DENVER -- A hour or so after what could have been the last game of a legendary and certainly Hall of Fame career was concluded, a disappointing end if indeed it is that, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning stood in the hallway chatting about the league, the game, and his future, when he was suddenly jarred into what is truly important.

His kids.

They came running to him, and the gloom of a loss was suddenly replaced by the joy of being a father, even if his son was crying because of the loss, a true Manning competitor for sure. Years ago, when I first met Peyton Manning, this would have been one of those days all about football, unable to let it go, heartbroken about the loss. This time, it didn't feel that way.  This felt different.

Maybe it's because he knows it's time. Maybe it's because he knows the end is here.

On the podium, following his team's 24-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, his former team, in an AFC divisional playoff game Sunday, Manning was asked if he would be back to play his 18th season. He was non-committal.  When I asked him about it again later, he said he would take some time to figure out.

In the past, Manning would have simply said he was coming back, which is why in my heart I think this could be the end of the Manning era. If it is, it's a bad way to go out.

If it is, we should all be sad.

If it is, too many knuckleheads will sadly rejoice.

With visions of all those touchdown passes and records, and, yes, even that Super Bowl victory, as highlights etched in our brains, if his last game is this one, it would be the equivalent of Picasso going out doing one those paint-by-numbers jobs.

To say Manning and the Denver offense was bad Sunday would be understating it. Manning finished 26 of 46 for 211 yards one touchdown and no picks, but it looked far worse. Time and again, Manning tried to throw deep balls in the first half, only to overshoot them or throw wild. It was as bad a first half (7 of 18, 71 yards) as I've ever seen from him.

Who the heck was this guy?

Peavy (Getty Images)
Peyton Manning endures an awful game, missing receivers and making poor decisions. (Getty Images)

For years, the Manning bashers have been waiting for this day. Through all of his playoff frustrations -- with all the morons who called him nothing more than "Stat Boy" -- they've waited to dig the hole on his career, readying to throw in the body.

For the life of me, I never figured out why. Unlike the greats of a sport who are appreciated, he is one player who always seemed to take the worst of it. Even when he battled back from what appeared to be a career-ending neck injury, something any other player gets lauded for doing, he continued to take verbal and written shots far worse than those he took on the filed.

Is it the many commercials he does? Is it the theatrics at the line? Who knows, but as he dressed at his locker Sunday night, you could see the eyes staring at him, somebody hoping to see a misstep as he put on his shirt and jacket, hoping for a hint that he was not whole, ready to write that story.

The bottom line is this: Even greats can't beat age. Father Time is undefeated and untied -- and the games aren't close.

You don't get a stronger arm as you age, and Manning's arm isn't what it used to be, and even in his prime it wasn't close to being much better than just good. At 38, the passes lack the same zip, and after taking a shot early on a personal foul, Manning never looked the same Sunday.

Manning suffered a thigh injury earlier this season against San Diego, and he just didn't look right after it.

"It's hung around but I felt like I tried to manage it," Manning said. "I felt like I could manage it. Completed some passes, won some games with it. It just hung around, just that one thigh, but there is nothing more to it than that."

Some inside the organization wonder. I talked to some Broncos players who said Manning was throwing more picks in practice in the past six weeks than at any other time. Before the game, some Colts veterans expressed to Broncos players that Manning's arm looked spent.

"You could tell something wasn't right," one Broncos player said of practice the past month. "He just didn't look like 18 out there."

Against the Colts, he sure didn't. While Manning was struggling, Andrew Luck, the man who took his place in Indianapolis, was lighting up the Denver defense. Luck threw for 265 yards and two scores and made some timely throws.

It's tough to think about one timely throw for Manning after the opening drive for a touchdown. He made that one look easy as Denver jumped to a 7-0 lead, but after that it was a flat-out struggle. The long balls looked like a wing (his right arm) and a prayer.

They weren't answered.

Manning took responsibility for some of those plays, and coach John Fox kind of rolled the proverbial bus over the head of offensive coordinator Adam Gase after the game, saying, "We did probably go to that well too many times," Fox said.

Manning said, "Those were my decisions. A couple of them were called to go that way. I ended up taking some long shots."

When the game ended, the Colts were moving on to face the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game next Sunday in Foxboro. The anticipated Manning-Tom Brady battle won't happen -- maybe never again.

Asked about his future, Manning's exact quote was, "I need to process this game." Earlier this season, he said he wanted to play next season. Now he sounds non-committal, and my gut is that he won't be back.

There's a chance Fox won't be back either. There was a Fox Sports report by Jay Glazer before the game that hinted Fox could be gone with a loss.

"I've seen all kinds of reports in the past," Fox said. "I'm sure I'll see some moving forward. I don't make those decisions. I don't control that. My intentions are to be a Denver Bronco and have been since I got here. It's not about me. It's about this football team."

On this day, it was about No. 18, and, quite possibly the end of an era. When Manning was sacked on his second-to-last play against the Colts, in front of a half-empty stadium that booed him for much of the second half, Erik Walden, the man who sacked him, danced a celebratory dance. All I could think was this isn't how the end should be.

Manning did complete his last pass on the final play of the game for a meaningless 24 yards -- so he has that to take with him if he is done -- but seeing the second half play out was like watching Frank Sinatra try and sing late in his career.

You just knew it was over -- even if he didn't.

Only this time, I have a sneaky suspicion that Manning knows it's time and he's resigned to moving on with the next chapter of his life -- a reminder those kids gave him late Sunday night as he bear-hugged them with all his might.