum, quarterback Joe Flacco stepped up in the pocket and heaved the ball downfield to receiver Jacoby Jones who inexplicably found himself behind the Broncos secondary.  The shocked Broncos would lose in overtime.  The Ravens went on the win the Super Bowl.

The NFL enjoyed the game so much that they scheduled an immediate rematch to begin the 2013 season.  I don’t think I’ve ever anticipated a season opener more, before or since.  You can almost picture the 1980s style montage sequence of Broncos players working out in the off-season, preparing to play the Ravens and avenge their 2012 collapse.

At the time, I didn’t have cable and streaming hadn’t really taken hold yet so I had to go to the gym at my apartment complex in Chattanooga, TN and watched the whole thing on a tiny little tv above a treadmill where I walked and watched for the entire 3 and a half hours.

It was totally worth it. 

Manning played like at bat out of hell, throwing 27-42 for a blistering 462 yards, a single game record 7 touchdowns, and a 141.1 QB Rating.  It would set the stage for the greatest statistical quarterback season of all time as Manning would go on to re-break the single season touchdown record, the single season passing yards record, and lead his team back to the Super Bowl. 

I couldn’t move my legs for days.

You can watch the entire game for free here: 2013 Week 1 Broncos vs Ravens

Number 4:  2005 Week 9 Indianapolis Colts @ New England Patriots

This game makes the list not because it was a “revenge” game per se, this one was more of a “please-God-let-us-get-the-giant-monkey-off-our-back” game.  Let me set the stage for you. 

In 2003, Peyton Manning had begun to come into his own and transformed into the leader that would keep the Colts in Super Bowl contention for the next 7 years.  Manning burned through the AFC playoffs, eviscerating the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs for a combined 681 yards, 8 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. 

But to win the AFC, one had to go through New England.  Indy was not prepared. 

It was a late afternoon game.  It was bitterly cold – one of those games that was so cold that you could feel it through the television.  There was ice and snow.  Peyton wore white sleeves.  The mad scientist, Bill Belichick and the unflappable wunderkind, Tom Brady were unbothered as they showed the Colts what a nightmare Foxborough can be in January. It was like playing against the White Walkers.  Peyton threw 4 picks and had a QB rating of 35.5. New England would go on to win the Super Bowl.

The 2004 matchup was the opportunity for revenge.  In ’04 Manning had a record-breaking season and again torched the Broncos in the first round of the playoffs putting up 49 points.  But once again, to win the AFC, you had to win in Foxborough.  This one was 5 degrees colder than the ’03 game.  The Patriots came with the same calculated game plan to slowly suffocate Peyton.  The record-breaking Colts offense didn’t even score a touchdown, losing 20-3.  New England would go on to win the Super Bowl.

This brings us to 2005. 

Forget revenge. Forget the Playoffs. In November of 2005, the only thing that mattered was for Peyton Manning and the Colts to prove to themselves that they could in fact beat the Patriots in Foxborough.  We all knew that accomplishing this was the ONLY path to a Super Bowl. 

In my opinion, the ’05 Colts were the best Indy team of the Manning era.  This team was more balanced on both sides of the ball than the record-breaking 2004 team, and they were more talented from top to bottom than either of the Super Bowl teams of ’06 and ’09. All of our favorite Colts players were squarely in their prime in ’05 and highly motivated after back-back embarrassing playoff exits at the hands of New England.  I could write an entire post about the ’05 team and their playoff failure against Pittsburgh *sets Mike Vanderjagt jersey on fire* and one day I will.  But in November, all that mattered was New England. 

From the opening kickoff on a cool Monday Night game in prime time, you could already sense that Indy was about to unleash years of frustration in Gillette Stadium.  It was clear that Peyton had now figured out the Patriots game plan that had stifled him for 2 years and there was nothing that Belichick could throw at him on this night to change the game.  Manning threw for 321 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a 117.1 QB Rating.  Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne terrorized the Patriots banged up secondary to the tune of 128 yards and 124 yards respectively.  Indy ran away with the game winning 40-21 and the monkey was removed from their back.

Before the 2005 game, Peyton Manning was 0-6 against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.  Starting with 2005, Manning would have a winning record against Brady for the rest of his career (6-5) and he would never lose to Brady in the playoffs again – winning their next three AFC Championship Game matchups. 

You can watch the entire game for free here: 2005 Week 9 Colts vs Patriots

Number 3:  2009 Week 10 New England Patriots @ Indianapolis Colts

By 2009, the Colts/Patriots rivalry had completely flipped.  Indy had won 4 of the last 5 games with Brady missing the previous year’s matchup with an ACL injury that cost him the season.  But Colts fans couldn’t rest on those laurels.  We knew that to be at the top, you always had to go through New England.  This would always be the second biggest game of the year for us behind only the Super Bowl itself, but now the vibe had changed. 

The existential fear that Colts fans had of New England from years past had vanished.  Bill Belichick, despite his defensive genius, could no longer contain or frustrate Manning like he could back in ’03-’04.  Belichick now had a healthy respect for Manning and game planned under the assumption that he would not be able to stop him.  No game in football illustrated that fact better than the 2009 matchup.

This game was a battle between two evenly matched teams and the two greatest quarterbacks of their generation trading body blows. Tom Brady went 29-42 for 375 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Peyton Manning went 28-44 for 327 yards and 4 touchdowns.  New England controlled the game fairly well in the first half and early in the fourth quarter they held a comfortable 31-14 over Indy.  But by the end of the third, Peyton had begun to catch fire.  With just under two and a half minutes remaining in the game, Manning had engineered three straight touchdown drives and had cut the Patriots lead down to 34-28.  You could see by the body language of the Pats defenders and the look on Belichick’s face that they had run out of answers and had no faith that they could stop Peyton Manning on one last possession.

Belichick’s only option was to run out the clock.

But with 2:23 remaining and Indy with all three timeouts to use, New England HAD to get a first down to run out the clock and win the game without giving Manning one last chance. 

Kevin Faulk runs up the middle for no gain.  Timeout Indianapolis.

On second down, Brady throws a short completing to Wes Welker for an 8 yard gain.  Timeout Indianapolis. 

3rd-and-2 with 2:11 remaining.

Brady drops back and throws to Welker again but it’s INCOMPLETE.  Clock is now stopped at 2:08. 

It’s fourth down and 2 yards to go.  

What happens next may be one of the most infamous plays in all of football history.  When you mention Bill Belichick and 4th-and-2, virtually everyone who’s ever watched a football game knows what you’re talking about. 

But what choice did Bill have?  Manning had just gone three straight drives carving up the gassed New England defense like my Thanksgiving turkey from 2004. With 2 minutes remaining and another Indy timeout, there was no reason to believe that Peyton Manning wasn’t gearing up for an 80 yard touchdown drive to win the game.

So Belichick played the only card he had left.  Go for it on 4th-and-2.  If the Pats convert, the game is over. 

Brady drops back to throw.

Nobody in my house can breathe.

Kevin Faulk makes the catch but before he can turn up field, he’s tackled by Melvin Bullitt.  One yard short of a first down.

Colts ball.

Peyton only needed four plays to throw a touchdown to Reggie Wayne with 16 seconds remaining.

35-34 Colts win. 

That’s why this game made the list.

You can watch the entire game for free here: 2009 Colts vs Patriots – 4th-and-2 Game. I highly recommend it.

Number 2:  2003 Week 5 Indianapolis Colts @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This game is one of those games where you just have to watch it to understand what happened.  Before you watch it though, lets get some context.

On October 6, 2003, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the defending Super Bowl champions and had one of the greatest, most dominant defenses of all time.  Guys like Warren Sapp, John Lynch, Derrick Brooks, and Ronde Barber were on this defense.  In 2002 they held their opponents scoring average to only 12.3 points per game.  For the first 3 games of 2003, opponents were only scoring 7.3 points per game. 

The architect of this dominant defense?  That would be Tony Dungy, who was forced out of Tampa Bay prior to the 2002 season and was now the head coach of the young, offensive minded Indianapolis Colts. 

Peyton Manning was just now beginning to become the dominant quarterback that we know and love, and he found himself with a chance to make a statement on Monday Night Football on the home field of the defending champs. 

The problem though was that this Bucs defense was really freaking good.  Also, Indy would be without star running back Edgerrin James due to injury, so the Colts running backs for the night would be Ricky Williams (no, not THAT Ricky Williams) and James Mungro.  Yeah.

I was 13 years old at the time, and I remember the Tampa Bay field looking hazy and humid and sticky.  It felt like they were playing in the swamp and the giant, lit up pirate ship rising into the humid night sky at Raymond James Stadium gave you the feeling that a TOUGH task was at hand for the young Colts. 

Al Michaels and John Madden were on the call.  It was a perfect October football night.

But when the game began, my worst fears were confirmed.  This Bucs defense was really freaking good.

They battered the Indianapolis offense around like rag dolls and by halftime, it was a bloody and brutal 21-0 Bucs lead.  One play encapsulated the entire half:  Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson grossly overthrew his receiver and Colts safety Mike Doss made the interception.  Doss returned the pick only to fumble himself.  Doss’s fumble was recovered by Bucs receiver Keenan McCardell and returned for a Bucs touchdown.  It was that kinda night. 

In third quarter, Manning was finally able to muster a touchdown drive, but was immediately matched by Tampa Bay.  28-7 Bucs lead at the start of the 4th. 

I was ready to give up at that point.  The defending champs D was so tough that every play from the Colts offense felt excruciating. 

Manning led another touchdown drive to begin the fourth quarter but followed up by throwing a pick to Ronde Barber who returned it for a Bucs touchdown to make it a 35-14 Bucs lead with right at five minutes remaining.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that the Colts were about to teach us that you never EVER give up on a team led by Peyton Manning. 

On the ensuing kickoff after the Barber pick-six, Colts kick returner Brad Pyatt ran the kickoff back for 90 yards, setting up Peyton at the Bucs 12 yard line.  Touchdown Indy four plays later.

Vanderjagt follows up by executing an onside kick and Indy stunningly recovers. 

Now it felt like something might be happening.

Manning gets the Colts into hurry-up mode and completes 5 of his next 6 passes, including a gorgeous 28 yard touchdown strike to Marvin Harrison.

Suddenly, with 2:38 remaining, it’s only a 7 point game at 35-28.

Vanderjagt attempts another onside kick but this one is recovered by Tampa Bay.  But 3 plays, a Colts timeout, a Two Minute Warning, and a bad 15 yard penalty against the Bucs leads to a Tampa Bay punt with 1:48 remaining.

A minute and a half is too much time to leave Peyton Manning.  Peyton leads Indy straight down the field including an unbelievably clutch 52 yard throw to Marvin Harrison.  Indy scores the game tying touchdown with 38 seconds remaining and somehow, someway, sends the game to Overtime.  Mike Vanderjagt would hit the game winning field goal.

I learned to never doubt a team led by Peyton Manning again.

You can watch the game here for free: 2003 Week 5 Colts vs Buccaneers.  The fourth quarter alone is must-watch television for any sports fan.

Number 1: 2006 AFC Championship Game New England Patriots @ Indianapolis Colts

Now THIS is a revenge game.

Years of frustration, post-season failures, and slander that Manning wasn’t built for the playoffs came together in this moment.  

Remember earlier how important it was to get that victory over the Patriots in Foxborough in ’05?  How it enabled to Colts to believe that they could win on the Patriots home field?  Well that ’05 confidence carried over to the ’06 regular season matchup which – once again – pitted Indy against New England in Foxborough.  This Week 9 matchup was VITAL to the AFC Championship matchup that followed.  Indy pulled out a 27-20 win against New England in Gillette Stadium which ended up being the tiebreaker that allowed the AFC Title game to be held in Indianapolis instead of Foxborough.  I can’t stress enough how important this was. 

Peyton Manning and Indianapolis had so many demons to face in this game.  The Brady/Belichick combo were already three-time champions, had ousted Indy in the playoffs twice, and had just upset the top seeded (and more talented) San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round.  Nobody knew how to win when it mattered better than the New England Patriots.

And New England began the game like champions.  With 9:25 to go in the second quarter – with flashbacks of Ty Law dancing before my eyes – Asante Samuel stepped in front of a Peyton Manning pass, intercepted it, and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.  21-3 New England lead.

But we learned in ’03 to never count Peyton out of a game. 

In the second half it was game on.  Peyton led back to back touchdown drives to start the third quarter including a shocking touchdown pass to former Patriots defensive tackle Dan Klecko and a two-point conversion to Marvin Harrison.  Just like that, the game was tied up at 21 and the heavyweight fight began.

Brady and Manning traded touchdown drives to make it 28-28.

Brady and Manning then traded field goal drives to make it 31-31.

Brady led another field goal drive to put New England ahead 34-31 with only 3 minutes left.

But Peyton Manning had one last drive in him that would change the narrative and his legacy.

Manning would hit 3 clutch completions survived and one heart-stopping almost fumble by Reggie Wayne to set up a go-ahead touchdown run by rookie Joseph Addai with 1 minute remaining. 

Brady would be intercepted on the final possession and Indy would go on to win the Super Bowl.

This game was the peak of my football fandom.  I could spend the rest of my life chasing the sort of feelings that this game brought when I was 16 years old.   Shoutout to my mother who came in clutch during that game-winning drive. 

Sensing the moment, my Mom had the presence of mind to snap the above picture of myself (the scrawny one in the middle), my dad, and my little brother each frozen with anticipation as we watch the Colts march down the field on their final drive.  

You can sense the tension here.

My Mom, no doubt, understood that if the Colts score on this drive, the worst us three boys would do is tear the house apart in a fit of pure joy, but if Indy lost, we would likely burn the house down in a fire of rage and fury.  I imagine that Mom wanted one last picture of her normal family before everything changed.

Jokes aside, I’m grateful for my MVP Mom for snapping this picture and forever capturing one of the great sports moments of my life.

A Thank You to Peyton Manning

Watching his Hall of Fame enshrinement had me all in my feels. 

I’ve enjoyed these last few days reminiscing about these moments that I grew up watching and experiencing.  Peyton Manning is one of the athletes directly responsible for the love and respect that I have for sports.  He gave my entire family a figure to unite around, to cheer for, and to become emotionally invested in.  We experienced his highs and lows right along with him throughout his career and I could easily do a Top 50 list rather than a Top 5. 

I’m forever grateful and forever shaped by the memories. 

Thank you, Peyton Manning.

“Omaha”