When the Indianapolis Colts entered the locker room during half-time of the AFC Championship Game trailing the New England Patriots 21-6, Peyton Manning must have been wondering what he had done to deserve such luck.

In two previous years when the Colts looked like the pick of the teams in the AFC, they were beaten by the Pats and Manning was outplayed by his opposite number, Tom Brady. Brady has gone down as one of the best playoff quarterbacks of all time and he is the man you would choose when faced with a pressure situation. Manning had a reputation as a choker. A man who statistically has all the numbers for Hall of Fame induction when his career is over, but always buckled under the intense expectations of the fans.

In the Super Bowl on Sunday, at 21-6, it seemed to be happening again. But Peyton rescued not only the game but also his reputation in the second half at the RCA Dome. When the dust settled on the Colts' 38-34 win, Manning displayed what had been lacking in his previous playoff appearances - leadership. He led the team from the front and finally got the monkey off his back. It was fitting that in the Super Bowl he faced a quarterback who has endured a career's worth of criticism this season, the Chicago Bears' Rex Grossman.

In Superbowl XLI, both quarterbacks played their expected roles perfectly. Take away one early interception of Manning and he was the player who should have graced the Super Bowl many times before in his nine-year career as he completed passes and displayed leadership that inspired the Colts defense to shut down the Bears' running game and attack Grossman.

Poor Rex didn't stand a chance. Once the Colts had taken the lead and forced Chicago to throw, there was going to be only one winner. Grossman had thrown so well two weeks ago in the NFC Championship Game against New Orleans but against the Colts he played with the inconsistency that has dogged him all season: interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), fumbles, botched snaps and tripping over his own feet, it was all here.

But the night belonged to Manning. He has now left the category of great quarterbacks who never won a Super Bowl, a label that still haunts Dan Marino. He has proved that you can be an explosive, statistically impressive quarterback and still win the big game. It was not the greatest season of his career statistically, far from it. But he will regard this as his greatest season because he has his ring and he can now enjoy the rest of his playing days knowing no one will ever again ask the question 'When will Peyton Manning win the big game'.