Here's the first-ever pass of Peyton Manning's legendary NFL career
t's been exactly 17.5 years since Peyton Manning played his first regular-season NFL game.
By
Ryan Wilson
•
1 min read
Peyton Manning has retired from the NFL after 18 seasons. It's been exactly 17.5 years since he played his first regular-season NFL game. Back then, the Colts were coming off a 3-13 record and used that well-earned No. 1 draft pick to take Manning ... who promptly went 3-13 during a rookie campaign that included 326 completions in 575 attempts, 26 touchdowns and 28 interceptions.
That very first completion came on Manning's very first pass attempt, late in the first quarter of a Week 1 matchup against the Dolphins:
Peyton's first career pass. Yay for split backs https://t.co/DlIGSrSAEN
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) March 6, 2016
Other firsts from that Sept. 6, 1998 game include Manning's first NFL interception:
First INT, a miscommunication with Marvin https://t.co/qWpxxi0vyq
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) March 6, 2016
Manning's first pick-6:
Peyton first pick-6 https://t.co/i0e7h1cdxD
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) March 6, 2016
And Manning's first touchdown:
And the first TD, Peyton to Marvin in garbage time https://t.co/ZDHf2FlkqY
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) March 6, 2016
When it was over, Manning was 21 of 37 for 302 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. He was sacked four times and the Colts lost 24-15. Their first win that season wouldn't come until Week 5, and they'd win just twice more after that. But Indy would make the playoffs in 11 of the next 12 seasons, including a Super Bowl title following the 2006 season.
