Peyton Manning gets too much credit and too much blame.

He and every other quarterback in the National Football League have that problem.

It was tough to watch my favorite quarterback struggle to keep the Denver Broncos in the game against the Colts.

The Broncos started out strong, but Indianapolis made some great adjustments and took away pretty much everything Denver wanted to do.

The Broncos could not run the ball because the offensive line was unable to open holes for the backs.

The line also could not give Manning enough time to wait for his receivers to create space for him to throw the ball.

They also dropped passes, which did not help the offense’s cause.

Then there was the Denver defense, which like in last year’s Super Bowl against Seattle, could not stop a soul.

All those additions that supposedly made the Broncos stronger and tougher on defense did not do their jobs yet again in a big game.

Andrew Luck and the Colts pretty much had their way with the Denver defense.

And, as much as this pains me to say, it is time for Manning to retire, live with the criticism of not being a great playoff quarterback and wait for the Hall of Fame to call.

Once he steps away and is inducted into the Hall of Fame people will realize just how good he really was.

There has never been a quarterback like Peyton Manning and I doubt there will be another one.

The closest thing I have seen is Luck, who ironically replaced Manning in Indianapolis.

He has many of the same traits, but he turns the ball over more than Manning did at that stage of his career.

So before you start laying the blame at the feet of Manning following another playoff loss, remember football is a team game and everyone needs to do their part.

 

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com or by calling 687-7702.