Peyton Manning's Legacy Did Not Start—and Does Not End—at No. 509
DENVER — Before 509, before history was made on a cool night, by football royalty, as the football world watched. Before the video tributes and smiles and recognition. Before he waved to the crowd. Before the emotion. Before it all. There was the first.
The first was to Marvin Harrison. It happened after a pump fake, a beautiful one, and Harrison pulled it in easy. The date was Sept. 6, 1998, which seems so long ago. That season, Manning had a career-low passer rating of 71.2. That year, Barry Switzer resigned as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, the country would become more familiar with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky and a site called Google would launch.
Before 509, he was fresh-faced; goofy-looking in a way. There was an awkwardness. He was gangly. But the signs were there. Before this night, before 509 and a triumphant, joyous locker room celebrating his record more than a win over a tough San Francisco 49ers team, there was the beginning.
The touchdowns would slowly start to accumulate. First, a trickle. Then faster. The 100th went to Harrison, just as the first did. So many would. So many.
There was 125 and 155 and 185. The touchdowns started to look easy because he made them look that way. The receivers came and went but the touchdowns stayed. No. 200 went to Reggie Wayne, and it showed what made him so splendid. The ball floated into Wayne's hands as if it had been dropped from a cloud just over Wayne's head.
The awkwardness turned to precision. The goofiness into commercialism. And the touchdowns continued to flow.
Some of the names who caught them are answers to trivia questions. They are names like Tom Santi, Kenton Keith and Gijon Robinson. There was a Lamont, a Luke and a Lance. A Ricky, a Mungro and a Caldwell.
He made subpar receivers good, good ones look great and great ones the future bearers of yellow jackets.
As he got better—and he was always getting better—the passes would come in all forms. Over the shoulder...on the run, yes, occasionally, on the run...first option, second option. There was 210, 220, 267, 290. Number 300 was to runner Joseph Addai.
The talent around him improved, which was the equivalent of feeding oxygen to a flame. There was 310 and 350 and then 400. By now, everyone knew. There would be debates over who was better: him or Tom Brady. There would be big-game chokes and Super Bowl chokes and comments about idiot kickers, but by the time No. 500 came…everyone knew.
Everyone knew Peyton Manning was maybe the best we've ever seen.
501...502...503. The names he would pass are historic: Y.A. Tittle, John Unitas, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Marino and Brett Favre.
507: It went to Emmanuel Sanders on Sunday night against the 49ers. He will be another name that someone, some day, will toss around at a party to impress a future date.
508, tying the record: It was a deep pass to Wes Welker, who outstretched his short frame over the left pylon. Welker has caught passes from Manning and Brady, which is like partying with Jagger and Bowie.
After tying the record, Manning went back to doing what he always does. He walked to the bench, took a seat and studied pictures from the drive. Even though his heart had to be beating faster than normal, with so much on the line, Manning still stayed in his Manning bubble. Nothing changed. He tried to keep it as much of a regular game as possible.
Then, 509, breaking it: It went to Demaryius Thomas. The stadium erupted. Manning smiled.
No, Favre did not pop out of a 509 cake. Instead, he appeared on the huge video screen at the stadium here, congratulating Manning.
"I want to say congratulations for breaking the touchdown record—I'm not surprised. You've been a wonderful player and I've enjoyed watching you play. I've enjoyed competing against you. I wish you a great success for the rest of the season and the rest of your career. But again, congratulations."
More congrats poured in, and were shared with the media.
"Well Peyton, it's official," Tarkenton said. "Your ducks have crossed the end zone more than anybody else's. But really, congratulations. Nobody has ever played the quarterback position better than you have. It's been a pleasure to sit back every Sunday and watch you play. People love to debate, 'Who is the greatest quarterback, the greatest player?' It's impossible to compare across all the generations and eras. But I know this, nobody can ever leave Peyton Manning out of that discussion about who is the greatest quarterback. Congratulations, Peyton."
Then there was this, from the man I consider the best quarterback ever.
"Five hundred and nine touchdown passes is a tribute to what Peyton Manning is all about," said John Elway, "and what he's been through his whole career. It's just an unbelievable feat, but the one thing I would think is I'm planning on him having a lot more touchdown passes. So we're not just going to be happy with his 509, but it truly is a tremendous feat that Peyton has accomplished."
Sonny Jurgensen and Tom Brady also sent in messages. Brady added, "We'll see you in a few weeks." The Patriots and Broncos play on Nov. 2.
Tweeted NBA star Kevin Durant: "Congrats to the great Peyton Manning! We take him for granted because he's so consistent but we are witnessing a living legend!"
Not everyone was impressed. Tweeted Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes, teammate of Eli Manning: "Congrats to Eli's brother for breaking the TD record. #elihas2 #peytonhas1"
Tynes added: "The facts are that you don't get rings for breaking records. You get them for winning championships. I could mention playoff records (too)."
Broncos fans: Calm yourselves. He was mostly joking, but there was also some truism to his words. While Manning has statistical greatness, he has been criticized for his playoff record and Super Bowl falters. Manning has yet to play well in a Super Bowl. That is a fair part of his legacy to analyze, even at this historic time.
Still, the celebratory moment felt genuine, unforced. It is one of the few times in sports where a record broken didn't feel overly manufactured.
The 49ers turned out to be innocent bystanders, storm victims, caught in the ferocious wake of Manning's accomplishment.
There was one more after 509 on Sunday night. His beautiful deep pass to Demaryius Thomas could not have been thrown any better.
The score (42-17) didn't matter. The opponent didn't matter. The 49ers, on this night, were the Washington Generals. The fact Denver's defense destroyed the San Francisco offense didn't matter, either. Just Manning.
After the game, Manning was surrounded by so many cameras as he walked off the field, it was as if a head of state were exiting the stadium. In a way, one did.
The Broncos locker room was ecstatic. But there was also relief. One player admitted to me the team felt pressure because no one wanted to let down Manning, whom everyone in the room admires.
"We all wanted to get him the record because he's such a special player," said Sanders.
"He wasn't any different than he normally is," said Welker. "We see this Peyton all the time."
Manning was humble and, as he often does, he deflected a lot of the moment to teammates and coaches.
"It was a great win tonight," he said. "That's first and foremost."
Typical Manning.
"It was a special night but more because of the way our team played," he said.
That is also typical Manning.
"I'm very humbled, and I'm very honored," he said. "I think about how grateful I am for all the teammates and coaches I've played with (and) for."
One of the more poignant moments during Manning's press conference was when he talked of speaking to friends and family recently about how after coming off spinal surgery several years ago, here he was now, record-holder.
Another happened after he broke the record, when Broncos players wouldn't hand him the record-breaking football. They played hot potato with it, with Manning chasing the football. In a dream-shattering moment, Thomas revealed that Manning suggested the prank, and the receivers even practiced it.
"I can't believe they actually did it," Manning said of the prank. "They sort of joked about it during the week."
Nice try, Peyton. You're busted.
Manning was drafted in 1998. There are many stats that show his greatness, but consider one of the more underrated ones. The seven quarterbacks selected after Manning in that draft combined for 400 passing scores. Seven to one.
That year, when Manning was drafted, there was a genuine debate between who was better: Manning or Ryan Leaf.
Now, so many years later, here we are.
History.
Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.
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