Peyton Manning had a great game in his Denver Broncos debut, doing wonders against an aging but still very effective Steelers defense as the Broncos won 31-19.
Peter King of Sports Illustrated was impressed enough with Peyton's performance against the Steelers that he gave him the nod as Offensive Player of the Week in his most recent Monday Morning Quarterback column. According to King, Peyton's two-touchdown performance, which netted him his 400th overall touchdown in the NFL, wasn't his best ever, but it was still vintage Manning:
He's had better days than his 19-of-26, 253-yard, two-TD, no-pick performance, but this wasn't about the numbers (even though he did join Brett Favre and Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks ever to throw 400 touchdown passes). It was about the maestro back with a new orchestra, and performing beautifully.
King also placed Denver at No. 5 in his 'Fine Fifteen':
5. Denver (1-0). It's not a dream. Peyton Manning really was that good, 129.2-rating good, in his first real game in 20 months. Really agree with Tony Dungy: The Broncos waited too long to use the no-huddle. Peyton Manning should live in the no-huddle.
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