Can Peyton Manning Overcome His Playoff Woes?

Peyton Manning is arguably one of the 5 greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of football. Actually, it's not even much of an argument. Peyton Manning IS one of the 5 greatest quarterbacks to play the game of football. You can pick and choose which other quarterbacks belong with him in the top 5, and everyone probably has their own opinions. (For the record, my top 5 is Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Manning, John Elway, and Dan Marino, in that order) Manning is the owner of so many NFL records and astounding statistics that it's difficult to even wrap your head around his dominance. He is the owner of 4 MVPs, a 12x Pro-Bowler, a 5x All-Pro, and numerous other accolades. His list of Colts franchise records and NFL records reads like a Samuel Richardson novel, a never ending composition of words that has you fast asleep by the time you reach page 2. Yet despite all of this, Peyton Manning's career playoff record is an incredibly mediocre 9-10. He has reached the Super Bowl only one time in his illustrious career, and he has lost his team's first playoff game a remarkable 7 times. It's truly disconcerting to look back on Manning's career among all of his individual achievements, and see how often he has come up short in the playoffs.

Now Manning resides in Denver, and after another incredible season in which he led his Broncos to a 13-3 record and the #1 seed in the AFC, he finds himself raring to go for another go-round in the unforgiving, win or go home playoff format. Yes, Manning has homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, and that could play a pivotal role in his team's success as the altitude in Denver has been known to cripple teams, and wear down their players. Unfortunately for Peyton, he's going to find himself in some awfully cold weather. And if you know anything about Manning's career you'll know that he's not too fond of chilly conditions. In fact, Peyton has played in the playoffs 3 times where the weather has dipped below 40 degrees at kickoff. In those 3 games, Manning has gone 0-3 and thrown 1 touchdown as compared to 7 interceptions. Two of those losses came against the New England Patriots, and one came against the New York Jets. Fortunately for him and the Broncos, it hasn't been since 2004 that Manning has played in such conditions, and you'd have to think that maybe he's gotten over those experiences.

We're about to find out, however, and we're about to find out real soon. Saturday evening in Denver is shaping up to be a chilly one, as it is tentatively looking like it'll be around 25 degrees at kickoff with a slight chance of snow. Is this the year Manning finally steps up in the frigid temperatures and delivers his team a big win? It won't be easy, regardless of the weather, as the Ravens come to town. They're accustomed to some wintry conditions, and they're fresh off a win last week against Manning's former team, the Indianapolis Colts. Not to mention they're playing on the ultimate high, knowing that this is Ray Lewis' final ride, and they don't want to send their emotional leader out on a low-note. The Ravens certainly won't go down without a fight, even though Manning tends to own Baltimore, especially of late as he is 9-1 in his last 10 starts against Ball So Hard University.

Of course, you can't put all the blame solely on Manning for his playoff shortcomings. But being the quarterback of an NFL team is like being the President. When things go right, you get the praise; when things go wrong, all fingers point to you. Despite this, if Manning fails to come up big under the brightest lights once again, you'll be forced to wonder if Manning truly is a man of unmatchable regular season success, but one that simply disappears when his team needs his heroics the most.

Peyton Manning can read a defense faster than two-word sentence, but if his fingers get too numb on Saturday, he likely won't be able to turn the page to the AFC Championship game.