Peyton Manning headbutts DB after throwing touchdown (GIF)

Throughout his NFL career, Peyton Manning has been known as a good guy. He’s been the face of the NFL since reaching elite status, appearing in several commercials and television appearances. But in Week 3 of the NFL preseason, Manning showed the world there’s a little dark side to the five-time NFL MVP, showing up a Texans defensive back following a touchdown throw.

The trio of instances began when 2nd year defensive back D.J. Swearinger decided to taunt Manning–mistake–following an nine-yard completion to Wes Welker in which Swearinger was tagged with a unnecessary roughness.

So what did Manning do on the following play in response to D.J.’s taunting? Throw a perfect 29 yard pass between two defenders to Emmanual Sanders for a touchdown with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second half.

To celebrate the touchdown, Manning decided to have a little one-on-one with Swearinger, head butting him in the process. Of course, Manning received a penalty flag for the incidental contact (likely unsportsmanlike conduct).

It’s not ideal to taunt Peyton Manning. He feeds off it and looks to one-up the opposition following the taunt, as he did. The brief confrontation wasn’t Manning-esque, but it’s just one of many signs that shows he cares about this game just as much as anyone else, whether it’s preseason, regular season or the post-season.

The Broncos currently lead the Texans 17-10.

GIFs courtesy of Twitter user @Corkgains