Peyton Manning not confirming, but likely to retire on high
February 7, 2016 | 11:25pm
SANTA CLARA, California — The best thing for Peyton Manning is that he won the Super Bowl.
A close second is that he never has to lace 'em up again. Probably.
Constantly harassed, never quite comfortable, Manning walked away with his second Super Bowl title Sunday (Monday in Manila), thanks chiefly to Denver's defense in a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Manning wouldn't budge on whether this was, in fact, his last game.
"I got some good advice from Tony Dungy," Manning said of the first of four coaches with whom he's been to the Super Bowl. "He said, 'Don't make an emotional decision.' This has been an emotional week, an emotional night. I'm going to take some time to reflect."
On Sunday (Monday), he looked all of his 39 years and more. He was creaky, off-target at times. He got bamboozled into his first interception of this year's playoffs and could've thrown a few more had the Panthers' defenders had better hands. Manning lost a fumble, as well.
His most important throw might have been the pass that flew 10 yards out of the end zone but drew a defensive holding call that set up the game-clinching touchdown. On the positive side, he completed 13 passes for 141 yards and got the Broncos moving to start both halves.
Those small wisps of offense set up a few field goals, kept the Broncos in good field position — then allowed the defense to maintain the lead by making seven sacks and four turnovers.
Manning became the first quarterback to win the Super Bowl with two franchises. He joined his brother, Eli, and 10 other quarterbacks as multiple Super Bowl winners.
He's been taking it week by week this year, insisting he's not thinking about what he'll do after the season. Now that it's over, he'll have to decide whether he wants to walk away on top — same as his boss, John Elway, did after he won his second title back in 1999.
"He's gone through a tough year with all the injuries and the other things that have gone on," Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas said.
Manning spent the first three years with Denver rewriting the record book. But this year, he missed six games with an injured foot, then came back as a diminished game manager.
On Super Bowl he had a modest passer rating of 56.6 that wasn't that much lower than what he compiled this season.
He won by handing off a lot. The Broncos ran 28 times, including on third-and-9 late in this game while nursing a lead. That never would have happened in earlier in his 18-year career. Denver's 11 first downs were the same as Manning would've racked up in a quarter a few years back.
"This game was much like the season has been," Manning said. "It tested our toughness, our resilience, our unselfishness."
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