Peyton Manning got it done Sunday, and we're not talking about his record-breaking 49th touchdown pass.
The player the Cold, Hard Football Facts have affectionately labeled Mr. October, the Picasso of Choke Artists and the Betty Ford of Chokeaholics, got physically beat up in a big game against a good San Diego defense. He even broke out his pouty, shoulder-shrugging, arm-flapping "why are they hitting me" pose that seems to rear its ugly old self during every Indy loss and that New England fans are so familiar with.
But when his team truly needed him and the touchdown passes truly counted, Manning tightened his chinstrap, pulled it all together and led the Colts (12-3) to a clutch, late-season, come-from-behind 34-31 overtime victory against the Chargers (11-4). It was, in the inestimable opinion of the Cold, Hard Football Facts, the best game of Manning's career. Here's why:
• Manning was under heavy pressure throughout the game, and was sacked twice in the fourth quarter as the Chargers hung on to a late 31-23 lead.
• In a season marked by a flurry of TD passes against woeful opponents, Manning set the single-season TD pass record in a meaningful way: his 21-yard scoring strike to Brandon Stokley brought the Colts to within two with less than one minute to play. Indy tied the game with a 2-point conversion.
• Manning fans discovered that clutch victories against tough opponents are far sweeter than inflated stat lines against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.
• Manning overcame adversity to play his best ball when it counted most. Heading into the fourth quarter, Manning had served up a mediocre performance: 15 for 24, 185 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. In the fourth quarter and overtime, he lit up San Diego to the tune of 12 for 20, 198 yards and 1 TD. In overtime, he put the Colts into field goal range when he connected with Reggie Wayne for a 35-yard gain, Indy's longest play of the game.
The game lost some of its meaning later in the day, when the Patriots wrapped up the AFC's No. 2 seed. So when all was said and done, the Colts simply secured the AFC's No. 3 seed instead of the No. 4 seed, which means they'll face New England, not Pittsburgh, if they win their first-round playoff game (that's not exactly a reward for their victory); the Colts could host San Diego if both make it to the AFC title game; and Manning still needs to win four more games just like Sunday's affair against strong defensive teams to punctuate his record-setting season. But when the chips were down, his nose was bloodied, the opponent was tough and the game counted, Manning stepped it up and got it done.
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The media donkeys tried to turn Tom Brady's woeful performance against the Miami Dolphins last week into something more than it was: a hiccup by one of the game's most brilliant stars. The negativity in the Boston media was rampant, highlighted by the headlines before Sunday's New England-N.Y. Jets game.
Page one of the print version of The Boston Herald sports section was typical. It screamed: "Sore Losers? Mounting injuries, a typical late-season problems are signs of trouble for Pats." The story listed all the reasons to worry about the Patriots.
The Patriots, of course, went out Sunday and manhandled the Jets (10-5) in a resounding 23-7 victory and improved their record to 13-2 this season and 28-2 in their last 30 games. Over the past two years, the Patriots are 17-1 against teams that had winning records in 2003 (10-0) or 2004 (7-1), and they're three wins away from tying the NFL record for most victories (33) over a two-year span.
Yup, sounds like trouble.
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In case you're counting:
• The Bills are 0-1 against the Patriots over the last nine weeks, but 8-0 against the rest of the league.
• The Jets are 0-2 against the Patriots this season, and 10-3 against the rest of the league.
• The Colts are 0-3 against the Patriots over the past two seasons, but 26-5 against the rest of the league.
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Former NFL great Reggie White passed away Sunday morning at age 43. It's ironic, because in the days leading up to Christmas NFL Films had been airing a special about religion in the NFL. The show spent quite a bit of time focusing on White, a devout Christian and preacher who was known as the "Minister of Defense." One of the more interesting testaments to White's character was that he had taken up Hebrew in recent years so that he could read the Scriptures in their original language. White also expressed regret for some ignorant things he had said during a speech in front of the Wisconsin legislature several years ago.
Here are a couple of Cold, Hard Football Facts about White you may not know:
• White, of course, retired as the NFL's all-time sack leader with 198 QB takedowns (he's since been surpassed by Bruch Smith). But he's also the all-time sack leader in University of Tennessee history, with 32. He captained the Volunteers in 1983, his senior season, when he was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and was a consensus All-America player.
• White spent two seasons in the USFL before joining the NFL. He registered 23.5 sacks in his two years playing for the Memphis Showboats.
The all-time sack record, it should be stated, is questionable one because the NFL did not start recording sacks until 1982, just four years before White joined the league.
Some football experts believe that players like Deacon Jones might have registered more quarterback sacks. Jones played 14 seasons in the NFL (1961-74), was a two-time NFL defensive player of the year and was so proficient at getting to quarterbacks that he coined a new term for tackling them. It's a word football fans know well today. Jones called his QB takedowns "sacks."
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Exactly 15 minutes before kickoff of the New England-N.Y. Jets game Sunday – a contest that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady called "the defining game of our season" – the hosts on sports radio WEEI-850 in Boston were talking about Jorge Posada's ability to handle pitchers.
WEEI has been very supportive of the Cold, Hard Football Facts, plugging the site on numerous occasions this season. But it's time to give the incessant Red Sox chatter a rest for a few months. There's another champion in town and they're trying to defend their title right now.
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By the way, is there anything more unprofessional than male sportscasters discussing on air the physical merits of various female media professionals? Imagine if you and your buddies stood around the water cooler and broadcast your thoughts about your female coworkers over the company intercom.
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Tom Brady was the subject of Fox's pregame "10 Downs with TB" interview with Terry Bradshaw Sunday.
It was a treat watching two two-time Super Bowl MVPs chuckle over their shared history of success. Two of Brady's answers offered a little insight into his character and his approach to football.
Bradshaw asked Brady to choose between a game with four TD passes or a game with zero interceptions. Brady said he preferred the zero-interception game. And when Bradshaw asked which was better, Brady's second Super Bowl MVP award or a third Super Bowl victory, Brady opted for the latter.
Bradshaw, a four-time Super Bowl champion, heartily agreed with both answers and, like a tight little clique of men who speak a language only a handful of others understand, two of the NFL's greatest winners shared a robust round of jocular laughter.
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Buffalo is one of the hottest teams in football. The Bills are 6-0 in their last six games and have outscored their opponents 228-89 (an average of 38.0-14.8).
But before Buffalo fans hook up another horse to pull the bandwagon, here are a handful of Cold, Hard Football Facts to consider:
• Buffalo's six victims are a combined 30-59 (.337).
• Only one of their six opponents, Seattle (8-7) has a winning record.
• Their other victims are St. Louis (6-8), Cincinnati (7-8) and the three worst teams in football: Miami (4-11), Cleveland (3-12) and San Francisco (2-13).
• The Bills are 1-5 against teams with winning records this season, beating only the Jets, 22-17, at home.
The Bills began the season with a 1-5 record and if they makes the playoffs – and they very well can because they host a Pittsburgh team Sunday that has nothing to play for – it will be one of the more remarkable comebacks in recent NFL history. But their games will look a little different when the opponents are Pittsburgh, New England or Indy.
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The Cold, Hard Football Facts quality wins quotient struggled to find direction early in the season. But as the season's progressed, and we've begun to see separation between the league's top and bottom teams, it's gradually become a more accurate indicator of victory, as we suggested it would. This week, the quality wins quotient accurately predicted wins by Seattle, Pittsburgh, Indy and New England.
