Maybe we all underestimated Peyton Manning, if that is even possible considering his career credentials.
We certainly underestimated the Broncos, who barely were considered a playoff contender entering the season.
When Manning signed a five-year, $96 million contract with Denver, after a historic tenure quarterbacking the Colts, he was thought of as a terrific feel-good story — a nice guy with Hall of Fame numbers overcoming a serious injury.
After multiple neck surgeries, no one knew if Manning would make it through 16 games or ever play another full season. He seemed like a decent bet to maybe win the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award to help supplement his marvelous career.
Through 13 games this season, Manning is more than the no-brainer Comeback Player of the Year winner, he should be the league’s Most Valuable Player, too.
Manning has been as good as ever this season. He enters today’s pivotal game against the Ravens in Baltimore as the fourth-rated passer in the NFL with as 104.0 rating, on the heels of Alex Smith (104.1) and co-leaders Robert Griffin III and Tom Brady (104.2).
Manning’s 30 TDs are second to the Saints’ Drew Brees (32), but Brees has 18 INTs to Manning’s 10. His 68.3 completion percentage is second only to the 49ers’ Smith (70.0), who is not even starting right now.
His 7.89 average yards per attempt rank fourth in the NFL.
As a result, the Broncos (10-3) already have clinched the AFC West and are favored to beat the Ravens today in Baltimore — which is almost unheard of considering the Ravens’ recent history at home. This is what happens when you win eight games in a row, the streak Denver takes into today’s game.
The Broncos have not beaten Baltimore since the franchise once known as the Browns became the Ravens, but they never had Manning for those games.
“We’ve had great battles against him, and I think he’d be the first one to tell you that,’’ Ravens coach John Harbaugh told reporters this week. “He’s made trouble for a lot of teams over the years.’’
Few have had more trouble against Manning than the Ravens. Manning has an 8-2 career record against the Ravens and is 4-2 in his past six meetings against them in Baltimore, including a playoff win. He has 19 TDs and eight INTs in those games — all while with the Colts.
With a win today, the Broncos, at worst, would stayed tied with the Patriots for the second-best record in the AFC, and the playoff bye and a divisional home game that comes with it. The Patriots hold the tiebreaker over Denver.
A year ago, the Broncos were in a struggle to merely get into the playoffs, and the talk around the team was dominated by speculation about Tim Tebow and whether Denver management (John Elway) and head coach John Fox thought he was the future of the franchise.
When last season ended for the Broncos, they could not rid themselves fast enough of Tebow and all of the distractions that came with his presence, and their focus shifted quickly to landing Manning.
Suddenly, that $96 million the Broncos spent on Manning looks like a serious bargain. If Manning, who is making $18 million this year, passes a physical in March, guarantees of $20 million for each of the 2013 and 2014 seasons will activate, and that is money the Broncos will be happy to pay.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com