That game Peyton Manning wrote an apology letter to a referee

Remember that crazy Denver-Miami game in 2014 when Peyton Manning led the Broncos back from a 21-10 deficit in the first half to a late-game comeback 39-36 win?

Of course you do because it probably stopped your heart a few times. But just in case, here’s a refresher:

One person who will never forget that game is referee Butch Hannah, who just announced his retirement from the NFL after 18 years donning the black-and-white stripes.

Hannah kind of remembered the score of that Denver game, but mostly he remembered getting a little heat from Manning - something he definitely didn’t expect.

"The whole game was a struggle for them. I called back two Denver touchdowns,” Hannah told the Times Free Press. “...But late in the game, the clock about to run out, Peyton mistimed a snap and they had to run one more play. Peyton said something off-color to me, which was not at all like him. I told him, 'Peyton, you're better than that.'"

Indeed he was.

And in such a Peyton-like move, Manning wrote Hannah an apology letter:

Hannah never reveals what it was Manning said to him, but there’s a chance it was similar to No. 18’s “conversation” with D.J. Swearinger later that year in a preseason game at Houston where the future Hall-of-Famer earned his first-ever taunting penalty:

But in an even more Peyton-like move, the next time he saw Hannah at the Broncos-Seahawks preseason matchup, Manning scouted out the ref to ask if he had received Manning’s note.

Hannah told Manning, who he had known since calling SEC games when the future Hall-of-Famer was the star QB at the University of Tennessee, that he should “let it go.”

But Manning being Manning was upset with how he let his emotions get the better of him and wanted the referee to know that.

“He says, 'You have no idea how upset I was with myself,’” Hannah told the Chattanooga paper. “That's the kind of son Archie and Olivia raised. Pretty impressive."

Impressive indeed.

But not so unexpected.