Comeback: The NFL Shows How It’s Done

After the opening kickoff of the second half, Manning took his new team, the Denver Broncos, smartly down the length of the field for a touchdown.  He made it look easy.  Though fans – and perhaps the Chargers’ secondary players – had been warned that Manning and his receivers are not yet entirely “on the same page.”

After that touchdown, the Chargers gave the Broncos one on a turnover.  Then, on the first play of the third quarter, the gods revealed their plan to the astonished mortals.  The Broncos were down 10 and looking at a third-and-16 from midfield. Manning did his ants-in-your-pants act, took the snap in the shotgun and threw complete to Jacob Tamme for 25 yards.  The touchdown pass that followed a little later felt inevitable enough to be anticlimactic.

Manning was 13 for 14, with 167 yards and three touchdowns in the last two quarters. And the final score was 35 -24.

You could say it was a nearly sublime comeback.  For the Broncos and the NFL. 

And Manning?  Maybe.  Or maybe just another day at the office.