For at least a few good minutes Sunday evening, NFL fans were treated to the old Peyton Manning during the Denver Broncos' 27-20 comeback win over the San Diego Chargers.
With nothing less on the line than the top seed in the upcoming AFC playoffs, the 39-year-old Manning came off the bench in the second half to deliver 20 huge points and spare the Broncs from a home loss that would have left them the No. 5 seed in the six-team AFC bracket. Now they're the No. 1 seed, with home-field advantage through the conference championship.
Said Denver coach Gary Kubiak of that third-quarter decision to return Manning to the field for the first time in seven weeks after he had been sidelined by injury: "My gut told me to turn it over to him."
Not that Manning gunned a last-second touchdown pass to earn Denver's 12th victory of the year. Unlike so many of his earlier heroics, this was a victory won more with Peyton's head than his arm, his audibles on running plays the likely difference between victory and defeat.
He also pulled the Chargers offside at a couple of key moments with his uneven cadence. He even threw in an "Omaha!" or two as he barked signals. Pure Peyton.
Or as Manning noted after replacing starter Brock Osweiler, "The offensive line blocked a little better when I was in there. The running backs ran a little harder."
Of course, Peyton being Peyton, he was careful to preface those remarks by saying, "Brock got some terrible breaks."
But if Manning can continue putting the zip on the ball he displayed on his rare pass attempts against the Chargers, it might be the rest of the AFC that has suffered a terrible break. If the Denver quarterback, so not himself through so much of this season, is back to being Perfect Peyton in this postseason, the Super Bowl just might have its best storyline ever to celebrate its 50th year.
This is not to say Denver is a lock to reach the most-hyped stage in sports. While Manning might well avoid old nemesis New England and Tom Brady because they're on opposite sides of the bracket and the Patriots have lost four of their last six, the Broncos would have to play the the Kansas City-Houston winner, and the Chiefs have won 10 straight entering the playoffs.
Even though the Pats are no longer perfect after a 10-0, Deflategate-fueled start, they're still quarterbacked by Tom Brady and still coached by Bill Belichick, and no trip to Denver for an AFC title game would rattle them. Then again, the Pats might not get past the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati winner, especially if it's the Steelers, who have often looked like the Steelers of old over the past month.
It's also conceivable that the NFC may hold the edge this time around, much as the old NFL did in the first two Super Bowls, when the Green Bay Packers rolled to easy wins over overmatched Kansas City and Oakland.
With top-seeded Carolina having won 11 straight home games and wrapped up home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs, the Panthers and quarterback Cam Newton are certain to be a tough out.
Equally tough might be Seattle, which has reached the past two Super Bowls, winning it all at the close of the 2013 season and appearing to be back in that mode after Sunday's 36-6 rout of Arizona, which will get the second NFC bye (behind Carolina), thanks to a 13-3 overall mark.
And though they've stumbled and bumbled their way through much of the regular season, as long as the Green Bay Packers have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, they might be the team no one wants to face in the postseason.
There will again be no postseason for the two teams our region roots for the hardest: the Atlanta Falcons and the Tennessee Titans, who remained painfully true to this season's frustrating form as they played out the regular season.
The Falcons lost 20-17 to New Orleans inside the Georgia Dome when quarterback Matt Ryan threw a late interception in a tie game. First-year Falcons coach Dan Quinn can't blame his team's 8-8 finish from a 5-0 start completely on his quarterback, but Ryan's untimely turnovers over the course of the season quite possibly cost the Dirty Birds a playoff spot.
Then there were the Titans, who did what they've come to do best over the past couple of years, losing at Indianapolis to finish 3-13. Or did they win? That defeat secured the No. 1 overall pick in this spring's NFL draft.
As long as Denver lives, these playoffs figure to center on Manning. You can even imagine a lot of folks who have faithfully followed his career from the University of Tennessee and on singing, "We don't want your time to end," to the tune of the Nationwide Insurance jingle, concerned that this might be their hero's last hurrah.
It certainly seemed that way inside the CBS broadcast booth early Sunday evening as Jim Nantz and Phil Simms discussed the playoffs that would now appear to again have Manning as Denver's starter.
"He goes from running the scout team to running this team into the playoffs," Nantz said. "There's no bigger story than that one."
Added Simms: "With Peyton Manning healthy, which he looks like he is, and that defense, (the Broncos) can beat anybody."
If they beat everybody between now and the end of the playoffs, the 50th Super Bowl will be golden in more ways than one.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.