Back in the saddle



The Denver Post

By Adam Cancryn

Toward the end of the first quarter last night, Peyton Manning threw an incompletion. And it was right then, when the ball fell to the turf and skittered away, that you knew he would be okay. All of the uncertainty, all of the worrying about his neck, his arm, his game readiness, all of it was for naught. It's a different city and different time, yes. But the same Peyton persists.

At the time of the incompletion, the Broncos sat deep in their own territory. Thirty seconds remained in a fits-and-starts quarter typical of two teams feeling the other out. Facing a third and 17, Denver set up in a shotgun formation. Pittsburgh countered with basic pass coverage in the secondary, charging their safeties with giving help over the top on deep routes.

Typical pre-snap histrionics completed (what adjustments Manning makes during the last few seconds are as fascinating and likely as meaningful as they are confusing), the Denver quarterback received the snap and scanned through his options. He settled on Demaryius Thomas, the rangy 2010 first-round draft pick currently sprinting down the right sideline, a defender in a close pursuit.

At the same time, however, Manning detected the presence of pressure from both the right and the left. The Pittsburgh defensive line had fought its way into the pocket. Eyes still downfield, he responded with two shuffles up into the rapidly shrinking bubble. The defenders flew by, clawing at air as Manning unleashed a spiral.

Thomas had two men on him by this point; the cornerback had matched him step for step, and now a safety came hurtling in. The three crowded into tight area, with Thomas hemmed in by his two shadows on one side, and an unflinching sideline on the other.

And yet here came the ball, sailing in from roughly 20 yards out and squeezing into that cell, consuming the last fragment of space between the triangulation of Thomas, his defenders and the sideline.

The ball hit the ground, inches from the receiver's grasp.

Thomas complained he'd been held, preventing a catch. The officials disagreed, and play continued. The Broncos punted, the scoreless tie remained. But for those watching Manning for early indications on how this comeback might go, that pass provided the first answer. Watch the play again, and amid Thomas' struggle to keep the defenders off him, you see a hint of surprise. By the time he registers that the ball is right there, in the perfect spot between sideline and shadows, it's too late to get his hands in position. Given the tiniest, most improbable window, Manning not only went for it but executed so flawlessly it caught even his intended receiver off-guard. That's understandable. For a decade, no one threw with the combination of accuracy, speed and prescience that Manning had. For at least one more year, it appears that will hold true.

The points eventually came. After sitting on the bench for a lengthy Pittsburgh drive that took up much of the second and third quarters, he trotted out and promptly read safety Troy Polamalu, audibled out of the current play and hit Thomas on a screen pass that left Polamalu hopelessly out of position. Seventy yards later, Manning had his 400th career passing touchdown.

Number 401 followed in the same fashion. At the two yard line, he recognized bump-and-run coverage on the receivers, switched the play at the last second and hit tight end Jacob Tamme on a pick play that put Denver up for good. All of the Broncos' 22 offensive points came out of the no huddle, with Manning calling the plays.

It's been nearly two years since he started an NFL game, but the scene nevertheless felt familiar. Manning threw just seven completions, spread the ball to all corners of the field and engineered a strikingly efficient two-minute drill. And at the end, Number 18 trotted off the field, victorious. Times change, players come and go, and in football especially, excellence is fleeting. But for at least one more night, Manning persists.

Adam Cancryn is an editor and co-founder of Began in '96.