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Sunday Rundown: What makes Manning special

Ron Chenoy / USA TODAY Sports

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward. 

Much will be written of Peyton Manning's record 509th touchdown pass, all of it glowing and all of it deserved. He's the greatest ever to play the game. 

What makes Manning so special, and why we may never see another player like him, is his unrelenting approach to self-improvement and respect for the game. With Manning, it's always about the details.

After each of his four touchdown passes Sunday, Manning did what he does after every drive (even the few that don't result in touchdowns): he retreated to the bench to examine photos of the defensive alignment and figure out how to better attack it.

In the moments after Manning's record-breaking hookup with Demaryius Thomas, television cameras caught the pair chatting on the sideline. Manning said something that made his star wideout shoot him a smile. He had identified a weakness in the defense they both knew they could exploit. 

Cut to their first play back on the field together and Manning hitting Thomas with a perfect rainbow throw for a 40-yard touchdown.

At 38 years old with the legs of a grandpa and perhaps the NFL's weakest arm, Manning continues to shred defenses. He makes plays his younger, more physically-gifted peers dream of making because he sees things no one else sees. 

The day will come when Manning's body can no longer execute the commands of his mind and he hangs up his cleats for good, but the day will never come when he takes his success for granted and stops pushing himself to improve. 

Lions defense showing its teeth

The Detroit Lions have the best defense in the NFL.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. The Lions were supposed to be the team that overpowers its opponents on offense. 

When the Lions fired defensive-minded head coach Jim Schwartz after the 2013 season and replaced him with Jim Caldwell, the thinking was that Caldwell (who spent time as Peyton Manning's position coach and then head coach in Indianapolis) would transform Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush and company into an unstoppable force. The Lions wouldn't need defense; they would simply score 30 points per game.

Instead, Caldwell's staff has transformed the Lions' defense into the NFL's best or second-best unit in yards allowed per game, points allowed per game and sacks. The defense, not the under-performing offense, is the reason the Lions are 5-2 and tied atop the NFC North.

First-year defensive coordinator Teryl Austin deserves much of the credit. He's coaxed high-end production out of a group that lacks star power. All but one of The Lions' defensive starters are holdovers from the Schwartz era, yet almost to a man they are playing better than they ever did under their previous boss. 

There's no shutdown corner on this team, nor a franchise pass rusher (though second-year player Ezekiel Ansah has shown flashes). The Lions have cobbled together a defense with castoffs, journeymen and two first-round draft picks at defensive tackle who may finally be clicking at the same time. 

If that overpowering offense ever shows up – or anything resembling it – these Lions may do something else they failed to under Schwartz: win a playoff game. 

Fisher up to his old tricks

Jeff Fisher was widely praised for making the gutsiest play call of the season Sunday, dialing up a fake punt on a fourth-and-three situation late in the fourth quarter and deep in his own end. The bold decision worked, with punter Johnny Hekker hitting a wide open Benny Cunningham with a short pass for a first down, and it allowed the Rams to hold on and defeat the reigning Super Bowl champions 28-26.

Earlier in the game, Fisher called a trick punt return so effective, it fooled not only every Seahawks player on the field but also the television broadcast crew:

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Both calls were classic Fisher in that they were as inspired as they were inconsequential.

At 2-4 in the hyper-competitive NFC West and with an overachieving third-stringer at quarterback, the Rams remain among the NFL's deepest long-shots to make the playoffs. Is it brave to take big risks when the stakes are low?

Fisher has a long history of getting creative in his play calling only when it doesn't really matter. Take, for instance, this brilliant fake punt play he wasted in a preseason game:

Not exactly the same as calling for an onside kick in the Super Bowl, is it?

Fisher does have the Music City Miracle on his resumé, of course, but the desperate situation he faced removed all possibility of criticism if the call failed. 

When the games matter and his team is within reach of playoff contention, Fisher is perhaps the NFL's most conservative coach. And, when the pressure's off, he shows us he's capable of being much more progressive. His game management is backwards.

In some ways, the Rams' performance Sunday is a metaphor for Fisher's career. Just when you're ready to give up on him, he gives you a glimpse of what he's capable of and convinces you he's deserving of another chance. It's hard to remain a head coach despite missing the playoffs in 14 of 20 seasons, but Fisher seems to have cracked the code. 

Stray Thoughts

  • Aaron Rodgers has 18 touchdown passes to one interception (that came on a tipped pass in Week 1). It's nearly impossible to play quarterback better than he is.
  • Shouldn't Bears fans want the team's players to shout at each other in the locker room after a bad loss? The alternative – apathetic players – is far worse. As long as Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall can move on from their blowup together, Sunday's widely reported locker room incident could be a positive for a team whose season is teetering on the brink.
  • The Saints are one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL and yet they may still be the favorites to win the NFC South. What a terrible division from top to bottom.
  • There's zero doubt that Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray are the NFL's best QB-WR-RB triumvirate. 
  • The Seahawks' four late-season games against the 49ers and Cardinals are looking awfully juicy – assuming the Super Bowl champs find a way to win a few games before then, that is.
  • It would be nice if the Oakland Raiders would hurry up and win a game and stop the inane 0-16 talk that's starting to pick up some steam. That isn't an 0-16 team.
  • Remember when we all thought the NFC was superior to the AFC?

Injury Ward

Recapping the day's most significant injuries. 

C.J. Spiller, RB, Bills
Reported broken collarbone. Surgery expected. Likely out for the season.
Spiller has probably played his last snap as a Bill. He'll hit free agency as a tantalizing talent who produced one great season but has never managed to find consistency or stay healthy. 

Brian Orakpo, LB, Redskins
Suspected torn pectoral. Likely out for the season.
A devastating blow for a player playing under the franchise tag.

Vontaze Burfict, LB, Bengals
Cervical strain. Prognosis unknown.
It looked like Burfict suffered yet another concussion after taking a blow to the head, but the Bengals insist it's a neck injury. 

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