Sunday Night Football Preview: Manning Seeks Revenge

Peyton Manning was far and away the top quarterback off the board in 2014 fantasy football drafts, and for good reason. No NFL quarterback has ever had a better statistical season then Manning did a season ago, as he broke both the single-season passing yard and touchdown records.

He also put up the highest Passing Net Expected Points score we've ever seen, which looks at the number of points a player adds for his team. At 38 years old, Manning doesn’t have a lot of time left to cement himself as the greatest quarterback of all-time, likely needing one more Super Bowl victory to accomplish this feat.

Manning returns with a premium group of talent starting with Demaryius Thomas. He's got a top-five upside running back in Montee Ball, and we can't forget his stud tight end, Julius Thomas.

Denver made massive overhauls on the defensive side of the ball, bringing in veteran 3-4 linebacker DeMarcus Ware and Pro-Bowl strong safety T.J. Ward via free agency. Denver looks to have a defense capable of matching the dominance they show on the offensive side of the ball.

On the other sideline, we've got the Colts and their third-year quarterback, Andrew Luck. Luck took great strides in his sophomore campaign, improving in quarterback rating, decreasing his turnovers (23 to 11) and improving both his Passing and Total Net Expected Points scores. Luck has a full arsenal of weapons at his disposal, maybe none more important than veteran wide receiver and security blanket Reggie Wayne, who returns to the field nearly 10 months after an ACL tear that ended his 2013 season.

Indianapolis heads west on opening weekend to tangle with a Broncos squad that's ready to redeem themselves after the embarrassment suffered at the hands of the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Can they pull the upset?