Peyton Manning's Dominance Over Jaguars is Still Unmatched Years Later

Peyton Manning is one of the greatest players in NFL history, and the Jaguars found themselves on the other end of his greatness more than most others.

During last year's training camp, NFL legend and soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning marched the sidelines of the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice field to take in the Aug. 1 practice. 

Manning was there to speak to the Jaguars' locker room after former executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin invited him to Jacksonville for the practice. Manning would watch over the practice at times with head coach Doug Marrone or other members of the franchise at Dream Finders Homes Practice Complex.

If just looking at that day in August, it may be hard to remember that Jacksonville's practices instead once revolved around figuring out ways to stop Manning. Today, Manning is a respected legend who Jacksonville, and any team, could gain invaluable insight from. But for nearly a decade, Manning was perhaps the Jaguars' most feared adversary. 

I always find my way close to the QB...especially the legends in the game. This is the only QB on my list I didn’t sack! But my 13 year old self would be proud of who I have become since the first time I met this man! #peytonmanning

P.S. I did catch a pick against him 🤷🏾‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/niWy8kVbKw

— Calais Campbell (@CalaisCampbell) August 1, 2019

As a part of the week-long reflection of Manning's career at Sports Illustrated, we decided to take a dive into how Manning performed vs. the Jaguars throughout his time leading the Colts in the AFC South rivalry. In that dive, it became clear early on just how much of a problem Manning was for the Jaguars for the majority of his career. 

In the 18 years Manning spent in the NFL (though he missed an entire season in 2011), he dominated his fair share of teams. When you start 265 games, win two Super Bowls and five Most Valuable Player awards, and own countless NFL records, it would be hard not to have success in some fashion vs. the collective 32 clubs in the NFL. 

But in those years, there were few teams Manning proved his greatness against more frequently than the Jaguars. 

In 20 career games vs. the Jaguars (19 with Indianapolis, one with Denver), Manning compiled several boggling stats. Perhaps the most impressive of those stats is the fact that Manning was 15-5 in his career vs. the Jaguars, meaning Jacksonville only beat him five times in the nine seasons they played him twice a year.

Add in the 43-14 win Manning had vs. the Jaguars in his first-ever start against them in 2000, which came before the Jaguars and Colts realigned into the same division in 2002, and Manning's results against the Jaguars were nothing short of transcendent. 

In those 20 games, Manning's teams outscored the Jaguars 514-412. There were countless close contests, but Manning seemingly always came out on the other side as the victor. And in the few instances in which the Jaguars did conquer Manning, Jacksonville rarely overwhelmed the legendary signal-caller. 

In the five games the Jaguars beat Manning, they won only one game by more than five points (a 44-17 blowout in 2006). The points the Jaguars beat Manning by in the other four instances? Five, three (on two occasions), and two. When the Jaguars were able to overcome Manning's dominance, they did it in a nail-biting fashion more often than not.

In Manning's illustrious career, he defeated all 32 teams in the NFL at least once. Among those teams, he beat the Jaguars more than any other team sans the Houston Texans (who he had a 17-3 record against). Against the Titans, Manning was 14-5. Aside from these three teams, Manning didn't beat any other team more than nine times, making these squads Manning's most frequent triumphs on the gridiron. 

In those games vs. Jacksonville, Manning completed 64.07% of his passes via Pro Football Reference, a staggering number. He also threw 40 touchdown passes and only 14 interceptions vs. Jacksonville, only eight less than he threw against the Texans. He also had a 99.4 quarterback rating, completed 7.80 yards per attempt, and was sacked only 15 times. In fact, the Jaguars only sacked Manning more than twice in a game once in 20 attempts: a three-sack performance in a 26-18 loss to Manning's colts in 2005.

Compared to the other great AFC quarterbacks of his era, Manning's performance against the Jaguars stands out. The Jaguars have had their bouts with Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, and Steve McNair, but none ruined the Jaguars' best-laid plans as often as The Sheriff did. 

Brady is 9-1 against the Jaguars but this includes three playoff appearances, so his own success vs. Jacksonville is notable. He simply hasn't played the Jaguars as often as Manning did in his career. 

Meanwhile, Rivers is 7-2 vs. the Jaguars with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions. Roethlisberger is 5-5 with 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. McNair was 10-7 vs. the Jaguars with 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in his career. 

McNair is the only one to play the Jaguars almost as frequently as Manning did (only three fewer games), but he threw 19 fewer touchdowns, the same amount of interceptions and nearly 2,000 fewer yards. Great quarterbacks have often found success vs. Jacksonville, but none as frequently as Manning. 

Today, Manning is recognized by the entire football world as one of the best to ever play the position in part due to his success vs. the Jaguars. During Manning's run as an active player, no other quarterback was as much of a nightmare to play against for Jaguars' coaches, players, and fans as No. 18. 

At this rate, it is unlikely anyone will match him and his impact vs. the Jaguars, either.