Peyton Manning is having a record-setting season in 2013, as his Denver Broncos continue their quest to play in Super Bowl XLVIII.
But just how many records has Peyton Manning broken this season?
What’s not in dispute is that Peyton Manning reclaimed his single season touchdown record . Manning had set the high-water mark at 49 in 2004, only to see the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady throw 50 in 2007. But Manning got off to a fast pace with 7 TD tosses in Week 1 and kept a pretty good pace from there, ending up with a whopping 55 at the end of 2013.
Likewise, the Denver Broncos, under Peyton Manning, became the highest-scoring NFL team in history, with 606 points in the regular season.
This Sunday, Peyton appeared to have set a new quarterback record for passing yards in a single season with 5,477, eclipsing Drew Brees’s 2011 season by a single yard .
Now that record is in question.
At issue is a single play in the first quarter of Denver’s 34-14 road win over the Oakland Raiders. On 1st and 5 at the Oakland 49 yard line, Peyton Manning threw a short pass to wide receiver Eric Decker for a 7-yard gain and the 1st down. However, a frame by frame analysis courtesy of Yahoo reveals the throw may have been a backward lateral and not a forward pass, making it a 7-rushing play for Decker.
Manning’s final play of the game was a 5-yard TD toss to Demaryius Thomas at the end of the first half.
NFL stats are routinely reviewed by Elias Sports Bureau for discrepancies just like this one. If Elias decides it wasn’t a forward pass, Manning stands to lose the record he narrowly set, reverting it back to Brees.
One person sure to not give a rip about that prospect is Peyton Manning.
If Manning was immediately concerned about further cementing himself in the record books, he easily could have played a single series in the second half to give his new record some cushion. Right now, Peyton Manning is making sure his body is healed and well-rested, enjoying his first-round bye and home field advantage as he awaits his next opponent. Sure, Manning must consider his legacy at some point, but as the consummate professional, right now his focus is on the game and Peyton will leave the debate to those interested in having it.
