Manning gives signature performance in victory

	Peyton Manning has 14 touchdowns and two interceptions in seven career games against Denver, including playoffs. Brian Bahr/Getty Images
	BRONCOS BUSTED Denver's 2006 defensive splits First 6 games Sunday vs. Indy Yards per game 272 437 Yards per play 4.4 7.3 First downs per game 15.7 23 Third down pct. 27.7 64.0 TDs allowed 2 4 Points allowed 7.3 34
	RELATED • Vinatieri boot keeps Colts undefeated • Colts-Broncos Box Score

DENVER --- Here's what we know in the wake of the Colts' ridiculously impressive 34-31 victory over the Broncos, a 2:50 instant classic that for my money was the game of the year thus far in the NFL (no more calls, please, we have a winner):

• Peyton Manning is simply the best quarterback in NFL history to still not have won anything of lasting significance. And If Manning has ever been better, more locked in, more masterful in his nine-year pro career than he was on this picture-perfect afternoon against Denver, I don't know when it would have been.

The man was in a zone of his own. Especially when it really mattered in the second half, when he hit an unbelievable 17 of his final 19 passes, for 201 yards and three touchdowns, all to receiver Reggie Wayne. The Colts scored just two field goals in the first half against the Broncos vaunted defense, then went touchdown, touchdown, field goal, touchdown, field goal on their five second-half possessions.

Not counting the knee that Manning took on Indy's one-play drive just before the half, the Colts scored on seven of their eight possessions in the game, punting only on their opening drive.

That adds up to 34 points on seven consecutive drives, against a Denver defense that came into the game being cast in historic terms, having allowed only two touchdowns and 44 points total in their first six games. Are you kidding me?

"You can't over-emphasize how good the quarterback is,'' said Colts head coach Tony Dungy, a man not known for his gift of hyperbole. "People try to do different things and he just follows the reads and throws to the right guy. We're running the same plays we've been running for seven years, and Peyton just knows where to go with the ball.''

For the record, Manning finished 32 of 39 for 345 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks and a 129.2 passer rating. And that doesn't even take into account the critically important two-point conversion he fired to Wayne with 3:35 remaining, giving the Colts a 31-28 point advantage, meaning Denver had to score a touchdown on its next drive to re-take the lead. It could only muster a Jason Elam field goal, giving Manning and Co. time to hurry themselves downfield one more time, setting up Adam Vinatieri's game-winning 37-yard field goal with two seconds left.

"In the second half, we talked about trying to play perfect,'' said Manning, who tortured Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams in particular, hooking up with Wayne 10 times for 138 yards and those three touchdowns. "That's what Denver does --- makes you play perfect. You knew they had an excellent defense. You know they run the ball well. We were just trying to be efficient with our possessions.''

Mission accomplished. Think about this: The Broncos allowed three touchdowns to Wayne on Sunday, which is one more than they've allowed the entire rest of the league this season. In 24 quarters, Denver had surrendered 44 points. The Colts came within a touchdown and a field goal of matching that in four quarters, with 28 of those points coming in the game's final 27:04.

Afterward, Manning was clearly jacked, and not just because the Colts became the first team since the 1929-31 Packers to start as many as two consecutive seasons 7-0. (Think about that little piece of history, football fans).

"What a great atmosphere out there,'' Manning said. "It kind of makes you want to have an outdoor stadium. It reminded me of some Saturdays back in Knoxville (in college). They have a great crowd and a great team. It was a great football day.

"I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying playing. With the game last week (at home against Washington), taking a hit like the one I took, it sort of reinforces your priorities you know, when you see quarterbacks going down like flies around here. You enjoy it while you're out there. Don't take it for granted.''