Fansided

20 best quarterback seasons in NFL history

By Russell S. Baxter

PALO ALTO, CA - JANUARY 20: Joe Montana
PALO ALTO, CA - JANUARY 20: Joe Montana /
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Colts quarterback Peyton Manning looks up at the scoreboard from the sidelines during the Colts vs Packers game at the RCA Dome. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning looks up at the scoreboard from the sidelines during the Colts vs Packers game at the RCA Dome. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

15. Peyton Manning, Colts (2004)

In 2003, the Indianapolis Colts won a playoff game for the first time since 1995. In fact, head coach Tony Dungy’s team won a pair of postseason contests that year. The club scored a combined 79 points in wins over the Broncos (41-10) and Chiefs (38-31), the latter at Arrowhead Stadium. The team would fall to the New England Patriots in the AFC title game at Foxborough that year.

In 2004, Dungy’s squad was once again led by quarterback Peyton Manning. He would earn NFL MVP honors that season after breaking Dan Marino’s 20-year-old record for touchdown passes (48) in a season. Manning played and started in all 16 games and threw for 4,557 yards and 49 scores with only 10 interceptions. He connected on an impressive 67.6 percent of his passes.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (14), as well as Reggie Wayne (11) and Brandon Stokley (10), all 1,000-yard-plus receivers, combined to total 35 of Manning’s 49 TD tosses. He would throw for four more scores in a wild-card win over the Broncos. However, a team that totaled 522 points during the regular season and 49 more in the playoff victory over Denver was stifled by the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots, 20-3, in the divisional round.

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