NFL: Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning meet one last time

NFL playoffs » The QB has won past nine games vs. retiring linebacker’s Ravens.

< Previous Page

The Broncos like to think they’ve been playing playoff football for a while. Manning certainly has. All the doubts about his throwing motion, the strength of his neck and the chemistry with his receivers have pretty much been erased over a season in which he threw for 4,659 yards and 37 touchdowns.

One of the few remaining question marks is Manning’s 0-3 playoff record in games played when the temperature is below 40 degrees. The high in Denver on Saturday is forecast to be 20. Manning has been practicing and playing with a glove on his throwing hand for the last few weeks — a nod to the reality of the changed feel of his grip since his neck surgeries. Everything else, however, remains the same concerning his preparation.

"I had an old coach who used to always say, ‘If all of a sudden you have to do something different in the postseason to get ready to play, that means you probably haven’t been doing the right things during the regular season to get ready to play,’ " Manning said. "So I’ve always tried to prepare every single week as if it was a playoff game or the Super Bowl, whatever it is. That’s your job as an NFL player."

If Manning does his job this week, he will bring Lewis’ career to an end with only one Super Bowl title while the quarterback will remain in line for his second. Lewis insists the Ravens are ready.

"Arguably, they are the best team in football," he said. "If that’s what it is, then let’s line up and let’s be who we are, and let’s get ready to play the best team in football."

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

About Reader Comments

---

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account.
See more about comments here.