Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning Unsure of his Future

By Cheri Cheng - 12 Jan '15 11:49AM

After the Denver Broncos' run in the playoffs was cut short by Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, the future for Peyton Manning is up in the air. Manning, who did not play like his old self, admitted that he does not know whether or not he will return next season.

When asked if he would be back for his 18th season, Manning replied, "I just can't give that simple answer. I'm disappointed. I kind of need to process the game."

After the 24-13 loss, Manning's playoff record fell to 11-13. He has lost a total of nine opening games of the playoffs, making him the only quarterback in the Super Bowl era to lose more than four of these games.

"I've always taken a pretty accurate look and fair evaluation of myself," Manning, 38, said after the game. "I'm as honest with myself as anyone else is and probably as critical of myself as anybody else is. I didn't play well enough today and well enough consistently in the second half of the season, particularly in the games we lost."

Prior to the loss, the Broncos had won 17 of their last 18 games at home. Manning went 26-for-46 for 211 yards with one touchdown.

Colts defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois detailed the Colts' agenda when going up against one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Francois said, reported by the New York Post, "Get him off his point. Get him frustrated. Get in his head. A few times, 'cause he was frustrated, we've seen him overthrow his receivers by 3, 4 yards. So that means he's still got the arm strength, but the thing that shocked me was, he couldn't put the ball on the money, put it RIGHT on that number. That's what you've always known him for, all the receiver's gotta do is open his hand, that ball's gonna drop. ... We kept saying, 'That's blood in the water.' We knew we couldn't let him be the Hall of Fame quarterback today."

The Colts will take on the New England Patriots in the American Football Conference Championship on Jan. 18.

Luck is 0-3 in his career against the Patriots. In all three games, the Patriots won by at least 21 points.