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Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history and he has the achievements to prove it. His five NFL MVP awards are the most by any player ever and he also won two Super Bowl rings.
At the time he retired, he held the all-time record for career paasing yards and touchdowns. His single-season records of 5,477 passing yards and 55 touchdowns still stand in 2023.
Manning spent most of his legendary career with the Indianapolis Colts before finishing it with the Denver Broncos. Being the greatest Colt to ever play football makes it extremely surprising that Peyton Manning was left off Jim Irsay's list of the greatest players in NFL history.
Irsay, the Colts' team owner, recently shared his list on his personal Twitter account with these names instead:
- Jim Brown
- Tom Brady
- John Elway
- Deacon Jones
- Reggie White
Colts fans quickly came to Manning's defense, criticizing Irsay for his polarizing list. Here are some of the top Twitter comments about his omission:
In order to add Manning to the top-five list, another player would need to be taken off it. The name most commonly brought up by Colts fans to be left out is John Elway. The general consensus is that Manning had a far superior career to Elway, while Irsay should also be more loyal to his own legendary player.
Did Peyton Manning have a better career than John Elway?
When comparing their statistical accomplishments directly against each other, Peyton Manning is far superior to John Elway in just about every possible measure. Manning exceeds Elway by more than 20,000 career passing yards and 239 touchdowns, despite playing in just 32 more career games.
Efficiency numbers also heavily favor Manning over Elway. Manning posted an elite 96.5 quarterback rating during his career to go with a stellar 65.3 completion percentage. While Elway's 79.9 career quarterback rating is solid, it comes nowhere near Manning's mark. Elway's career 56.9 completion percentage is also average at best.
NFL MVP awards and Super Bowl rings are two of the most important factors to consider when judging the overall career of a quarterback. While Manning and Elway each won two rings, Mannings' five NFL MVP awards blow away Elway, who won it just once during his career.
It's difficult to find any legitimate reason to rank Elway higher than Peyton Manning on the list of all-time greats, but that didn't stop Jim Irsay from doing so.
