September 6, 1998 Click Here
16 years and 64,964 passing yards ago, Peyton Manning was making his NFL debut, on September 6, 1998. (If you’re reading this after the start of the 2014 NFL season, add more yards, and whenever you read this you can also add at least 6,589 yards for post season play.)
Manning played in his first game a little less than three years before 9/11. It was also before you had a cell phone or a Facebook account, and you probably didn’t know what Wifi was.
The game was played at the RCA Dome in Indiana (Remember RCA? Remember the Dome? Click here to watch it implode.)as the Colts hosted Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins.
Expectations for Manning were high. His father was NFL Hall-of-Famer, Archie Manning. Peyton had won the Heisman Trophy playing for the University of Tennessee, and he was the number one draft pick. By some measures his debut was not a disappointment. He completed 21 of 37 passes for an impressive 302 yards. One of his throws was a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marvin Harrison.
Then again, Manning was intercepted three times, including one that Terrell Buckley ran back 21 yards for a touchdown. And more importantly, Manning and his Colts lost to Miami 24-15. Indianapolis went 3-13 for the season
After the game Harrison told the Philadelphia Tribune (Harrison graduated from Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia.) “Peyton Manning is going to be a good quarterback. Right now he is still learning the game. He should have a big impact on our team. I know a lot of people will have a chance to see him play.”
Yup.