1. Math in the News
Issue 80
A Season for the Ages
In this issue we look at Peyton Manning’s stat-shattering season.

2. In a previous issue of Math in the News (see issue 51) we
looked at the Denver Broncos’ hiring of Peyton Manning,
and whether he was past his prime. We concluded he had
plenty of football left in his career.

3. Peyton Manning is having a phenomenal season, based
on his performance after five games. Let’s look at the
statistics. Source: NFL.com.

4. This box-and-whisker plot shows Manning’s career
completions per game (not counting this season). The red
line shows this season’s performance.
Completions Per Game
30

5. This table shows his career pass-completion percentage. This
year’s stats are shown in the last row.
Year Completion
Percentage
1998 56.7
1999 62.1
2000 62.5
2001 62.7
2002 66.3
2003 67
2004 67.6
2005 67.3
2006 65
2007 65.4
2008 66.8
2009 68.8
2010 66.3
2012 68.6
2013 75.8

6. This box-and-whisker plot shows Manning’s career yards
per game (not counting this season). The red line shows
this season’s performance.
Yards Per Game
376.8

7. This bar graph compares his career touchdowns per season. In
2013 he already has 20 touchdowns!

8. Even stats that are down are the right ones that should be down.
His career interceptions are shown in this bar graph. In 2013, he
only has 1 interception so far.

9. Long Ball
One of the secrets to
Manning’s success
this season has been
his long-pass
completion. Long
passes of 20 or more
yards are at an all-
time high. (The 2013
stats are for five
games.)
Year Pass Completions
of 20+ Yds
1998 42
1999 56
2000 51
2001 55
2002 51
2003 45
2004 68
2005 45
2006 53
2007 53
2008 40
2009 59
2010 43
2012 64
2013 21

10. His outstanding season is summarized in his quarterback rating,
where you can see, this season he’s outperforming all previous
seasons.

11. Summary
Manning’s 2013 stats
will likely level off a
bit from his strong
start. Yet it’s clear
that Peyton Manning
is far from the end of
his career.