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Former Vol Peyton Manning Shows His Clutch Gene…Again

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 17, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) puts his helmet on prior to the AFC Divisional round playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) puts his helmet on prior to the AFC Divisional round playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning once again proved how clutch he is with a game-winning drive to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Playoffs.

Peyton Manning is such a choke artists isn’t he? Best regular season quarterback of all time, but when it comes to the big moment when it matters most, he shrinks right?

More volunteers: 3 Takeaways from Tennessee's Victory Over Mississippi State

So with his Denver Broncos offense struggling to get a touchdown and trailing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-12 in the fourth quarter, it was inevitable that he would fail to come through, right?

Well, that was obviously not the case.

Manning completed a 3rd and 11 pass to put the Broncos in field goal range to go over 200 yards for the day on the drive, and then he directed the offense down to the Steelers goal line, running the clock at the same time, to score a touchdown with three minutes left.

In that drive, he also pulled typical Peyton…checking out of a run play to a quick screen for an easy first down.

Manning was able to finish the game 21 of 37 for 222 yards, and while he did not put up a touchdown, he did what was necessary to win and came through on the final drive when needed.

Isn’t that the same standard Tom Brady and John Elway were always held to? We have always said with them to forget the stats and look what they do in the fourth quarter of big games.

I guess we could say the same for Manning in this one.

This case against him being clutch was always idiotic to begin with when you consider that he has the most game-winning drives in history for a quarterback, led an epic game-winning drive to beat the New England Patriots in the greatest comeback ever in the AFC Championship in 2007, and also set up his team to win on multiple other go-ahead playoff drives before his defense blew it for him.

See the 2013 Broncos-Patriots, 2011 Colts-Jets, 2008 Colts-Chargers, 2006 Colts-Steelers, and 2001 Colts-Dolphins for those games.

Even going back to college, Manning showed his clutch gene even if you only want to focus on the Florida game. He had the greatest second half of any SEC Championship game ever leading the Vols back to beat the Auburn Tigers 30-29.

He also ended Tennessee’s losing streak to Alabama and went 3-1 with bowl games while setting records in the process of those games.

Then, as we have mentioned, he always put his teams in position to win playoff games.

But it looks like, in the eyes of so many, it’s up to whether or not you win or lose. So Manning gets to make this game-winning drive case because his defense came through for him in this one, unlike those previous games.

Yes, that’s idiotic, but that’s the standard players are held to.

Oh well. If that’s what it takes, fine.

Manning led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to score the touchdown that decided the game. Congratulations to the former Vol for showing his clutch gene again.

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