DENVER — Peyton Manning won a pair of world championships during his Pro Football Hall of Fame career.
Twice, he lifted the Lombardi Trophy to celebrate a Super Bowl win.
But those triumphs were accompanied, both in Denver and Indianapolis, by difficult losses. In an 18-year career, Manning suffered defeats in high-stakes games — including a pair of Super Bowls and an AFC Championship Game.
Manning, of course, responded to those moments. The five-time MVP capped his tenure in Denver and his prolific career with a Super Bowl 50 win. As he and his Broncos teammates honored that win on Wednesday at Omaha Productions' "Night of Champions," Manning detailed the value of those tough losses — and how the current iteration of the Broncos can learn from a similar scenario.
"Look, I've always said, 'Which would you rather do: Would you rather have your heart ripped out by the Patriots in the AFC Championship?'" Manning said. "'Or win your last game of the regular season and finish 7-10 and be so far removed, but it doesn't hurt quite as much? It doesn't sting quite as much.'
"I'd rather have my heart ripped out, because that means you're knocking on the door."
Manning's example of falling to the Patriots, appropriately, could apply to both the struggles he overcame early in his career in Indianapolis and the Broncos' recent defeat in the AFC Championship Game. Manning said he believes this recent loss can serve as fuel and that the Broncos will respond in turn.
"I think this team has it figured out," Manning said. "[Head Coach] Sean [Payton] knows what they need to do. I think they've also got a bunch of unselfish guys, who all kind of look at themselves in the mirror and say, 'Hey, what can I do to get better this offseason to help the team?' I think it's pretty unique from that standpoint. And it's not by accident. Sean and [General Manager] George [Paton] have drafted and signed guys that are unselfish, that are team-oriented. That's the way you've got to have it to win."
And while the loss on the cusp of Super Bowl LX certainly falls in the heart-ripped-out category of Manning's example, he believes players like quarterback Bo Nix and wide receiver Courtland Sutton would choose that option because of what it signifies in relation to their ultimate goal.
"I'm sure Bo would tell you that and Courtland and all the guys that were disappointed because they got so close," Manning said. "It makes you hungrier for the next year. It means you're doing something right, and I know Sean and that bunch will rebound and … I think, be even better this year."
The Broncos' response in 2026 will also represent Nix's return to the field after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Denver's Divisional Round win over the Bills. Manning said he saw Nix at The Masters in April and that the quarterback "looked good, sounds good [and] sounds upbeat" as he looks forward to returning to the field.
"He's a competitive guy, and he's a team guy," Manning said of Nix. "He wants to be out there. His teammates are out there for him, he wants to answer the bell for them [on] Sunday. So, I'm sure that was the hardest part.
"But I think that will push him even harder and make him even hungrier this year."
