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While Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will go down in NFL history as having one of the most dangerous offenses pro football has ever seen, they are yet to meet the heights once set by Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. The Hall of Famer once ran an offense not even Mahomes and KC would've been able to keep pace with.
While many of Manning's most iconic years saw him don a Colts jersey, the Broncos legend took the league to task in the early 2010s to cast his name into the ring as one of the greatest to ever tread the pitch.
Renowned for his genius football IQ, Peyton Manning threw a festival on his opponents in 2013 running John Fox's Erhard-Perkins attack like a maestro. Leading offensive weapons Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas to the Pro Bowl, Manning steered a ship that put up 38 points per game on average.
Denver's defense, though, didn't live up to the reputation of their flaming offense, as the unit surrendered 25 points per game on average. Nonetheless, that saw the outfit as a whole put up some of the most exciting games of 2013.
The year marked a glorious time in Denver. Long balls to Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Wes Welker and Julius Thomas were the bread and butter of a show that ultimately went down in NFL history.
It was thus a sad fall from grace when OC Adam Gase's piping hot offense collapsed under the bright lights of Super Bowl XLVIII, and DC Jack Del Rio's 4-3 defense froze like a deer in headlights on that fateful night in New Jersey.
Standing under center on the opposing side was Seattle Seahawks legend Russell Wilson, who led a charge that made Denver's defense eat 43 points on the night. Meanwhile, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll poured ice water on Peyton Manning, as he sent him packing with a mere eight total points.
Stats of the highest-scoring offense in NFL history
John Fox's men took the NFL by storm in 2013, booking historic numbers across the board.
Peyton Manning recorded the most passing yards and touchdowns of his 17-year career that season, putting up an unprecedented 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. His mere 10 interceptions also made for a career-low TD-INT ratio.
Running back Knowshon Moreno had a career season, rushing for 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns. Statistically, it was the closest he ever came to yielding a Pro Bowl-worthy campaign, a feat that proved to be elusive across his six years in the league.
While John Fox's offensive schemes didn't make Moreno a Pro Bowler, they did indeed highlight the receivers on the end of Manning's passes. While four receivers exceeded the 700-yard mark, two booked an impressive 1,200+ yards receiving. Like Icarus, Demaryius Thomas (1,430) and Eric Decker (1,288) flew close to the sun that season before their fall in the Super Bowl.
As the sands of time will continue falling in the NFL, we will always be able to draw parallels to the greatest offense the league has ever seen, whether parallels to Greek mythology or otherwise.
