Look upon Peyton Manning, wearing his helmet and watching game film on a iPad while dipping his injured ankle in a cold tub, and have all of your assumptions about him being more football-playing automaton than man swiftly confirmed.


The Broncos' official website offers an explanation for how this photo came to exist, and said explanation only makes the picture that much more satisfying to look at:

Earlier this season, Manning and tight end Julius Thomas found themselves in the training room instead of practice on a Wednesday. Not wanting to miss out on mental reps, Manning took matters into his own hands. With his injured ankle in the cold tub, the quarterback kept his helmet on to listen to the play calls from Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase, who was on the practice field. Simultaneously, he watched game tape on his iPad. "He heard the calls, he'd repeat them to Julius and they were kind of – it was a way for them to take two hours and stay in the game plan," explained Gase, who laughed that he couldn't believe the photo made it onto CBS' broadcast last week.


Peyton Manning is more dedicated to football than you will ever be to anything in your life.

[Denver Broncos]