Manning welcomes practice chills

Associated Press

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.

Peyton Manning found no need to dunk his right hand in a bucket of ice water Thursday — it was 9 degrees when the Broncos returned to their practice field for the first time since clinching a spot in next week’s Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium.

“Anytime you can have ... a situation that you can simulate during practice that might be in a game, that’s always a good thing,” said Manning, his breath vaporizing as he spoke from the podium after the two-hour workout.

Manning, who spent much of his career inside in Indianapolis, has prepared for some cold-weather games since coming to Denver in 2012 by soaking his right hand in ice water.

He welcomed the blast of wintry weather after a relatively balmy stretch of January, which included a 63 degree Sunday afternoon when he led the Broncos past the New England Patriots for the AFC title.

The knock on Manning is that for all his greatness he crumbles in the cold and in the playoffs — he has just one championship ring in 12 previous trips to the postseason, eight of which ended in first-round exits, including last year’s double-overtime loss to Baltimore on a frigid night in Denver.

Manning could take care of both of those criticisms on Feb. 2 when the Broncos face the Seattle Seahawks in East Rutherford, N.J., in the first outdoor Super Bowl ever held in a cold-weather city.

With a win, he would be the first quarterback to lead two teams to the title.

Although it’s too early for forecasters to predict what the weather will be, there’s a decent chance for freezing temperatures or snow by kickoff.

Although Manning is 167-73 in the regular season, he’s 11-11 in the playoffs. And he’s 4-7 in games that are below freezing at kickoff, although some of those were games where he played sparingly because the Colts had already locked up playoff seeding. Others were against New England, when the Patriots clearly had the better team.

And Manning did complete 39 passes for 397 yards and four touchdowns against Tennessee last month when the temperature at kickoff in Denver was 18 degrees.

If the Broncos beat the Seahawks — and they’re favored by oddsmakers for the 30th straight game — Manning will match little brother Eli’s two Super Bowl rings.

Eli said Peyton doesn’t have to beat Seattle to secure his legacy, however.

“I think Peyton’s already created his own legacy,” Eli said during a conference call Thursday. “He’s played at a very high level for a long period of time and he’s overcome injuries and obviously set numerous records and been on a lot of playoff teams, playing in his third Super Bowl.”