Peyton Manning Denver Broncos Debut: Peyton is Back!

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It has been 610 days since Peyton Manning’s last NFL game. He has not lost his touch. There were sports news and shows with concerns about his performance after recovering from his neck injury. He was 2 for 4 on his first drive with 22 yards. He utilized a nice balance of pass and run options. The run game was off to a slow start for his Broncos, especially after an early fumble by Willis McGahee with 7:15 remaining in the first. Manning was sacked twice in the first quarter.

He started the second quarter with the same stats as opponent quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger with 44 passing yards on 4 of 7 completions, no touchdowns and no interceptions. His air attack was smooth and effective through the second quarter with a no huddle offense and he rushed for a first down. Following his run, he was able to get rid of the ball to avoid his third sack of the game and he continued to complete passes.

 He was utilizing the run option less in the second quarter, until he got into the red zone on short yardage plays, eventually handing off to RB Knowshon Moreno for their first touchdown of the game. The no huddle drive of 10 plays resulted in 80 yards, including that touchdown.

In the third quarter, Peyton came up big on 2 plays with 80 yards, which included a touchdown pass of 69 yards. Denver Broncos trailed 14-19 at the start of the fourth, while Peyton continued to effectively pass the ball as he recorded his second touchdown pass of the night in the red zone on the Steelers own 1 to tight end, Jacob Tamme. Manning also followed up with a 2 point conversion pass completion to Willis MCGahee, giving the Broncos a 22-19 lead. They eventually finished with strong defense and an interception for a touchdown return.

Peyton finished strong in his debut with 253 yards on 19 for 26 completions and two touchdowns. Peyton Manning is back!