Peyton Manning will need to undergo another procedure on his neck

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

The notion that Manning's defense has been poor is another misleading argument put out by his apologists. His first three playoff losses, for example, were by scores of

19-16
23-17
41-0

The first two aren't anything particularly bad for a defense to allow in a playoff game, and Manning didn't put a single point on the board in the beat down.

The points scored in the other losses

14 (Patriots won with 24)
3 (Patriots won with 20)
18 (Steelers won with 21)
24 (Chargers won with 28)
17 (Chargers won with 23)
17 (Saints won with 31, but that's because of the Manning pick-6)
16 (Jets won with 17)

The defense has played less than stellar, but it's not been any kind of disaster. Manning and his offense have put up 17 points or fewer in 8 of his 10 losses, and 18 points in another. It's not just that Manning hasn't helped his defense, it's that Manning and the offense has been a drag on the team.

Hey, some actual stats and analysis!!!! !!!

Saying Manning and the offense was a drag on the team in several of those games is quite a stretch though....

22/38, 290, 1 TD, 0 INT, 90.9 rating vs Pittsburgh
33/48, 402, 3 TD, 2 INT, 97.7 rating vs SD
25/42, 310, 1 TD, 0 INT, 90.4 rating vs SD
31/45, 333, 1 TD, 1 INT, 88.5 rating vs NO
18/26, 225, 1 TD, 0 INT, 108.7 rating vs NYJ

You make a good point... it's not like he was constantly needing to trade TDs in those games, but he's not exactly the problem either. For comparison, Brady's highest rating in a playoff loss is 82.5.