Super Bowl 48: The Legacy of Peyton Manning

Jan 29, 2014; Jersey City, NJ, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback

(18) during a press conference for Super Bowl XLVIII at Hyatt Regency. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

The “Road to MetLife Stadium” has reached its conclusion. Sunday night, the Denver Broncos will take on the Seattle Seahawks at our beloved MetLife stadium for the right to call themselves the champions. Specifically, they will be the champions of the first, and maybe only, open-aired cold weather Super Bowl.

One name that is on everybody’s lips, and with good reason, is Peyton Manning. Specifically, the talk is about Peyton Manning’s legacy, and whether he needs this one to cement that legacy.

It’s really odd talk if you ask me.

Take a look at the stats that this man has racked up over the years:

These are about as dominating as they can be. The fact that he has had two of his most dominating seasons after the age of 35 should be reason enough to cement his legacy at the top. Then, add in the fact that these seasons took place after the age of 35, and after FOUR NECK SURGERIES. It should tell us all we need to know.

But there are still some that question his legacy. This, “He can’t win the big one” argument keeps coming up. Despite the fact that he has a Super Bowl win AND an MVP award, Peyton Manning can’t win the big one, according to some.

Let’s go over why this has nothing to do with his legacy.

As I said, he has won the big one. At the moment, his playoff record is 11-11, including the 2006 Super Bowl win. That actually is a lot of “big ones” that are under Peyton’s belt. It’s really silly to say it isn’t.

Secondly, Peyton’s teams wouldn’t have even BEEN IN a lot of these games if it weren’t for him. Manning’s dominance gave his teams the chance to be in these games in the FIRST PLACE. His legacy is about how he has played FOR HIS CAREER, not just in specific games.

One more issue. Nobody questions the fact that Dan Marino has a brilliant legacy, right? Well, he never won a Super Bowl, for anyone that wasn’t aware. His record in the playoffs? 8-10.

So, he has a worse post season record, and no titles. If that is what we consider elite and part of a legacy, Marino’s is worse, but Peyton is the one that gets questioned.

It makes no sense. Does winning on Sunday end a lot of the questions? Yes. But it shouldn’t come to that. There are no questions about the legacy of Peyton Manning.

One of the best to ever grace a football field.