Peyton Manning: Ranking His 10 Greatest Moments with the Indianapolis Colts

What was once inconceivable is now a reality.

The Indianapolis Colts released quarterback Peyton Manning Wednesday, paving the way for Manning to finish his illustrious career with another team, joining the likes of Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana and Joe Namath before him. 

This is a very sad day for fans of both the Horseshoe and "The Forehead." (I'm sorry, I know it's mean, but that thing is huge).

Supporters of the Indianapolis Colts at least have the fond memories of 14 mostly great seasons for Manning in Indianapolis, including these memorable highlights.

10. First Career Touchdown Pass

Peyton Manning was thrown right into the fire as a rookie quarterback, and while the Colts' 3-13 record that season is best left forgotten, the 1998 campaign was a harbinger of many things to come for Manning—including when he found wide receiver Marvin Harrison for his first NFL touchdown pass on Sept. 6 of that year.

Manning would go on to throw 398 more regular-season touchdown passes for the Colts, including 114 to Harrison, setting an NFL record for scoring strikes by a quarterback-receiver duo.

9. First Career Victory

While Peyton Manning's first season under center may have contained many more losses than wins, Manning did manage to lead his new club to victories a few times. His first triumph said a lot about where the prospective careers of the first two picks in the 1998 NFL Draft were headed.

On Oct. 4, 1998, Manning and the Colts outlasted quarterback Ryan Leaf and the San Diego Chargers,17-12, at the RCA Dome for Manning's first NFL victory, sending one signal-caller well on his way to the Hall of Fame and another spiraling right down the proverbial tubes.

8. First 4,000-Yard Passing Season

It didn't take Peyton Manning very long to get his sea legs in the NFL. After a mostly forgettable rookie season that saw him throw 28 interceptions, he rebounded in 1999, topping the 4,000-yard mark for the first time in his career with 4,135 passing yards.

Manning would go on to post five consecutive seasons with more than 4,000 yards before seeing the streak end in 2005. In only three of Manning's 14 seasons with the club did he fail to hit the 4,000 benchmark. 

7. Fourth-Quarter Explosion Downs the Defending Champs

By the 2003 season, Peyton Manning had already turned the Indianapolis Colts from laughingstocks into playoff contenders, but trailing the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 35-14, in the fourth quarter of an October contest, it appeared that—for one night, at least—the joke was on the Colts.

Manning wasn't about to have that, though. After ripping off 28 points in the fourth quarter and leading the Colts to a 38-35 overtime win, Manning once again displayed the moxie that helped him lead Indianapolis to 35 fourth-quarter comebacks over the course of his career in Indy.

6. There's No Place Like Home

Peyton Manning is a Louisiana native, and while he didn't enjoy a great deal of success playing in the Superdome, Manning did have one of the greatest statistical games of his Colts career in a 2003 matchup with the Saints in New Orleans.

On Sept. 28 of that year, Manning eviscerated the Saints in a 55-21 blowout, throwing for 315 yards and a career-high six touchdown passes. He also posted a perfect passer rating for one of five times in his career.

5. First Career Playoff Win

The Colts had already made three playoff appearances under Peyton Manning by the 2003 season, but after going one-and-done all three times, both Manning and the Colts were prepared to get the proverbial monkey off their backs.

Manning did just that in the Wild Card Round that season, posting a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating and tossing five touchdown passes in a 41-10 dismantling of the Denver Broncos.

4. First of Four MVP Awards

2003 was a banner season for Peyton Manning and the Colts. Not only did Manning lead the Colts to the AFC Championship Game that season, but his 4,267 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions were enough to land him his first National Football League Most Valuable Player award.

Manning would go on to win the award again in 2004, 2008 and 2009. No player in the history of the National Football League has as many of those trophies on his mantlepiece. 

3. Single-Season Touchdown Record Goes Down

If Peyton Manning kicked his career into high gear in 2003, then he put it into overdrive in 2004. In his seventh season in the National Football League, Manning threw for a gaudy 4,557 passing yards and set an NFL record with 49 touchdown passes.

Manning's single-season record has since been broken by arch-nemesis Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, but by the time the 2004 regular season had ended, it was clear that we were watching the career of one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game unfold before our eyes.

2. Two AFC Championship Game Victories

The New England Patriots were a playoff hurdle that Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts seemed unable to overcome for years. After the Pats raced to a 21-3 first-half lead in the 2007 AFC Championship Game, it appeared that hurdle had once again tripped up Manning and the Colts.

However, Manning rallied the team to a thrilling 38-34 victory that propelled the Colts to their first Super Bowl in 36 years—a feat that Manning would repeat two years later by downing the New York Jets and once again leading the Colts to the NFL's biggest game.

1. Super Bowl XLI

Every NFL quarterback dreams of one day leading his team to the Super Bowl, and for Peyton Manning, that dream came true on Feb. 4, 2007, when the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears met in rain-soaked Miami for Super Bowl XLI.

Manning rose to the occasion for his first opportunity in sports' biggest spotlight, going 25-of-38 for 247 yards and a touchdown. He earned Super Bowl MVP honors, as the Colts downed the Bears, 29-17.