National Football League

Manning looks for better results after latest win

Published Nov. 4, 2009 10:05 p.m. ET

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Peyton Manning keeps raising the standards. He wants to complete 70 percent of his passes, lead the league in third-down conversions and be No. 1 in red-zone touchdowns every season. The victories, he figures, will follow. But are the expectations getting too lofty, even for the three-time MVP? In the Colts' 18-14 victory over San Francisco, Manning went 31 of 48 for 347 yards, numbers that would constitute season-highs for most other quarterbacks this side of Boston. In Manning's case, his passer rating of 86.0 was a season low and afterward, he acknowledged the offense was out of sync. On Wednesday, Manning insisted the Colts still have work to do on an offense that ranks No. 4 in the NFL. "We want to convert more third downs and we were 0-for-4 in the red zone last week. That's not good enough," he said. "We really need to try to score more touchdowns on offense, and, of course, you're always looking to improve." Clearly, Manning was not perfect against the 49ers. He overthrew receivers, underthrew receivers and even threw wide. Yet there was more to it than Manning having an off day. Three-time Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne caught a career-high 12 passes for 147 yards despite playing with a strained groin. Team president Bill Polian told radio listeners Monday that could explain some of the timing problems. Manning also was sacked three times after enduring only two sacks in the first six games and was under pressure more than usual. Yet he topped 300 yards for the sixth time in seven games and became the fastest player in league history to 4,000 completions, breaking Dan Marino's previous mark by 10 games. Indy is now 7-0 for the fourth time in five years and is the last remaining unbeaten team in the AFC. What's wrong with numbers like that? Nothing, teammates believe. "When you set the standard so high, if you make one mistake, I guess that's what happens," receiver Pierre Garcon said. "I think he played well." The problem for Manning is living up to his nickname, Perfect Peyton, is darn near impossible. Yes, he ranks first or second in the NFL this season in completions, completion percentage, yards passing, touchdown passes and passer rating, he's been incredibly efficient. Manning remains on pace to break single-season league records in yards passing and completion percentage and he needs five more 300-yard games to break the NFL's season mark of 10, which is shared by Drew Brees and Rich Gannon. Things are about to get much tougher, though. Only one of Indy's first seven opponents, Seattle, ranks in the top half of the league in total defense and only one of the Colts' first seven opponents, Arizona (4-3), has a winning record. This week, Indy hosts AFC South rival Houston (5-3), then welcomes AFC East-leading New England (5-2) to Lucas Oil Stadium. After that, they head to Baltimore (4-3) and back to Houston. "We are getting into the teeth of our schedule right now," Manning said. Since 2003, Manning is 22-5 in November with 59 TD passes and 24 interceptions - six coming in one game. The Colts have won eight straight in the month and haven't lost a November game in nearly two years. The last loss: A 23-21 defeat at San Diego on Nov. 11, 2007. Manning, now 33, is also doing things a little different this year. Last Friday, he gave backup Jim Sorgi some extra work in practice, using the opportunity to rest his right arm - something Manning has rarely done in 12 NFL seasons. "I just kind of felt like I needed it that day," Manning said. "I don't really feel it will be something we do every week. The thing is you want your arm as fresh in December as it is in September. So it's something (the throws) we're monitoring."

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