He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, winning the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm awards as a senior en route to victory in the 1997 SEC Championship Game.

[32] He became Tennessee's all-time leading passer with 11,201 yards and 89 touchdowns and won 39 of 45 games as a starter, breaking the Southeastern Conference (SEC) record for career wins.

[60][61] In 1996, while attending the University of Tennessee, Manning was accused of sexual assault by trainer Jamie Ann Naughright after she alleged that he pressed his genitals against her face during a foot examination.

Manning is also the only quarterback in NFL history to appear in four Super Bowls with a different head coach each time, playing under Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell, John Fox, and Gary Kubiak when he reached the league's championship.

Conversely, Manning's final season in 2015 was statistically his weakest, but saw him end his career with a Super Bowl victory through the assistance of the Broncos' No Fly Zone defense.

[115] Two weeks later, Manning faced off against Steve Young; he threw three touchdowns, tying a Colts rookie record, but the San Francisco 49ers kicked a late field goal to win 34–31.

[152] After a 40–21 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers, in which Manning threw a career-high four interceptions in the game, coach Jim Mora uttered his famous "Playoffs?

The Colts responded by winning all but two of their remaining games, including a 35–13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in which Manning had a perfect passer rating for the second time in his career, giving them a 10–6 record and a spot in the playoffs.

The 2003 Colts began the season 5–0, including a 55–21 blowout over the New Orleans Saints in which Manning recorded his third perfect passer rating game and threw six touchdown passes, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

[181][182] The 2004 Colts opened the season with a 27–24 loss to the New England Patriots after placekicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a game-tying field goal in the closing seconds of the game.

With the Colts facing a 4th and 4 at their own 26, Manning waved the punt team off the field and completed a 19-yard pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne for the first down.

On the next play, the ball was fumbled by running back Jerome Bettis and picked up by Colts defender Nick Harper who appeared to have a clear path down the sideline for what might have been the game-winning score.

After taking the lead twice in the fourth quarter, Manning led a third scoring drive to finish with a one-yard quarterback sneak rushing touchdown in the last minute for a 31–28 win.

[227] He became the first Colts player to receive the honor, as Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley was MVP of Super Bowl V, the franchise's previous title.

Houston quarterback Sage Rosenfels, starting for the injured Matt Schaub, then fumbled the ball on a scramble, and it was returned 68 yards for a touchdown by Gary Brackett.

[246] On October 12, Manning led the Colts to a 31–3 blowout win at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens to avoid their first 0–3 start at home since the 1997 season.

Down 20–17 in the fourth quarter, Manning found running back Dominic Rhodes uncovered for a 17-yard touchdown pass that would put the Colts up 24–20 for the rest of the game.

[262] Under new head coach Jim Caldwell, Manning started the 2009 season with three consecutive wins and won AFC Offensive Player of the Month for the fourth time in his career.

[270] Two weeks later, against Houston, Manning claimed his 34th comeback win in the fourth quarter, tying him with John Elway and Johnny Unitas for the second most in NFL history.

[271] In week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Manning won his 23rd consecutive regular season game, breaking Jim McMahon's NFL record of 22 straight wins with the Chicago Bears from 1984 to 1987.

[283] In a season-opening loss to the Houston Texans, Manning set career highs with 57 pass attempts and 40 completions, throwing three touchdowns and 433 yards, the fourth highest opening-weekend total ever.

[289][290] The Colts ended up winning the AFC South for the seventh time in eight years, and Manning became the first quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to nine consecutive postseason berths.

[201][307][308] With the Colts having the first overall pick in the upcoming 2012 draft, which contained highly rated quarterback Andrew Luck out of Stanford, and with Manning due a $28 million roster bonus, he was released on March 7, 2012.

[329] The Broncos made the playoffs and earned a first-round bye, but lost 38–35 in double overtime in the Divisional Round to the Baltimore Ravens, who went on to win Super Bowl XLVII that season.

A. Tittle as one of only two players to have a 7:0 touchdown to interception ratio in a single game (although the Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Foles later matched that feat in week 9 of the same season against the Oakland Raiders).

[393] On December 15, it was announced that Osweiler would make his fifth consecutive start, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though Manning returned to practice and the Broncos went seven straight quarters without scoring a touchdown on offense.

The Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round by a score of 23–16 to advance to the AFC Championship game to host the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots.

"[480][481] Manning reportedly memorized the Colts' playbook within a week after being drafted,[103] and in 2012, he was able to precisely recall the details and timing of a specific play that he used at Tennessee 16 years earlier.

The nickname had its origin traced to a Monday Night Football broadcast in 2009 when analyst Jon Gruden described Manning's ability to use audibles at the line of scrimmage on the road.

[511] Before the latter, he made a guest appearance on Fox NASCAR's pre-race show alongside race pole-sitter and fellow Nationwide Insurance spokesman Alex Bowman.