Manning Surpases 70,000 Passing Yards In Victory

With a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders midway through the third quarter Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning carved yet another slice of NFL history.

With the play, Manning became the second quarterback in NFL history to surpass 70,000 yards passing in his career. Brett Favre holds the record with 71,838 career passing yards, another benchmark Manning is expected to eclipse this season.

Manning finished with 256 yards passing, going 26-of-45 with three touchdowns and an interception, in the Broncos' 31-24 comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Only one other quarterback has surpassed 60,000 yards passing in a career: Hall of Famer Dan Marino, who had 61,361 career passing yards.

Manning, who had 175 passing yards in the Broncos' season-opening win over the Baltimore Ravens, entered the game needing 134 yards to reach the milestone.

However, after Thursday's win, the focus was on the Broncos' stunning rally, which saw them score two touchdowns in the final minute of the fourth quarter to claim the victory. Manning threw a touchdown pass to Sanders with 36 seconds left to tie the score. Then, Brandon Marshall stripped Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, and Bradley Roby returned the ball 21 yards for a touchdown with 27 seconds left, capping the comeback.

The Kansas City Chiefs were backed up at their own 20 with 36 seconds left. There's two reasonable options: Pass and try for the win in regulation or kneel on it. Reid chose a third, strange option, and it cost the Chiefs what would have been a momentum-turning AFC West win.

QB Andy Reid decided to hand off. Running back Jamaal Charles got the ball, linebacker Brandon Marshall knocked it out, and cornerback Bradley Roby scooped it up and scored with 27 seconds left. The Broncos won 31-24. This wasn't exactly the New York Giants blowing the "Miracle at the Meadowlands" game, but it's darn close. It'll be one of the most talked-about plays of this NFL season. Or of many NFL seasons.

Sunday Previews --

Chicago Bears: The key player to watch on Friday is outside linebacker Pernell McPhee, who skipped Thursday's workout with wrist and knee injuries. The Bears brought McPhee to Chicago to rush the passer. In a backup role, McPhee had 7.5 sacks for the Baltimore Ravens last year. The Bears, however, had little pass rush against Green Bay in Week 1. Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer is far less mobile than Aaron Rodgers, but the Bears need McPhee at close to full strength to harass Palmer on Sunday. The official injury report listed McPhee as limited on Wednesday, meaning he's regressed. -- Jeff Dickerson

St. Louis Rams: Rams quarterback Nick Foles knows the Redskins well from his time with Philadelphia but expects to see new wrinkles after Washington changed defensive coordinators this offseason. His priority this week is protecting the ball and continuing to make big plays down the field. Foles was 7-of-8 for 175 yards on throws at least 15 yards downfield last week, a trend the Rams would like to continue. Eliminating the three second-half turnovers combined with those big plays is the exact formula the Rams are hoping to find from their quarterback in 2015. -- Nick Wagoner

Thursday, September 17 Scoreboard

Denver 31, Kansas City 24

Sunday, September 20 Schedule (All Times Central)

Houston at Carolina, 12:00 p.m.

San Francisco at Pittsburgh, 12:00 p.m.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans, 12:00 p.m.

Detroit at Minnesota, 12:00 p.m.

Arizona at Chicago, 12:00 p.m.

New England at Buffalo, 12:00 p.m.

San Diego at Cincinnati, 12:00 p.m.

Tennessee at Cleveland, 12:00 p.m.

Atlanta at New York, 12:00 p.m.

St. Louis at Washington, 12:00 p.m.

Miami at Jacksonville 3:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Dallas at Philadelphia, 3:25 p.m.

Seattle at Green Bay, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, September 21 Schedule (Time Central)

New York at Indianapolis, 7:30 p.m.