Peyton Manning ices out critics of cold-weather play

Lindsay H. Jones | USA TODAY Sports

Show Caption Hide Caption Peyton Manning relives decision with Broncos, Titans Manning reflects on his big decision in 2012 as a free agent quarterback, and the case that the Titans made.

The Broncos have lost their last two cold-weather games%2C but Peyton Manning said he%27s not fazed

Manning is 8-13 for his career in games in which kickoff temperature was below 40 degrees

Manning has taken to wearing gloves on one or both hands

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Never fear, Broncos fans. Peyton Manning has, indeed, won a game in a Denver blizzard before.

OK, that game was 11 years ago, in 2002, when he was 26 and playing for the Indianapolis Colts, who beat the Broncos by a field goal in overtime. And maybe he did throw an interception and lose a fumble, the latter tied to the slippery ball on a snowy late November night, when the wind chill dipped to 16 degrees.

This Sunday, when the Broncos and Manning host the Tennessee Titans, will be just as chilly — the second frigid game for the Broncos in three weeks.

With Manning and the Broncos losing their last two cold games — in the playoffs to the Baltimore Ravens last January at Sports Authority Field at Mile High and Nov.24 to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium — it has been easy to just write off Manning as a quarterback who can't handle the cold.

"That's not how I feel," Manning said Wednesday.

So let's add cold-weather games to the lengthy list of talking points Manning would rather ignore, right up there with the strength of his right arm post-neck surgery and how it feels to play against his younger brother, Eli, of the New York Giants.

Manning, in shaking off a couple of questions about playing in the cold, insisted he doesn't play any differently when the temperatures drop.

But his teams do.

Manning's teams, dating to 1998 in Indianapolis, are 8-13 in games in which kickoff temperature was below 40 degrees — a winning percentage of .380, well below Manning's career win percentage of .675. The record is even worse, 1-8, in games below 30 degrees, including the recent Baltimore and New England losses — both in overtime.

"If we won those games, we wouldn't be talking about weather right now. And we could have easily won either one of those games," Broncos coach John Fox said.

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Manning's teammates were even more emphatic in their defense of his play in cold weather.

Receiver Demaryius Thomas pointed to the game-tying drive Manning led in the fourth quarter — driving into the wind — against New England as proof. Manning was 5-for-7 for 53 yards. His 15-yard throw to Thomas on the left sideline was as good a throw as Manning had made all season.

"That was a good ball. A great ball," Thomas said.

The Broncos played their most recent game in unseasonably warm December weather in Kansas City, Mo., and Manning opened up the offense. He threw for 403 yards, including six completions of more than 30 yards.

"He showed he can still throw. He's throwing it down the field. He can go short, deep, whatever he has to do," Thomas said.

Even if Manning can turn in a similar performance against the Titans, it might not be enough to quiet his critics, veteran cornerback Champ Bailey said. Bailey has studied NFL quarterbacks for 15 years and had never heard of anyone else's cold-weather abilities being questioned like Manning's.

"I had never heard of that before — until I heard people saying it about my quarterback," Bailey said. "If he says it's not an issue, I believe him."

The arctic front that blew into Denver late Tuesday forced the Broncos to practice indoors Wednesday for the first time all season. Manning sat out, just like he has four of the last five Wednesdays to rest a sore ankle, but he and his teammates expect to be back outdoors for practices today and Friday, when conditions should mirror Sunday's 15-degree forecast.

"It is what it is. We practice in it, we played in it a couple weeks ago," Manning said. "We'll handle it just like another team has to."

But Manning should know by now he's not treated like any other quarterback. After 14 years of playing home games in Indianapolis domes, climate became one of many factors to be considered when Manning picked a new team in 2012. Lest the Broncos be written off for its cold winters, the Broncos staff prepared a spreadsheet of average game-time temperatures for Manning when he made his free agent visit.

Would Manning have picked another team and another city — Tennessee, perhaps? — if he had Old Farmer's Almanac-like predicting powers to know his first Broncos playoff game would be brutally cold or he'd have to play two games in three weeks in arctic temperatures this season?

No chance.

Still, Manning is trying to adapt to playing more in the wind and cold now than he did while in Indianapolis. Part of the issue is adjusting to some lingering nerve damage after his neck surgeries that affects his grip. And partly in response to weather conditions — rain, snow, wind or just plain cold — Manning has taken to wearing gloves on one or both hands. When the weather is especially frosty, he'll wear two gloves, like he did two weeks ago at New England.

"It's part of the adjustment that I've made and tried to adjust and still working through it kind of each time that I wear it," Manning said. "I've experimented with them throughout my career, even when I was in Indy. I never just quite found a pair that I liked, so I finally found a pair that I liked."

Follow NFL reporter Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.