How old was Peyton Manning when he won his first Super Bowl? Revisiting NFL legend's first Lombardi Trophy win

Former Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning is regarded as one of the best in NFL history. Since his debut season in the NFL in 1998, when he was selected by the Indianapolis Colts as the first overall pick out of the University of Tennessee, Manning's talent was clear.

He set NFL rookie records in his first season for passing yards, touchdown passes, passes attempted, and passes completed while starting all 16 of Indianapolis' regular season games. After his first season, Peyton Manning continued to improve, establishing the then NFL single-season mark for touchdown passes in 2004 with 49.

However, Manning did not win his first Super Bowl until his ninth season in 2006. He had already won two of his five MVP honors, led the NFL in passing touchdowns on three occasions, and recorded seven seasons with 4,000 yards or more at the time.

At 30 years and 317 days old, Manning led the Colts to success in his first Super Bowl, beating the Chicago Bears 29–17. Having completed 25 of 38 throws for 247 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, for an 81.8 passer rating, he was also awarded the game's MVP.

Peyton Manning would go on to lead the Colts to one more Super Bowl trip, which came in the 2009 season. They met the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV after defeating the New York Jets 30-17 to win the AFC Championship game that year. But New Orleans prevailed 31–17 in that game.

Before leaving Indianapolis to join the Denver Broncos, Manning had led the Colts to two Super Bowl trips, eight division titles, two AFC titles, one championship title, and 11 postseason berths.

From 2012 to 2015, Peyton Manning was the starting quarterback for the Broncos, who won their division every season and also won Super Bowl 50. Manning announced his retirement from football after leading Denver to glory at the Super Bowl.

What was Peyton Manning's playoff record?

Jun 6, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Denver Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (L) looks on as retired Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (2L) presents President Barack Obama (M) a team autographed Broncos helmet at a ceremony honoring the NFL Super Bowl Champion Broncos - Source: Imagn

Once can argue that despite being one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, Peyton Manning's playoff performance fell short of expectations. Manning guided his teams to the postseason over most of his career.

However, in contrast to his stellar 186–79 regular season record, his career playoff record as a starter is 14–13. Manning completed 63.2% of his 1,027 passes for 7,339 yards, 40 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions in 27 postseason games.

Manning's best playoff game in terms of yards passed came in January 2005 against the Denver Broncos when he completed 27 of 31 passes for 458 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had an astronomical passer rating of 145.7 in that game.