The Life and Times of Peyton Manning Quiz

Answer: Arm strength

There was much debate in NFL circles about whether the Indianapolis Colts should select Manning, or the Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf, with the first pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. Leaf was seen to have a stronger arm and better mobility than Manning.

Despite that, most pundits saw Manning as a better prospect and this was echoed by Colts management too, leading to Manning's #1 selection. Leaf went #2 overall to the San Diego Chargers.

Answer: New York Jets

Manning threw three touchdown passes in a 24-23 win against the Jets in Week 11, on 15 November 1998. This game also featured Manning's first game-winning drive in his NFL career. Manning's rookie year saw him break the record for most touchdown passes and most interceptions by a rookie quarterback, throwing 26 and 28 respectively. While the Colts went 3-13, the rookie quarterback had shown glimpses of his greatness already.

Answer: Playoff win

The Colts went 10-6 in 2000, just one win shy of the division-winning Miami Dolphins. Manning had a great year on a personal level also, throwing for 33 touchdown passes and 4.413 passing yards. In Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Manning threw for 430 yards and four touchdowns, winning the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award in the process.

Manning's efforts saw him named Second Team All-Pro quarterback. He was also nominated to the Pro Bowl for a second year in a row after debuting in 1999. The Colts lost 23-17 to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Wildcard Round, meaning that Manning had failed to win a playoff game in the 2000 season.

Answer: 29

The Colts had a 12-4 record in 2003, eventually losing 24-14 to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. Manning had 29 touchdown passes and a league-best 4,267 passing yards in the regular season, which also helped him win the ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) award for Best NFL Player.

He also received his first nomination to the All-Pro First Team and won the 2003 Bert Bell Award for his performances in the 2003 season.

Answer: 522

Manning's stat sheet in 2004 borders on ridiculous. Amongst his finest stats were his 49 touchdown passes, his record-breaking 121.1 passer rating and his 9.2 yards per pass attempt (includes incomplete passes). 49 out of 50 votes cast for the 2004 NFL MVP were in favour of Manning. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick received the only other MVP vote.

The Colts' 522-point season was, at that time, the fourth highest of all time. Only the 1998 Minnesota Vikings (556), 2000 St. Louis Rams (540) and 1999 St. Louis Rams (526) had scored more points in a regular season.

Answer: Carson Palmer

2005 was a year of false dawns for the Colts and for Manning. The Colts lost 21-18 against the Steelers after kicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a 44-yard field goal that would have forced overtime. Not only this, but Manning also lost out on a third consecutive MVP award, coming second in the voting to Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander.

Manning, alongside Brady and Palmer, was nominated for the 2005 FedEx Air Player of the Year Award, but Palmer won after leading the Bengals to an 11-5 record, throwing a league-high 32 touchdown passes and having the best completion percentage in the NFL.

Answer: 1034

The Colts were seeded #3 in the AFC so had to go through the Wildcard Round. Against the Kansas City Chiefs, Manning threw for 268 yards in a 23-8 victory. Then, in the Divisional round, Manning had 170 yards in a 15-6 win for the Colts against the Baltimore Ravens. Manning had his finest game against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship, with 349 passing yards in a 38-34 comeback victory. Finally, Manning had 247 yards in the Super Bowl, winning Super Bowl MVP in the process.

The Colts defeated the Bears 29-17.

Answer: Green Bay Packers

The Colts took on the Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 7. The Packers won the game 34-14, with Manning throwing two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. (This was the first time Manning had done this since 2001). The Colts qualified for the Wildcard Round in 2008 but they were eliminated by the San Diego Chargers in a 23-17 result.

It was the second consecutive campaign that ended with a loss to the Chargers. Regardless, Manning still won his third MVP in 2008, tying Brett Favre's record.

Answer: 7

In Week 2, Manning found Pierre Garcon on a 48 yard touchdown to win 27-23 against the Miami Dolphins. While trailing the San Francisco 49ers 14-12, Manning led a nine play fourth quarter drive to win the game 18-14. A Joseph Addai touchdown run gave Indy a 20-17 win over the Houston Texans in Week 9.

The following week, a touchdown pass from Manning to Reggie Wayne with 13 seconds on the clock sealed a 35-34 win over the New England Patriots. in Week 11, a nine-play drive led to a game-winning field goal that beat the Baltimore Ravens. Incredibly, Manning did it for a fourth week in a row, leading three fourth quarter drives in a 35-27 win over the Texans.

Finally, in week 15, Manning led his seventh game-winning drive against the Jacksonville Jaguars, finding Reggie Wayne on a 65-yard touchdown pass to beat the Jags 35-31.

Answer: Dan Marino

Manning went on to bypass Marino's record with ease, achieving 300 yard games on 93 occasions during his career. Drew Brees, who defeated Manning in Super Bowl XLIV, became the first quarterback with 100 regular season 300 yard games during the 2018 season.

Favre fell just shy of Marino's record, with 62 300 yard games. During Montana and Elway's prime years in the 1980s, the NFL (partly due to the evolution of the West Coast offense perfected by Montana) was slowly transitioning into a pass-heavy league, which explains why Montana and Elway only had 39 and 36 of these games respectively.

Answer: 50th

Manning was still considered by his peers as one of the top 50 players in the league, despite the recency bias that often plagues lists such as this. He was ranked as the eighth best quarterback in the league (Aaron Rodgers was first, Drew Brees ranked second, Tom Brady was fourth, Ben Roethlisberger was 30th, Peyton's brother Eli was in 31st place, Cam Newton was 40th and Matthew Stafford came 41st). Elite players such as Von Miller (52), Tony Gonzalez (53), Philip Rivers (61), DeSean Jackson (71) and Jason Witten (75) all finished below Manning.

Answer: Nick Foles

Manning threw his touchdowns against the defending champion Baltimore Ravens, who had eliminated Manning's Denver team in the 2012 NFL playoffs. The Broncos won 49-27. Manning became only the second quarterback to throw seven touchdowns in a game without an interception, with Y.A Tittle also achieving the feat in 1962. Foles matched the feat in Week 9 of the 2013 season against the Oakland Raiders, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Answer: San Francisco 49ers

Manning achieved the feat on Sunday Night Football against the 49ers, throwing the record-breaking touchdown to Demaryius Thomas as part of a 318 yard, four touchdown performance. The Broncos won the game 42-17.

The 2014 season was a success for the Broncos and Manning, despite a Divisional round loss to Manning's former team in the Colts. Manning was nominated for his 14th Pro Bowl, throwing 4,727 passing yards and 39 touchdown passes.

Answer: Bennie Fowler

The Broncos won the game 24-10, even though the Panthers were heavily favoured heading into the game. The Broncos led 16-10 in the fourth quarter, before C.J Anderson ran in a two-yard touchdown to give Denver a 22-10 advantage. In a two-point conversion attempt, Manning found Fowler to make it a 24-10 score.

Answer: 11

Manning led the Colts to the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 AFC South titles. His move to Denver did nothing to halt his divisional dominance, leading the Broncos to the AFC West title in each of his four years, winning the division in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.