Here's what impressed me the most about Peyton. He was throwing ugly looking passes late in the game because his thumb hit a helmet earlier in the contest. He continued to battle through it which was excruciating. I felt for him because in my second year with the Oilers while playing in Dallas against the Cowboys, I threw a pass and popped the top of Randy Whitle's helmet. My finger went numb and I couldn't grip the ball. I could tell it wasn't broken so I stayed in but it affected how I played. Unless you've experienced something like that, it's hard to understand the pain but he went to a new level.
With everything that has been written and said about him not being able to win the BIG games, he hung in there and got it done bad thumb and all. So I looked at his effort in a most respectful way.
As Peyton is getting his thumb x-rayed this afternoon, my admiration continues to grow because of what he did. He's one player easy to admire, easy to praise. His teammates after the game had glowing accolades about his calmness in the huddle, not only on the last drive but also the entire game. His leadership was superb! They knew how much this meant to him and were quick to acknowledge what he means to them.
It's two weeks before the Colts will face Da Bears in the Super Bowl and many things will be written and said about Manning, but for it present, Indianapolis is really Peyton's Place. He earned it!