LOOKING FOR A ‘PEY’ DAY: Peyton Manning will face off against Ray Lewis tomorrow in a matchup of one of the game’s greatest offensive minds vs. one of the game’s greatest defensive minds. (Getty Images)
The euphoria from Ray Lewis’ glorious victory lap around M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday to commemorate the Ravens’ wild-card playoff win over the Colts in the final home game of his career had barely worn off before Lewis’ mind began to wander to his next conquest: Peyton Manning.
Outside of a potential Manning showdown with Hall of Fame quarterback counterpart Tom Brady in next week’s AFC Championship Game, should the Broncos beat the Ravens tomorrow and the Patriots beat the Texans Sunday, this is about as good as matchups get.
Manning versus Lewis, the Ravens venerable and violent middle linebacker, is the ultimate on-field offense-defense chess match. It pits perhaps the smartest offensive quarterback in the game against perhaps the smartest defensive quarterback in the game.
“One is on offense and one is on defense,’’ Broncos coach John Fox said. “Your middle linebacker is kind of the quarterback of your defense and obviously the quarterback on offense is a pretty centrally located to the guys on the field. There’s no doubt that [matchup] can raise all hopes.”
For those who thought Manning was done after all those neck surgeries ended his brilliant Colts career, his performance this season leading the Broncos to a 13-3 record (they’ve won 11 in a row) and the No. 1 seed in the AFC exposed that as a gross misjudgment. Manning completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 4,659 yards and 37 touchdowns.
And, for those who thought Lewis was returning from 10 missed games with a torn right triceps to play a ceremonial final game or two before retiring, that, too, was an errant judgment. Lewis led all defenders with 13 tackles against the Colts last week in his first game back since his injury in October.
So this sets the stage for the chess match: Manning doing all those real and feigned checks at the line of scrimmage and Lewis, in charge of making the Ravens’ defensive calls, counteracting what he believes Manning is doing.
“They are always classic,’’ Lewis said of his showdowns against Manning. “It’s just one of those chess matches. He knows me very well. I know them very well. He is dealing with a lot of different new pieces out there, but they are doing a heck of a job adjusting to his scheme and getting to playing real fast out there.’’
Manning has gotten the best of Lewis and the Ravens in his career. In 11 games against Baltimore, Manning is 9-2 and has completed 241-of-377 passes (63.9 percent) for 2,893 yards, 20 touchdowns and 8 interceptions with a 96.2 rating.
Manning has defeated the Ravens the last nine times he has played against them after losing the first two meetings. In the last game, a 34-17 Denver win three weeks ago in Baltimore, Lewis did not play because he was still out with the triceps injury.
His past success against Lewis and the Ravens, though, is hardly something Manning is taking for granted.
“I’m sure you guys have lots of old notes from all the times I played against the Ravens and my feelings on Ray Lewis — great player,’’ Manning said. “You definitely can just see from watching the TV [of last week’s] game that he brought a boost to that team now that he’s back. Obviously, it’s very impressive that he’s back from that injury.”
Asked if he puts in more study time when facing Lewis, Manning said: “I’m a big believer in the cerebral part of the game. Anytime you take a guy like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, their physical abilities combined with their attention to detail and their film study, that’s why they are such special players. Ray has done it all in 17 years as a linebacker. I had a lot of games against him, and he’s just a great player.”
It’s fitting that Lewis is facing the possibility of this being the final game of his 17-year career and it is against Manning.