It was all laid out before him on the green carpet of the RCA Dome -- Peyton Manning had his chance for a John Elway or Joe Montana moment.
Instead, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback remained in the Dan Marino bracket -- a great regular-season hero destined to define himself as a playoff bust.
With little more than two minutes remaining in the AFC divisional playoff and his team trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers by three points the stage was set.
If Manning completes a magical fourth-quarter comeback and the Colts go on to a Super Bowl moment, it would have been a career-defining, NFL Films classic.
Instead, Manning was sacked twice and only a stunning fumble by the Steelers' Jerome Bettis kept the Colts hopes for a miracle alive.
Afterwards, Manning showed his class, or lack thereof, hanging his dismal afternoon on his offensive line.
"I'm just trying to be a good teammate here," Manning said before doing the opposite. "Let's just say we had some problems in protection."
With that comment, Manning skidded off the high and mighty road. Remember this was the guy who called kicker Mike Vanderjagt an "idiot" for calling out teammates in similar fashion a few years back.
Some other observations from these NFL playoffs as Manning gets lost in the rear-view:
- Speaking of Vanderjagt, it will be interesting to see what happens in the off-season. The most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history hasn't always seen eye-to-eye with Colts president Bill Polian and now Vandy's a free agent.
In that regard, Vanderjagt's miss on the 46-yard attempt that would have tied the game on Sunday couldn't have come at a more inopportune time.
- Led by the high-profile departures of the Colts and the New England Patriots, only two of the eight division winners remain and with that comes the prospect of an all wild-card Super Bowl.
Should the Steelers upset the Denver Broncos, they would be the first No. 6 seed to advance to the big game. The Carolina Panthers, who like Pittsburgh would have to win a third consecutive road game, would be the other wild card.
Three wild-card teams have won the Super Bowl --the 2000 Ravens, 1997 Broncos and 1980 Raiders.
- The Steelers could send a thank-you note to the San Diego Chargers for showing just how to beat Manning.
The relentless blitz the Chargers employed in snapping the Colts 13-0 start was refined by Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
- Beware Jake Plummer, the Blitz-burghers have you on the radar next. The Broncos were cowering in fear of meeting the Colts for a third consecutive playoff season and now they have a potentially more daunting prospect.
Plummer did little to distinguish himself in Denver's win over the Patriots on Saturday and the Steelers are quarterback killers. First, they blew out the knee of the Cincinnati Bengals' Carson Palmer then they destroyed Manning.
- He doesn't get the attention he may deserve because of his small market home in Carolina, but apparently John Fox can coach. A master motivator and shrewd planner, Fox now is 5-1 in the post-season and has led his team to dominating underdog wins over the Giants and Bears.
- Should the Steelers win the Super Bowl, the video of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's tackle of former Tiger-Cat Nick Harper following Jerome Bettis' fumble should go right to the Hall of Fame.
- The Chicago Bears made a different type of history in their loss to the Panthers: Surely they will be the last NFL team to leave receiver Steve Smith in single coverage without a safety helping out to pick up the pieces.
