NASHVILLE — His healthy teammates having just fallen to 0-8 after a 27-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans at LP Field, injured Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning attempted to toss his gray Colts ball cap to a fan in the stands.
Like most everything else surrounding the Horseshoes’ sad season, the throw came up short, the hat falling the ground.
But Peyton being Peyton, he smiled, said “Oops,” retrieved the cap and tossed it a second time to Nashville native Preston Penn, who was already wearing a No. 18 Colts jersey that Manning had signed earlier in the day.
“Oh, my gosh,” said Penn when the hat hit him between the numbers. “Wow. I’m keeping this forever.”
In a strange way, the Colts’ catastrophic season should forever cement Manning’s place among the very best quarterbacks in NFL history — guys answering to Unitas, Starr, Montana, Elway and Bradshaw.