Peyton Manning wins MVP, now for Super Bowl
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning, set to lead the Broncos in Super Bowl 48 on Sunday, captured an unprecedented fifth NFL Most Valuable Player award on Saturday.
The 37-year-old signal-caller, who rewrote the NFL record book this season, won in a landslide, collecting 49 of 50 votes from a nationwide media panel with the ballots tabulated by the Associated Press.
New England quarterback Tom Brady received the only other vote for the regular-season honour.
This season, Manning threw for an NFL single-season passing record 5,477 yards and a record 55 passing touchdowns for a Denver attack that scored an NFL record 606 points.
Manning, who was also honoured as the Offensive Player of the Year Saturday, completed 450-of-659 passes, had just 10 interceptions all season and finished with a QB rating of 115.1.
He tied an NFL record by throwing for seven touchdown passes in the season opener against Baltimore.
Manning’s previous four MVP awards came with the Indianapolis Colts in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009. He finished second in voting to Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson last year.
On Sunday, when he leads the Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s championship spectacular, he could become the first starting quarterback to win Super Bowls with two different teams.
He led the Colts to victory over Chicago in the 2007 Super Bowl but lost in 2010 against New Orleans.