Some would say that Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos were embarrassed Sunday night when the team committed four turnovers and scored just one touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in a 48-3 Super Bowl XLVIII loss, but Manning wouldn't put it that way and in fact was insulted when asked if it was an embarrassing loss.
"It's not embarrassing at all, I would never use that word,'' Manning said after the game, according to ESPN. "The word embarrassing is an insulting word, to tell you the truth."
Manning went 34-for-49 for 280 yards and one touchdown, but was victimized by Seattle's "Legion of Boom" secondary to the tune of two interceptions. His lone touchdown of the game was a pass to Demaryius Thomas.
"We played a great team. We needed to play really well in order to win, and we didn't come anywhere close to that," Manning, who is 1-2 in his lifetime in Super Bowls, told ESPN.
With a huge chance to silence his critics and those that call him the greatest regular-season quarterback of all-time but don't put him in the conversation for the all-time greats in the playoffs as he fell to 11-12 overall in the postseason with Sunday night's loss.
Broncos coach John Fox was at a loss for words when it came down to his quarterback's legacy.
"I can't really say it out loud, right here, because I get into trouble," Fox said via ESPN. "Ludicrous would be proper English."
Wide receiver Wes Welker cited Manning's historic season where he threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns.
"He had the best year of his whole career at 37, so I wouldn't say he's slowing down," Welker said. "He's going upward, not downward."
Even his adversaries had nothing but praise for Manning.
"Peyton's still the greatest quarterback to ever play the game," Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett said per ESPN. "This doesn't destroy his legacy."
While Manning's legacy may always remain a question mark, there's no doubt that the Broncos embarrassed themselves on Sunday night, even if their quarterback refused to put it that way.
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