In his second return to Lucas Oil Stadium as a member of the visiting team, Peyton Manning can add two more records to his Hall of Fame career.
The former Colts quarterback takes on the franchise he was once the face of when the Denver Broncos put their 8-0 undefeated record on the line tonight (kick-off: 01:25).
The match-up will mark the fourth occasion Manning has taken on the Colts, who he spent 13 seasons with after being drafted first overall in 1998, and he fittingly has the chance to surpass two records in the city he once called home.
– #360USA: Why low-key cast good and bad for MLS
– NFL: Lewis gives Patriots a new weapon
– NBA: Clippers add new defence dimension
Manning’s 71,555 career passing yards are 284 short of Brett Favre’s total, while his 186 regular-season wins are tied with the former Green Bay Packers quarterback.
Not only can Manning make history at Indianapolis, but he can avenge his first homecoming – spoiled by a 39-33 loss in 2013 – as well as the 24-13 defeat to the Colts in the teams’ most recent encounter in January’s divisional playoffs.
Denver haven’t lost since, with defence the driving force in their unbeaten run as they lead the league in fewest points allowed with 16.0 per game and fewest yards given up with an average of 261.1.
Manning, meanwhile, has had to adjust to new head coach Gary Kubiak’s style of offence and the results so far have seen the 39-year-old toss 11 interceptions, one fewer than the Colts’ Andrew Luck for most in the NFL.
Current season stats for Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning ahead of Sunday’s game. pic.twitter.com/zBT3z4lLtz
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) November 7, 2015
In his last outing, however, Manning looked the most in his element he has all season, completing 72.4 per cent of his passes for 340 yards in the 29-10 win over previously unbeaten Green Bay.
“I’ve been very determined to get comfortable in this offence,” said Manning. “I knew this was not going to be an easy transition. I can’t say that a lot of what’s happened has been a surprise to me.
“It was kind of what I expected, there were going to be some rough times, rough patches and rough parts of the transition.”
