The teams are set and the Super Bowl media hype is in full force. 

One question that lingers near the center of that perfect storm is “Did Peyton Manning finally get the monkey off his back by beating the Patriots?” 

The answer is a resounding no – but he is one step closer. 

The Colts finally topped the Patriots to earn their shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy. Peyton Manning exorcised the Tom Brady and the Patriots demons to get his team in the big game excuse me, I mean THE big game. 

You see Manning is no closer to getting that monkey off his back now, than he was at the beginning of the season. Just because Manning got that “W,” in the in the win column against the Patriots does not mean that he has nothing left to prove. He’s got one game left. 

Beating New England was a stepping stone, a brushstroke of what Manning must do to solidify his legacy in the NFL. Winning Conference Championships is simply not enough. 

Being from Denver, I know a thing or ten about high-profile QBs and wining (or not winning), the big one. John Elway was dogged for his entire career for not being able to win the Super Bowl. In a playing class with other hall of fame QBs like Joe Montana, Steve Young and Dan Marino, Elway was often considered at the top of that list – with an asterisk.* 

*Best QB never to win a Super Bowl. 

Now if Manning fails to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 4, he will be fitted for his star for another season. 

Regular season wins, passing records, prolific quarterback-receiver tandems won’t mean a thing, if Manning don’t get that ring – do wop, do wop. 

The fact is, is that when the Colts started training camp at the beginning of the season you can bet “beating the Patriots,” wasn’t the No.1 goal at the top of Peyton’s to-do list and just getting to the Super Bowl isn’t going to cut it for the NFL’s poster boy. 

Manning’s got all the peripherals - funny commercials, records and a giant ape of a contract. We all know the pedigree so success was never viewed in terms of “if,” but rather “when?” That time is now.