Peyton Manning has made all the offseason speculation surrounding whether he'd ever return to his MVP-form a distant memory.

Manning looks to direct the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos to a fourth straight win when they visit the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

After missing the entire 2011 season due to several neck surgeries, Manning is putting together an MVP-caliber season for the Broncos (5-3).

"In his case, every time he goes out there, he's got a chance to do something special," said John Fox, who'll be facing the team he coached from 2002-10 for the first time.

The four-time league MVP came up nine yards short of his sixth consecutive 300-yard passing game when he went 27 of 35 with three touchdowns and two interceptions in last Sunday's 31-23 win in Cincinnati.

For the first time since 2004, Manning has thrown three touchdown passes in five straight contests, and if he can get two more Sunday, he'll surpass Dan Marino's total of 420 for second most in NFL history.

The 14-year veteran leads the NFL with a career-best 69.5 completion percentage and a 108.6 quarterback rating, and is on pace to throw 40 touchdowns.

As a result, Denver's receiver tandem of Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas has shined. Decker has caught seven touchdown passes in his last five games, while Thomas ranks fourth in the NFL in receiving yards per game at 94.5.

"I can't emphasize enough what (Manning) means to all those guys," Fox said.

Although they've averaged 31.6 points over a 4-1 stretch, the Broncos could have trouble against a Carolina defense that has allowed one passing touchdown or less in seven of eight games.

The Panthers (2-6) have surrendered an average of 212.3 passing yards over their last four games, and haven't given up a 300-yard passing game since Matt Ryan put up 369 in a Falcons' win on Sept. 30.

"We've settled in defensively," Carolina coach Ron Rivera insisted. "We've found our intensity."

Denver's Willis McGahee looks for a bounce-back performance after managing 66 yards on 23 carries for a season-low 2.9 yards per attempt against the Bengals. He could find some room against a Carolina team that gave up 151 yards on the ground in last Sunday's 21-13 win over Washington.

The Panthers, who have the worst record in the NFC, hope to carry some momentum from last week's victory after finally closing out an opponent. Carolina led in the fourth quarter in three of its previous four games but wound up losing.

Cam Newton completed 13 of 23 passes for 201 yards against the Redskins and showed flashes of his sensational play from his rookie season by throwing for one touchdown and running in another to help his team break a five-game skid. He didn't turn the ball over for just the second time this season, and the Panthers improved to 7-1 when he doesn't have one. They're 1-15 when he has at least one turnover.

"Winning solves a lot of problems, and losing puts you under a microscope," receiver Steve Smith said.

Smith, who hauled in his first touchdown catch of the season last week, and the rest of the Carolina receivers face a tough test against the Broncos' stingy secondary.

Denver cornerbacks Chris Harris and Tony Carter have allowed just 23 completions in 59 attempts on the season. Carter is allowing a league-low completion percentage of just 28 (7 receptions in 25 attempts) among cornerbacks who have been targeted at least 15 times.

"We haven't had young corners play like this in a long time," said Champ Bailey , another one of the team's top corners. "You might get one here, one there. But two like this, it's hard to find that."

The Broncos haven't faced the Panthers since a 30-10 loss in 2008, their only defeat in three meetings.

Manning, defense lead Broncos over Panthers 36-14

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Moments after the Denver Broncos gave the Carolina Panthers a good old-fashioned shellacking Sunday, they gave coach John Fox a game ball.

"There were a lot of motivating factors to help us win this game, and coach Fox was the biggest one," Von Miller said.

Peyton Manning made sure Fox's return to Carolina was successful, throwing for 301 yards and a touchdown, and the defense turned in a dominating performance to lead the Broncos to a 36-14 rout.au

Manning threw his 420th touchdown pass to move into a tie for second place on the NFL's list with his childhood hero Dan Marino. He trails only Brett Favre (508).

"I have never felt comfortable kind of being mentioned with him," Manning said.

Manning had plenty of help from his teammates.

Linebacker Miller harassed Cam Newton all day and Trindon Holliday returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown as the Broncos (6-3) won for the fifth time in six weeks. The Broncos sacked Newton seven times, including once for a safety, and Miller pressured him into an interception Tony Carter returned 40 yards for a score.

Fox spent nine seasons in Carolina before his relationship with owner Jerry Richardson dramatically deteriorated when the organization failed to offer him a contract extension.

So Sunday's win was a taste of revenge, although Fox took the high road after the game.

"You just feel good to win," Fox said. "You put a lot into these things. It is seven days of hard work and countless hours. It's all for naught if you don't win."

Miller was all over the field and finished with a sack, forced fumble and four tackles for a loss.

"We want to be feared and respected for a relentless pursuit for the ball," Miller said.

Denver's defense put on a show, pressuring Newton all day and forcing him to make quick decisions that often resulted in mistakes.

"We changed up our protections, did a couple of things differently and they were still able to break through," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said.

After a strong start, Newton finished 21 of 36 for 241 yards with two touchdown passes to tight end Greg Olsen . He threw two interceptions.

By the end of the game Newton looked tired, discouraged and a little beat up.

Despite spending most of the day on his back, Newton wouldn't pass blame on his offensive line.

"This is the same offensive line that did an excellent job a lot of times today, so I'm not thrashing them." Newton said. "... I think personally I have to do a better job of getting the football out, getting it to my outlets."

Miller, selected No. 2 in the 2011 NFL draft, one spot behind Newton, was a disruptive force right from the start. He sacked Newton on the second series and celebrated by imitating Newton's Superman routine, pretending to rip open his shirt.

The Panthers (2-7) appeared ready to give the Broncos a challenge early while playing in all-black uniforms, jumping to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 4-yard pass from Newton to Olsen.

But it was all Broncos after that as they'd score 29 straight points.

After a slow start, Manning started to pick apart Carolina's defense and was 16 of 20 for 135 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley . With the game tied at 7, Holliday put the Broncos ahead with a nifty punt return for a controversial touchdown.

As Holliday sprinted the final 25 yards to the end zone alone and untouched, television replays appeared to show him flip the ball out of his hand in celebration about a yard before he reached the end zone.

In a pool report, NFL referee Al Riveron said, "The entire scoring play is reviewed" and that it was confirmed it was indeed a touchdown.

Said Holliday: "We had that problem last week, but I thought I got the ball across the goal line. I'll have to go back and look."

Prater later made it 17-7 on a 53-yard field goal.

Early in the third quarter, Charles Johnson sacked Manning and forced a fumble that Greg Hardy recovered.

But on the next play Miller grabbed Newton's ankle in the backfield as he was trying to throw and Carter stepped in front of the pass near the sideline and returned it for a touchdown and a 24-7 lead. Prater added another field goal and Mike Adams sacked Newton for a safety to make it 29-7.

"I should have thrown it out of bounds," Newton said. "I have to be more mature than that. It's better to be second-and-10 than have a pick-six."

Manning said after the game he was honored to be in the same company with Marino, who was his favorite playing growing up.

"Dan Marino, after my dad retired, was my favorite quarterback growing up," Manning said, "so it is pretty much documented through the years when I have been asked about Dan Marino how I feel about him."

NOTES: Broncos DE Elvis Dumervil left the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter and did not return. ... Panthers TE Greg Olsen posted his first career 100-yard receiving game in six seasons. ... The Panthers have not won back-to-back games this season under Rivera.

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