Many watching Peyton Manning struggle for the Denver Broncos in their playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon thought they were seeing the decline of a superstar.
Manning looked to be a shell of himself and was continually missing his receivers, not something you generally associate with the former Tennessee Vol given his incredibly accurate precession. Was it simply a matter of old age catching up with the quarterback? Or perhaps the Colts’ impressive pass rush? While both may have played a part in Peyton Manning’s struggles, there was apparently more to his woes as ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted the former MVP was playing with a torn right quad muscle.
Broncos QB Peyton Manning played Sunday’s Divisional Playoff loss and the past month of the season with a torn right quad, per two sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 12, 2015
Few (if any) quarterback in the league uses his legs more in his passing attempts than Manning, so the torn quad certainly explains why the signal caller was having such a difficult time completing his passes.
The fact Manning has been playing with the injury for a month speaks to his toughness, though it’s a shame the injury wasn’t disclosed to the public as the iconic quarterback and his Denver Broncos were booed multiple times during their playoff loss.
As for Peyton Manning’s future in the NFL, he declined to comment after the game.
