Mile High Huddle

Peyton Manning Predicts 'My Broncos' Make the Playoffs

"The Sheriff" has called his shot.

Zack Kelberman

Oct 27, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Retired NFL player Peyton Manning stands on the sidelines of Empower Field at Mile High before the game between the Carolina Panthers Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Oct 27, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Retired NFL player Peyton Manning stands on the sidelines of Empower Field at Mile High before the game between the Carolina Panthers Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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Eat your heart out, Colts fans.

Appearing on the Week 14 "ManningCast" — an alternative Monday Night Football broadcast featuring Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and guests — the elder Manning brother prognosticated that "my Broncos" will wind up making the playoffs.

The prediction comes ahead of Sunday's crucial matchup between 8-5 Denver and 6-7 Indianapolis, both of Peyton's former NFL teams fighting for postseason positioning.

"Bill, we'll see you in the playoff game coming up," Peyton said on air to former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "Could be my Broncos, could be my Broncos in that playoff game. I'm just calling it right now."

"That's your prediction?" responded Eli. "I like it."

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Emerging from their bye, the Broncos currently hold the AFC's seventh seed with a 73.6% chance of clinching a Wild Card berth, according to ESPN's Football Power Index. Those odds could rise or fall dramatically depending on the outcome of Week 15.

Denver is attempting to post its first winning record since 2016 and, more importantly, its first playoff appearance since Manning himself hoisted the Super Bowl 50 trophy.

“I don't know that one person downstairs—myself included—has thought about right now this team just having a winning season," Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters Monday. "I understand the question and I appreciate it, but I think our aspirations are a little higher.”

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Zack Kelberman
ZACK KELBERMAN

Zack Kelberman is the Senior Editor for Mile High Huddle. He has covered the NFL for more than a decade and the Denver Broncos since 2016. He's also the co-host of the wildly popular Broncos show the Mile High Huddle Podcast.

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