By almost any measure, the Denver Broncos had a successful season, but many of their players likely do not see it that way.
Chief among those players is quarterback Peyton Manning. The Broncos signal caller had a poor performance in the team's final game of the season after playing below his standards for the last month of the season, and it now appears that he may consider walking away from the game entirely.
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Manning is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, but he is approaching 40 and dealt with injury problems this year, with news breaking today that he has been playing despite a torn quadricep. Manning just has not looked like himself, and Sunday's game was one of the worst of his playoff career by any measure.
Based on his comments after the game, Manning sounds undecided whether he will continue playing. According to ESPN, when Manning was asked about his future, he replied, "My mindset right now is just disappointment after [Sunday's] game. I'm disappointed, I kind of need to process this game, we'll meet [Monday]. I'm disappointed I need to process this game.''
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Manning was also asked if he still planned on being back in a Denver unifrom next season, and he responded, "Uh, yeah, I guess I just can't give that simple answer. I'm processing it. I can't say that. I could not say that.''
The Broncos as currently constructed may be approaching the end of their championship window, which has seen the team suffer two home playoff losses and one Super Bowl defeat in Manning's three years with the team. Manning is owed a lot of money next year if he returns to the team, and they may be forced to let some of their other talented players leave for salary reasons.
Manning admitted that his level of play declined later in the year, though he stopped short of saying that he thought he could no longer play at an MVP level.
"I didn't play as well consistently in the second half of the season,'' Manning said. "I can't give you a great reason for that. Played well at times, but probably not as consistently, certainly didn't play as consistently in the second half of the season as I did in the first half.''
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