Manning Up: Week Two Peyton touchdown breakdown

Recap of Last Week:

Entering last week, Week One of the NFL season, Manning had 491 career touchdown passes, sitting 17 behind Brett Favre for the all-time record (508). Needing 17 touchdowns to tie the record and 18 to break it, Peyton threw three touchdowns to Broncos tight end, Julius Thomas, finishing the week with a total of 494 touchdown passes, 14 behind Favre and on pace to break the record against the Jets on October 12. If you missed the last installment of the Manning TD tracker, head over here to catch a breakdown of each of last week's touchdowns.

Touchdown #1:

14 remaining for Favre's all-time record, 52 remaining to break 2013's single-season record

Receiver: Julius Thomas

Quarter/Time: 1st Quarter/11:19

Down/Distance: 2nd and 4, KC 4 yard line (4-yard score)

Manning's first touchdown of Week Two came out of a three-wide set. Julius Thomas, one of the two players listed as tight ends on the play (Virgil Green being the other), was the lone receiver split out to the left. Virgil Green lined up on the left side of the line in a three-point stance and stayed in for pass protection, Demaryius Thomas lined up as the outside right wide receiver, and Emmanuel Sanders lined up as the right slot receiver. Montee Ball was the lone back ont he play, lined up five yards behind Manning, who was directly under center. The Kansas City Chiefs were lined up in nickel defense, with three down-linemen, three linebackers, and five defensive backs on the play.

Off the snap, the Chiefs defense sent four defenders, including the three defensive linemen and the SLB on the right side. Manning snapped the ball and immediately targeted Julius Thomas, who was covered by safety Eric Berry. The defense had little time to react, and Berry never even got his head around before the ball was dropped precisely over his head and into the hands of Julius Thomas, who was running a fade route to the back corner of the end-zone. Thomas narrowly managed to get both feet down in the end-zone and retain possession, in order to make the score count. Just over three minutes in, Manning had his fourth touchdown pass of the season, and Julius Thomas had his fourth touchdown reception of the season; it was just that easy.

Touchdown #2:

13 remaining for Favre's all-time record, 51 remaining to break 2013's single-season record

Receiver: Jacob Tamme

Quarter/Time: 2nd Quarter/7:24

Down/Distance: 1st and 4, KC 4 yard line (4-yard score)

On his second touchdown of the day, Manning lined up in shotgun yet again, with Ball as the lone back, lined up to Manning's right side. The Broncos lined up in a two-tight end set, with both Tamme and Thomas on the right side of the offense; Thomas in a three-point stance on the line of scrimmage, Tamme to his right, just off the LOS. Prior to the snap, Tamme came in motion across the backfield, lining up as the inside left slot receiver. Emmanuel Sanders lined up as the left wide receiver, while Andre Caldwell (in for Demaryius Thomas, who was injured two plays prior) lined up on the LOS as the outside slot receiver on the left. The Chiefs defense matched the Broncos offense with a 3-4 defense, sending three linemen on the pass rush, along with the ROLB. The remainder of players dropped into coverage.

It's difficult to tell if the linebackers/defensive backs on the left of the defensive formation were playing zone, or were in man coverage on Thomas and Ball, since neither ran a pass route on the play; they appeared to be in zone, however. Caldwell, Sanders, and Tamme were all manned up, which played right into the hands of the Broncos' play-call. Emmanuel Sanders removed his man from the play, running a route deep into the corner of the endzone; Caldwell ran a pick on the linebacker who was in man coverage on Tamme, taking two other players out of the play in the process, leaving Tamme wide open for the score. Manning's second touchdown of the half and the game, and his fifth of the regular season, marked his fifth consecutive TD pass to a tight end.

Touchdown #3:

12 remaining for Favre's all-time record, 50 remaining to break 2013's single-season record

Receiver: Demaryius Thomas

Quarter/Time: 2nd Quarter/1:15

Down/Distance: 1st and 10, KC 12 yard line (12-yard score)

The third touchdown of the day was just as skillful and precise as the first two, if not even better. Manning lined up in shotgun, as he did on the first two, this time with CJ Anderson as the running back to the right of him. The Broncos lined up with two tight-ends, both in three-point stances on the right side of the offense; Tamme on the inside, slightly off the LOS, Julius on the outside, lined up on the line of scrimmage. Demaryius Thomas began the play in the left slot, while Sanders lined up as the far-left wide receiver. Kansas City's defense lined up in a 3-3-5 nickel defense, with DBs lined up in man against Sanders, Julius, and Demaryius, and two deep safeties.

Off the snap, the Chiefs sent all three linemen and the SLB on the blitz, but faced a wall of Broncos pass protection. The Broncos kept both Julius Thomas and Jacob Tamme in for pass protection, as well as CJ Anderson. The DB lined up in man on Julius, as well as the linebacker assigned to cover Montee Ball were both occupied on the play, as their assignments stayed in to protect Manning. Emmanuel Sanders ran a screen route, keeping his defender near the line of scrimmage, while Demaryius Thomas ran a corner route to the back of the end-zone. Manning released the pass early with a confidence in both his arm, and Thomas' ability in a jump ball situation. Not to disappoint, Demaryius made a fantastic catch in the end-zone with both the corner and safety draped over him, resulting in a third passing score for Peyton on a deadly accurate pass.

Recap:

Peyton Manning would be ill-advised to make a habit of this, but it was the second week in a row that all three of Manning's touchdown passes came in the first half, with none to his name in the second half, resulting in another near-comeback for the Broncos' opponents. After his three touchdown passes on Sunday, though, Manning is on pace to pass Brett Favre's touchdown record against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7 of the 2014 season. In order to beat last season's single-season touchdown record, Manning must throw 3.57 touchdowns per game for the remainder of the season. Next week should be a tough test against the Seahawks defense, but Julius Thomas could make things interesting just one week after Antonio Gates exploded for the Chargers against Seattle.