By Staff
Rob Griffin
When you hear the name Peyton Manning, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it the Tennessee quarterback that never beat Florida? Is it the guy that lost the Heisiman to…Charles Woodson? Or is it, "hey, isn't that Archie Manning's boy?" Well, all these things probably come to mind, but what about Peyton Manning – Record Breaker!
Well in case you haven't been watching the NFL or Sportscenter, Manning is on pace to set the All-time record for touchdown passes in a season set by Dan Marino 20 years ago. In 1984, the Miami Dolphins QB threw 48 touchdown passes, shattering the then record of 36 shared by Hall of Famers George Blanda and Y.A. Tittle. Only three quarterbacks in NFL history have thrown 40 touchdown passes in a season, the aforementioned Marino who accomplished the feat twice, Kurt Warner who threw 41 for "the Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams team in 1999, and now Manning who gets a chance to pass Marino when his Indianapolis Colts take on the Baltimore Ravens and their number one ranked defense Sunday night.
In a season where records are falling at a rapid pace, Manning's Colts have clinched the AFC South and set many Colts team records that were set by the late, great Johnny Unitas. One of those records, which Manning set last week, was consecutive games with two touchdown passes. Unitas had twelve and now Manning sits on top of that list with 13.
With a passer rating of 126.4, passing for nearly 4,000 yards, 46 TD passes to only nine interceptions and completing over 68 percent of his passes, Manning is the statistical leader in many of the passing categories. In addition to Peyton Manning's staggering offensive numbers, in only his seventh NFL season, he could become number 18 on the career touchdown list with 214 with just two TDs against the Ravens.
Aside from all of Manning's accomplishments, he is only focused on winning and leading his team into the playoffs. Three of his receivers are on pace to catch ten touchdowns each, becoming the first trio of receivers to do so in the same season.
So will Peyton Manning tie or pass Marino or will he succumb to the Ravens vaunted defense. Don't miss the game Sunday night at 8:30 eastern on ESPN.