DENVER — There are not enough superlatives to describe Peyton Manning’s season. The Broncos quarterback has broken records, played some of his best football and guided Denver to a 13-3 record and the No. 1 seed, all at the age of 37.
And it all means nothing if Manning and the Broncos don’t finish the job.
The legacy of Manning putting up huge regular season numbers but faltering in the playoffs grew last year when the Broncos lost to the Ravens. Manning is 9-11 in the postseason in his career and has lost in his team’s first game eight times.
The Broncos begin their quest to make it to MetLife Stadium on Sunday against the Chargers. Manning was asked this week if he feels like he has put too much pressure on himself in the past.
“That’s not how I feel,” Manning said. “I guess everybody has a different theory or analysis. … I don’t believe that to be true. I’ve always enjoyed it and I felt fortunate to be in every opportunity when you get a chance to play in the postseason. Obviously, if you keep advancing, it’s exciting. That is what you’re looking forward to trying to do.”
The Broncos do not have an easy path. The Chargers won in Denver last month and are the hottest team in the AFC, winners of five straight. They were the only team this season to hold the Broncos under 400 yards of offense, and they did it twice. Two of the Broncos’ three lowest scoring totals came against the Chargers.
Then there is Manning’s history with the Chargers. He is 0-2 against them in the playoffs, both games coming when he was on the Colts. They are the only team he has faced multiple times in the playoffs without a win. Overall, he is 7-6 in his career against the Chargers.
A look inside the game:
MARQUEE MATCHUP
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning vs. Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano
Pagano devised a tremendous game plan last week against the Bengals. San Diego put a ton of pressure on Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton and confused him with multiple looks. The Chargers forced three turnovers from Dalton and four in the game.
This week the opponent gets a lot tougher. It’s hard to show Manning anything he has not seen. No one is better at making adjustments at the line of scrimmage than Manning. Pagano is going to have to dig deep into his bag of tricks this week. Manning had two touchdowns and an interception when the two teams met a month ago, but just 289 yards — one of just three times this year Manning threw for fewer than 300 yards.
WATCH THE CLOCK
One way to beat Manning? Keep him off the field. The Chargers led the NFL in time of possession this year (32:59 average) and have rushed the ball at least 35 times in every game during their five-game winning streak. In Week 15, the Chargers held the ball for 38:49 against the Broncos.
“You never know how a game is going to play out,” Manning said. “Just because something happened the previous game, or two games, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again. And so you prepare for the game plan, but you go out, you have to be ready to adjust to a shootout, to a low-scoring game, whatever it may be. You certainly see lots of different types of games here in the postseason. I’ve always believed that. It’s going to be a team effort.”
THE RETURN OF WELKER
Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker missed his team’s final three games of the regular season with a concussion. That includes the Dec. 12 game against the Chargers, a Broncos loss. In that game, the Broncos were a dismal 2-for-9 on third down. Welker, a master on third down, should help that number.
“He’s one of the best slot receivers of all time,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said. “So his production, wherever he’s been, speaks for itself. So you’ve got to know where he is every play.”
Welker had 73 catches for 778 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season in Denver despite missing those three games.
D BOLTS
When you think of the Chargers, you think offense — Dan Fouts, Lance Alworth, Kellen Winslow. But this year’s Bolts are playing some defense, particularly lately. In December, the Chargers gave up 315.8 yards per game, the sixth-fewest in the NFL, and 17.6 points per game, third-fewest in the league. On third down, they held opponents to a 37.5-percent conversion rate.
Last week, the Chargers defense led the way in the win over the Bengals. They had four takeaways, held Cincinnati to 10 points (none in the second half) and the Bengals were 3-of-12 on third downs.
RIVERS REBIRTH
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers had a bounce-back year in 2013. He completed a career-high and NFL best 69.5 percent of his passes for 4,478 yards, 32 touchdowns (second-most in his career) and 11 interceptions. This came after he threw 48 interceptions in the previous three seasons and seemed to be slipping.
Rivers benefitted from McCoy taking over, as well as offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who is now one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the NFL.
Numbers to know
719
Career receptions by Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, fourth-most in NFL history for a tight end. Just Shannon Sharpe, Jason Witten and Tony Gonzalez have more.
50
Game-winning drives by Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in NFL history.
6
First-half pass attempts by Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers against the Bengals last week, tied for his fewest in a half