Manning lighting up league with TDs

INDIANAPOLIS -- If Peyton Manning has proved anything this season, it is that nothing is out of reach.\nHe's already thrown five touchdowns in an NFL-record three games this season. He's thrown at least three TD passes six times and is on pace to shatter Dan Marino's seemingly untouchable single-season record of 48 TD passes.\n"He's as close to a football god as there is right now," said Chicago Bears defensive end and former Hoosier Adewale Ogunleye. "The way they're playing on offense, it's like Madden 2005."\nManning's statistics are impressive, but it's the way he has responded to challenges that has awed observers.\nComing off his 2003 MVP year, Manning was constantly asked whether he was worth a new seven-year, $98 million contract. His play this year has delivered his response.\nIn nine games, Manning already has thrown for nearly 2,800 yards and 31 touchdowns, and his quarterback rating is 122.7. He's thrown more touchdowns in the last three weeks, 14, than 24 teams have all year. He's beaten teams with his arm, his feet, even throwing left-handed.\nAt this rate, Manning will finish with the second-highest yardage total ever (4,887), 55 TDs and a rating that would crush Steve Young's NFL record of 112.4.\nEven Manning cannot ignore the chase some consider football's equivalent of baseball's home-run record.\n"If I had 47 going into the Denver game, it would be hard to say it hadn't crossed my mind," Manning said, referring to the Colts' season finale. "The more I think about it, the more I'm amazed by what Marino did."\nMarino, an analyst for CBS and HBO, is also surprised his TD record is in jeopardy.\nHe has joked the last three weeks that Manning needs to stop throwing touchdowns and was even asked Thursday whether he tried to break Manning's right arm during an interview.\nMarino clearly wants the record, but he can also sense it slipping away.\n"You don't want someone to break your record, that's a natural thing," the former Miami Dolphins quarterback said. "But because of Peyton and who he is, I'm rooting for him to win."\nHow good has Manning been?\nAfter Sunday's 320-yard, five-touchdown performance against Houston, Colts coach Tony Dungy said he's come to expect it. Dungy isn't the only one among the Colts who has increased his grading standards for Manning.\n"If he puts up 10 touchdowns, that would surprise me," said wide receiver Brandon Stokley. "Nothing else does."\nThe Colts' last 17 touchdowns have come through the air, and Manning has thrown at least five touchdowns to five players. Three receivers -- Stokley, Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison -- are all on pace to top 1,000 yards, and there's still seven games left.\nThe last time a quarterback was this efficient was during Marino's record chase in 1984.\n"He don't need advice from me," Marino said. "He's doing fine."\nOnly two players, Green Bay's Brett Favre and San Francisco's Joe Montana, have won back-to-back MVP awards. He needs two TD passes Sunday at Chicago to become the second-fastest player in league history to reach 200 -- behind Marino -- and he's trying to help the Colts break a tie with Jacksonville for the AFC South lead.\nBut the most glaring omission on Manning's otherwise perfect resume, a Super Bowl win, is one Marino can identify with. He thinks both the record and a Super Bowl are also now within Manning's grasp.\n"The thing is not to worry about (the record)," Marino said. "I'd love to see a guy like Peyton get in the Super Bowl and win it. I tried as hard as I could for 17 years, and it didn't happen. He's got a little more time"