Peyton Manning’s top-five Denver Broncos moments

Peyton Manning’s career will officially be remembered forever in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after he was announced as a member of the class of 2021 on Saturday evening. So what better time to reminisce on the new Hall of Famer’s career than to go through some of his best moments as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos.

The president and CEO of the PFHOF, David Baker, called this year’s Hall of Fame class “one of the finest classes ever” inducted, and Manning’s numbers speak for themself. When Manning retired, he led the NFL with 11 all-time records in career passing yards (71,940), single-season passing yards (5,477), touchdowns (539), single-season passing touchdowns (55) and a lot more.

It’s hard to narrow down all of the incredible moments Manning brought to the Mile High City, but here are the five that defined his career.

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5. The Comeback

Only a quarterback like Peyton Manning could have pulled off something like this. It was looking like a night the Denver Broncos soon hoped to forget, after the team fell to a 24-0 halftime deficit against Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. But how could you ever be in doubt when you’ve got The Sheriff leading the way? Manning led the comeback tour after throwing three touchdowns in the second half (one being a 21-yard touchdown pass to the one and only Brandon Stokley), while Chris Harris Jr. and Tony Carter scored off turnovers from Rivers to eventually defeat the Chargers 35-24. Manning was 13 of 14 for 167 yards in the second half for Denver and finished the game 24 of 30 for 309 yards with one interception.

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4. Off the Bench

We all knew Peyton Manning wouldn’t be a backup for long, and he proved that when he replaced quarterback Brock Osweiler with 8 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the matchup against the San Diego Chargers. Manning hadn’t played since he was benched after throwing four interceptions against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Nov. 15th loss. The Broncos were down 13-7 against the Chargers when head coach Gary Kubiak sent Manning in, who would eventually lead the team on four scoring drives to not only defeat the Chargers 27-20 at Mile High Stadium, but also help lock down the AFC’s No. 1 seed in the postseason. Osweiler was 14-of-22 passing for 232 yards to go with a touchdown and two interceptions when he was pulled.

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3. Touchdown Pass 509

Peyton Manning made history — again! In October of 2014 Manning threw his 509th touchdown pass to break the record set by quarterback Brett Favre. The historic moment came against the San Fransisco 49ers in the second quarter when Manning threw an 8-yard strike to Demaryius Thomas to give the Broncos a 21-3 lead. Manning needed three touchdowns to break the record, beginning the game against the 49ers with 506 touchdowns. The first touchdown went to Emmanuel Sanders in the first quarter, followed by the record-tying touchdown to Wes Welker and eventually the record breaking pass to Thomas. The football Manning threw to break Favre’s record is currently on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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2. Magic No. 7

On Sept. 5, 2013, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning tied the NFL record with seven touchdown passes against the Baltimore Ravens. According to ESPN, Manning became the sixth player to throw for that many and the first since Joe Kapp on Sept. 28, 1969. Talk about a new lucky number. Manning was 27-of-42 for 462 yards with no interceptions for an unbelievable quarterback rating of 141.1. The seventh touchdown pass went to none other than wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on a 78-yard play that was the crowning moment of the night.

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1. Super Bowl 50

There was no real signature moment for Peyton Manning in Super Bowl 50, but it was the final gift he deserved. At the time, Manning was the oldest quarterback (39) to start a Super Bowl and it was his fourth appearance in the league’s title game. The defense was the star of the show, after dismantling Panthers quarterback Cam Newton with the spotlight on linebacker Von Miller, who recorded five tackles, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles to earn Super Bowl MVP. Manning completed 13 of 23 for 141 yards with one interception and no touchdowns. However, this Super Bowl ring for Manning made his career whole. Thirty-five days prior to the game, he was a backup for the first time since college and during that 2015 season his body and age surely betrayed him, but in the end he got the happy ending. A Lombardi Trophy for each arm, for two teams that meant the world to him.