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Peyton Manning is, without a doubt, one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever played in the NFL. So it was not at all surprising when in early February, the former Colt and Bronco was selected for induction in the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2021.
The formal enshrining ceremony is scheduled to take place on August 8. With a few months to go till then, let's roll back the clock and take a look at some of Peyton Manning's ten greatest moments in the NFL.
Also Read: Who is Peyton Manning's Wife, Ashley Manning?
#10 Peyton Manning runs for a 33-yard touchdown on November 4th, 2001 in a Week 8 victory at the Buffalo Bills
As great a signal-caller as Peyton Manning was, Lamar Jackson he was not. Manning only amassed 667 yards rushing in the entirety of his 17-year career.
Peyton Manning notched up 33 of those yards alongside this infamous TD against the Buffalo Bills back in 2001.
It's a real collector's item of a score for the University of Tenessee product. Hence it makes the list at number 10.
#9 Peyton Manning throws a 4-yard TD pass to Pierre Garcon in the 2009 AFC championship game
Down 17-13 at the half, the Peyton Manning-inspired Indianapolis Colts put on a clinic in the third and fourth quarters to win 30-17.
In the third quarter, Manning's 4-yard TD pass to Pierre Garcon was a particular highlight, capping off a pulsating drive upfield. You can see the pass at 5.42 in the video linked above.
#8 Peyton Manning's Perfect Pass to Emmanuel Sanders for a 75-Yard TD vs Cleveland Browns
After throwing his third pick-6 of the season in the previous series of plays, Peyton Manning rebounded in true Hall of Fame fashion with this spectacular 75-yard TD pass to Emmanuel Sanders in October 2015.
The Broncos won the game 26-23, but Denver fans are still talking about that perfect pass by Peyton Manning. It really was on a dime!
Also Read: Who are Peyton Manning's kids?
#7 Peyton Manning throws a 1-yard TD pass to OL Dan Klecko in the Colts' epic come-from-behind win against the Patriots in the 2007 AFC Championship Game
Down 21-6 at the halftime interval, a superb second-half performance from Peyton Manning helped the Colts snatch a dramatic victory in this classic AFC Championship encounter.
The highlight of the contest has to be Peyton Manning's 1-yard TD pass to OL Dan Klecko late in the third quarter.
Manning followed up the TD with a pass to Marvin Harrison for the 2-pt conversion to level the scores. The Colts went on to win 38-34 in what was one of the most extraordinary performances of the Hall of Famer's career.
#6 Peyton Manning throws a 21-yard TD pass to secure the win for the Colts against the Chargers
This 21-yard TD pass sealing the Colts' 2004 overtime win against the San Diego Chargers has to go down as one of Peyton Manning's greatest plays. That was simply because it took the Colts legend past Dan Marino's tally of 48 TD passes in a single NFL regular season.
Manning found Brandon Stokley in the end zone to surpass the total posted by the Dolphins legend in 1984.
#5 Peyton Manning rushes in for a 1-yard TD against the Cowboys in one of the most exciting NFL contests of all time
This 1-yard trundle to the end zone was Peyton Manning's first rushing TD in five years.
The Colts opted to run a bootleg down on the Dallas 1-yard line, and it definitely worked: Manning fooled just about everybody in the AT&T Stadium that day, including a bewildered cameraman who got caught out following the mass of bodies at the line while Peyton Manning jogged in for a superb six points.
This game was tied at 48 points apiece deep in the fourth quarter. But Colts' K Matt Prater held his nerve to send one through the posts with just three seconds left on the clock. A truly epic encounter and a game for the ages, the Colts won it 51-48.
#4 Peyton Manning throws a game-winning 1-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne in a classic Colts vs Patriots clash in November 2009
Down by six points late in the fourth quarter, and up against Tom Brady and the rest of a superb New England Patriots side in 2009, Colts fans could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel.
The Patriots had the ball on their own 28 at fourth and one. It's a testament to just how good a player Peyton Manning was that the Patriots coach Belichick opted not to punt. Instead, he chose to try and scramble that extra yard just to keep the ball out of Manning's hands.
Belichick's ploy failed, though. The gamble did not pay off, and the Patriots ceded possession back to the Colts.
Peyton Manning retook the field a few yards short of the end zone, drove the Colts up to the Pats' 1-yard line and then found Reggie Wayne with a bullet pass in the end zone with just 16 seconds remaining on the clock. Touchdown Colts!
Matt Prater made the kick, and the Colts won out 35-34 in a game that will live long in the memory... especially Belichick's.
"We tried to win the game on that play," Belichick explained. "I thought we could make the yard. We had a good play; we completed it. I don't know how we couldn't get a yard."
Sounds to me like Manning got inside your head, Bill...
#3 Peyton Manning finds Thomas in the end zone (twice) to equal and then break Brett Favre's record for most career TD passes against the 49ers
Peyton Manning broke the record for the most TD passes thrown in the history of football during this 2013 encounter against the 49ers when he twice found Thomas in the end zone to register the 509th and 510th TD throws of his career.
Manning retired after notching up 539 TD passes, a record that has since been broken by Tom Brady (581 and counting) and the recently-retired Saints legend, Drew Brees (571).
Peyton Manning might not hold the record any longer. But he's in some pretty elite company at the top of the charts, to be fair!
#2 Peyton Manning ties the record for most TD passes in a single season with an absolute beauty of a pass to Decker in 2013
Peyton Manning equaled Tom Brady's record of 50 TD passes thrown in a single season with this peach of a pass to WR Eric Decker in 2013.
Manning went on to tally 55 TD passes that season, a record that still stands.
#1 Peyton Manning links up with Reggie Wayne at Super Bowl XLl with a 53-yard TD pass
If one moment were capable of encapsulating Peyton Manning's entire career, it would be this 53-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne at the Super Bowl in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears in 2007.
Hanging in the pocket as long as he could and up against a rough Bears' D, Peyton Manning launched one to his favored receiver, who took it to the house. The Colts went on to hoist the Lombardi trophy that day, beating the Bears 29-17.
Manning had a lot of success post-Indianapolis and even won another Super Bowl while operating in Denver. But if you ask most men my age (35-years old) what they remember of a prime Peyton Manning, a significant number would respond going long to Reggie Wayne with the Colts.
Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning were one of the deadliest duos in NFL history, and that's why this play makes the list at number 1.
