Peyton Manning's Legacy After Another Super Bowl Loss

AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

Peyton Manning is a future first ballot Hall of Famer, but what will his legacy be when he hangs up his pads for the last time?

Manning has had the best regular season career the NFL has ever seen, but for some reason when he gets to the post-season he has only been a shadow of himself (overall playoff record of 11-12). You can't deny his influence on the game, but the way he has performed in the playoffs has been nothing short of a disappointment. You could almost write a book full of all the records Manning has broken and will continue to break but the record that matters most (Super Bowl wins) has been the one that has eluded him so often.

The season Manning had this year was the best offensive showing we have ever had the pleasure of watching when he broke the record for most TD's in a season (55) and the most passing yards in a season (5,477). He has won an NFL record 5 MVP's, his 5th coming after his historic performance this year and set himself up to have a chance to keep up with his little brother Eli with Super Bowl wins.

Why is it that when Manning is needed most he falters? Is it his team or does he just not handle the spotlight well?

I don't have the answers to these questions, I just know that when you need Manning most he has a habit of not making the most of those opportunities.

Manning has been one and done in 8 of his 13 playoff appearances with a TD to INT ratio of 37-to-24, his ratio in the regular season, 491-to-219. That means he is throwing an interception 20% more of the time, but man is he good during the regular season.

Manning had the perfect chance to end all the doubters who believe he is not the greatest when he faced the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. Unfortunately for Manning and the Broncos their high powered offense struggled from beginning to end and seemed to not have the focus needed to pull out a win against the best defense in the league.

When asked after the game if he felt embarrassed about the way the game played out he took it as an insult and why wouldn't he, he felt his team was well prepared for this game and he has pride in that. However, asking if they feel embarrassed is an appropriate question about the game. To only score 8 points when you are the highest scoring offense in NFL history is embarrassing, no knock against the Broncos it just is what it is.

All the credit for the Super Bowl win should go towards the Seahawks and their defense who played lights out against the Broncos. The blame for the loss wasn't all on Manning, some receivers just couldn't keep their hands on the ball when they did catch it and his defense didn't help things out either. Whatever the reason the fall goes on his shoulders and his legacy is the one tarnished from this loss, at least in a national stand point.

Manning will bounce back and have another great season as he always does, but then he will be back in the playoffs and the talk about his legacy will come up once again (that is if he is medically cleared to play another season after his annual neck exam that is part of his contract). It's too bad that such a great quarterback will always have naysayers when it comes to who was the best to ever do it, but rings count and Manning is 1-2 in the biggest game the NFL has to offer.

Manning is a great competitor, leader, and one of the classiest people to ever play in the NFL, but so was Tim Tebow. No comparison to the play on the field if you're thinking I am saying that, but what I mean is that being a great person does not make you a great football player, however it does makes it that much harder to watch them fail. Watching Peyton crumble under the bright lights again makes you feel bad for a guy who has it all, except the one thing he really wanted, another Super Bowl victory.

Peyton Manning will still go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time but because of his post-season flops it will be hard to consider him the greatest ever, even though he should be.

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