Brady, Manning Show Off (slow) Wheels On Runs For First Downs

DENVER — You could probably time Tom Brady and Peyton Manning's 40-yard dashes these days with a calendar, but they were both willing to take off (and take a hit) with a Super Bowl berth on the line.

Brady went first. In the first half he took off to his right, and on third-and-10 he needed to keep running for the first down even as Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib was bearing down on him. Brady was upended, landed hard, but got the first down.

At least Brady runs once in a while. The quarterback scramble has been a foreign concept to Manning for years, and at 39 he was the least likely Bronco to run for a first down on Sunday. But on third-and-10 he rolled right, rolled right, kept rolling ... and with so much ground in front of him he had to run. Manning got 12 yards, fell forward and took a hit, and had the first down.

And Manning's teammates on the bench were surprised, to say the least.

Manning hadn't had a run longer than 10 yards since 2010, back when he was with the Colts. In four seasons with the Broncos, Manning had — you ready for this? — minus-55 rushing yards on 85 attempts. A lot of that is a result of kneel-downs, but still. Over the last three seasons, his longest run was 4 yards. His longest run this season before Sunday? A loss of 1 yard.
But with the Super Bowl on the line in the AFC championship game, Manning did what he had to do. It didn't look pretty, but the result was pretty nice.sportsyahoo