With a loaded late-afternoon slate of games, it would be easy for the matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos to slip through the cracks, even though both teams are very much in the hunt for an AFC Wild Card berth. However, adding some intrigue to this game is the fact that it would be easy to frame this game as The Peyton Manning Bowl. 

Manning played 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts before spending the final four years of his career with the Denver Broncos. Though Manning's peak certainly came in Indy, it's easy to argue that the single best season of his Hall of Fame career came in the 2013 season. On their way to an AFC Title, Manning set the NFL records for both passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55), which propelled him to a nearly unanimous MVP award.

Since retirement, Manning has been inducted into both the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor and the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame, but his allegiance clearly lies in the Mile High City. Manning lives in Denver and has voiced interest in becoming a minority owner of the Broncos, and on Sunday afternoon, prior to kickoff between his two former teams, Manning was chatting up Denver's rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

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Fans in Denver are hoping that Nix will someday soon become the third quarterback in Broncos history to lead the team to a Super Bowl title, joining Manning, who got the job done in his final season thanks in large part to a devastating Broncos D, and John Elway, who won back-to-back Super Bowls in his final two NFL seasons.

For Bo Nix, that Super Bowl title may still be many years away, but everything we've seen from the former Oregon Ducks signal-caller looks promising. Through the first 13 games of his career, Nix has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,842 yards and 17 touchdowns. He's also added 304 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Even more impressively, Nix has the Broncos on the verge of making the postseason for the first time since Peyton Manning was still under center.