For two weeks, Peyton Manning had outwitted the defenses, flirted with perfection and dazzled the NFL.
But it took the New England Patriots’ defense to finally give The Man Who Never Punts the riddle he couldn’t solve.
In the biggest game of his professional career Sunday, Manning was a roundly inconsistent, alarmingly mortal 23-of-47 passing for 237 yards and only one touchdown. More tellingly, he threw four interceptions, three to cornerback Ty Law. He had no answers.
“I just made some bad throws and some bad decisions,” Manning said, after his Colts had fallen to the Patriots 24-14.
Though Edgerrin James rushed for 78 yards for Indy, Manning struggled to get the ball into his receivers’ hands. Pro Bowl receiver Marvin Harrison had only three catches for 19 yards.
Manning’s heretofore postseason magic at the line of scrimmage–changing called plays, finding open receivers–never seemed to surface.
“All week long, we heard about Peyton Manning,” said New England defensive end Richard Seymour. “It seemed like Peyton Manning ran their offense, like Peyton Manning was the head coach, and like Peyton Manning was playing defense.”
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Edited by the Sports staff of RedEye
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