Peyton Manning Chalks Bad Game Up to Those Around Him

Two-time regular season MVP and record holder for touchdown passes in a season Peyton Manning had his worst game as a professional Sunday night, throwing six interceptions in the Indianapolis Colts loss to the San Diego Chargers. After the game, Manning was pressed about his poor performance and, as is his custom after a substandard game, blamed his problems on his teammates.

"Um, I don't wanna throw anyone under the bus here, but I'll just say we had some protection problems that put us in some bad situations," the reigning Super Bowl MVP said. "I'm trying to be a good teammate here and I don't want to say something I'll regret, so I guess I'll just leave it by saying that everybody has to play better. Especially my lineman, tight ends, running backs and wide receivers...and the defense and special teams."

A sweaty, clearly agitated Manning fielded questions about what mistakes were made and how they would be corrected, but was most upset when his roles in commercials were called into question. He bristled at the suggestion that his performance would jeopardize any of his endorsement deals. Calling that a "non-issue."

"No, I don't expect to lose any money, I mean, endorsements as a result of this game," he said. "Oh, I suppose you want Tom Brady in your commercials now, he's so great. How soon you forget. Remember, 'Cut that meat, cut that meat,' remember 'Laser rocket arm?' Yeah, I thought you did. Plus, I threw 49 touchdown passes before it was cool. And I did it with most of this group around me, which I'd say is pretty impressive considering we saw how poorly they can play out there tonight."

When asked about a badly under thrown ball in the first quarter with the Colts on the Chargers 28 yard line, Manning reminded reporters of his reputation as a cerebral quarterback then quickly changed the subject, turning the conversation toward his little brother Eli.

"Did you know that every time we play someone I know everybody on their defense's name?" Manning asked. "That's because I am smart. I'm a student of the game. I make all my own calls at the line of scrimmage, do you realize how difficult that is? In contrast, Eli has a wristband that just tells him to line up under the center. And you know Eli throws tons of interceptions, really bad ones, too. As an older brother it's difficult to watch some times because I want him to play well and be a success, but also because I'm such a superior quarterback and I know I could do better. But Eli makes a lot of mistakes, really terrible mistakes. Mistakes that I wouldn't make in a million years as long as everyone around me does what they're supposed to do. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. Maybe you should focus your stories on that."