Good question by Twitter follower@tsiguy96 – he wanted to know what Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has done against Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. I looked through Manning’s game logs for matchups when Nolan was either defensive coordinator or head coach against Manning’s Colts, and here are Manning’s stats with Nolan’s team in parentheses:

12/19/99 (Washington) 23-37, 298 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, Colts win
12/03/00 (NY Jets) 27-51, 339 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, Colts loss
10/13/02 (Baltimore) 30-40, 284 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, Colts win
12/19/04 (Baltimore) 20-33, 249 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, Colts win
10/09/05 (San Francisco) 23-31, 255 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, Colts win

The number that should stand out is 1-4, which is Nolan’s record against Manning. But overall, Nolan’s defenses haven’t done that bad. Manning has one 300-yard game and needed 51 attempts that game. He has never thrown more than two touchdowns against a Nolan defense and only one touchdown in three of five games. His ratio of seven touchdowns to six interceptions is about as good as anyone could expect against Manning.

“We all know they’re explosive,” Nolan said. “It’ll be our job to put together a good plan and hopefully we go into Indy and play really well. It will take an effort from the entire football team.”

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