Wiedmer: Is Peyton having his most perfect season?

Sunday night long ago had handed the baton to Monday morning. Almost every other Indianapolis Colt, coaches included, was already on the bus parked beneath the Tennessee Titans' LP Field.

But not Peyton Manning. Twelve years the face of the franchise, for five straight weeks the hottest quarterback in the NFL, Peyton was still answering reporters' questions nearly an hour after the Colts' 31-9 victory over Tennessee.

Then again, Manning also knew he'd have today off.

"I'm not sure what I'll do yet," he said with a grin. "But I imagine I'll watch some football somewhere."

Odds are he'll be back in his hometown of New Orleans this afternoon to watch younger brother Eli try to keep pace with Peyton's undefeated Colts when Eli's New York Giants visit the Saints. He was in Dallas for the Texas-Oklahoma game Saturday.

But even Peyton probably senses that the entire football universe is beginning to watch him above everyone else.

"He's playing as well now, I think, as he's ever played in his career," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said after watching Manning throw three touchdowns, amass 309 passing yards and complete 16 straight throws at one point.

Added first-year Colts head coach Jim Caldwell: "(Peyton's) at a little different level right now."

This is how high a level: Manning leads the league in touchdown passes (12), passing yards (1,645) and passer rating (114.1). He's also hitting a career-best 73.5 percent of his passes for a 5-0 team that suddenly looks eminently capable of winning its second Super Bowl in four years.

Beyond that, his 1,645 yards to date are the most yards ever in a five-game stretch, though the 21 touchdowns he tossed during a five-game block in 2004 dwarfs his current 12 TDs.

But that's just the beginning. The Titans taming was his fifth straight 300-yard passing game, which ties him with Steve Young (1998) and Kurt Warner (2000) as the only quarterbacks to accomplish that feat.

As for his accuracy, in his last five two-minute drills -- including the close of the first half against the Titans -- Manning hit 80 percent of his passes (20-of-25) for 338 yards and touchdowns of 48, 53, 21 and 39 yards. According to last week's Indianapolis Star, that's a "perfect" 158.3 passer rating.

Finally, at his current yardage clip, Peyton would finish the year with 5,264 yards, a mark that would eclipse Dan Marino's NFL record of 5,084 in 1984.

"I don't ever like to talk about 'evers,' as in the 'best ever,'" said Colts center Jeff Saturday, now in his 11th season with Indy. "But Peyton's definitely dialed in right now."

So what's happening here? How does Manning lose his all-time favorite wideout Marvin Harrison over the summer, watch wideout Anthony Gonzalez go down on the first weekend of the season, adjust to a new head coach and still look like the best quarterback in the league?

"It starts with his work ethic," said veteran Colts tight end Dallas Clark. "Peyton's been here, what, 12 years and he's still the first guy to work and the last to leave. His film study's incredible; his fitness is incredible. Everything he gets, he deserves."

Rookie wideout Austin Collie was catching balls for the Brigham Young Cougars this time last year. After grabbing two TD throws against the Titans, he said, "Every day I go home to my wife and tell her different stories (about Peyton). I'm a little kid in a candy shop."

But Manning will tell you that Collie, second-year wideout Pierre Garcon and the rest of the younger Colts are making his season sweeter than expected as well.

"I've run three offenses in my lifetime," he said. "One in high school, one at Tennessee and one here. Sometimes you have to fight the monotony. These young guys like Austin and Pierre have helped keep me into it. It's really been fun helping and teaching these young guys."

He looks like he's having more fun. More smiles. More high-fives. Manning even found time last week to text UT coach Lane Kiffin concerning the Vols' win over Georgia.

"Huge win," Manning said. "They really needed that going into the Alabama game."

Then it was back to the Colts and a gentle dig at Collie.

"I'm not going to bring up his mistakes," Peyton said. "(But) I do want to keep him humble a little bit. The first third down, he did run the wrong route on that."

Told of Manning's remarks, Collie couldn't suppress a smile.

"He's phenomenal," the rookie said. "I still pinch myself every day that I'm out there playing with Peyton Manning."

The rest of us are starting to pinch ourselves that we just may be watching the best season by any quarterback in NFL history.