#peyton-manning

#peyton-manning

At 39 years old and having dealt with a left foot injury that limited him to nine starts during the regular season, Manning wasn't playing anywhere near his previous Hall of Fame level when the Broncos made it to the Super Bowl. But Manning had done enough in the postseason to take a shot at a second Super Bowl title and potentially ride off into the sunset with a championship, just like another legendary Broncos quarterback: John Elway.

With the Kansas City Chiefs failing to qualify, this year marks the first postseason without Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning since the 1998 campaign. Manning reached the playoffs in 1999, while Brady joined the ranks two years later. Mahomes had been in the playoffs each season since 2018, but he tore his ACL in a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The defeat eliminated Kansas City from postseason contention, and the Chiefs finished 6-11.