Heading into the season, there were only two AFC teams that were viewed as Super Bowl contenders: the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots. Nearly everyone assumed that one of them would represent the conference in the big game.

For most of the season, things went as planned. The two paced the conference, battled for the top seed, and took the first round byes. Then Denver lost its playoff game, which threw off the script a bit. New England held up their end, making the Super Bowl and beating the Seahawks to take home the crown.

Since Denver's loss, many have speculated about whether Peyton Manning can still play at a high level or whether he should retire. Since Sunday, many have speculated about whether Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time.

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Manning has recently hinted that he plans to return, but the Patriots winning the Super Bowl will likely turn that into a guarantee. There has always been a debate about how much titles mean when weighing the best players, but many view Manning's lack of playoff success compared to Brady's as a black mark on his resume.

Despite his unassuming nature, Manning is a maniacal competitor, and he no doubt wants to retire as the best ever, a feat that Brady's fourth Super Bowl puts into question. But if Manning were to return and claim another ring, he would once again have a claim to the throne.

Manning has to be tired of the insinuations that Brady is better over the years. Manning is generally considered to have less to work with, but constantly dragging teams to overachieve somehow does not absolve him of his failures to win championships.

And as for this year, Manning's play suffered drastically thanks to a torn quadriceps over the last several weeks of the season, and he surely does not want to go out with people thinking that he is washed up when he was really just playing through a serious injury.

To top it all off, Manning even has Brady prodding him to come back.

Expect Manning to announce his return soon, and bet that Brady's fourth Super Bowl was that catalyst that made a difficult decision into an easy call.