With that observation, you now have the extent of the injury update on the Indianapolis Colts' iron-man quarterback.
When Manning talked to reporters after the Colts' 36-22 win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday at the RCA Dome, his upper lip looked puffy on the left side. Beyond that visual cue, he'll provide no inventory of his aches and pains.
We're left today to wonder how it felt for Manning to be bent back like Gumby and folded like an accordion. We can only speculate about the presumed agony of a blow to the back of his legs that looked like knee surgery in the making.
When it comes to a personal health review, Manning's swollen lips are sealed.
"I attended the Bill Belichick School of not discussing injuries a few summers ago," Manning said, "so I don't really discuss that."
Belichick, the New England Patriots coach, is notorious for never revealing the true health status of his players.
Here's what's certain: For all of his commercial marketing and almost too-good-to-be-true image, Manning is one tough son of a legendary gun.
He's directed the Colts to their second consecutive 6-0 start, a feat of back-to-back excellence accomplished only eight previous times in NFL history. His team might not be indestructible, but Manning apparently is.
"I've seen him take some shots (in the past)," Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "He's a little tougher than people give him credit for."
Manning's revenge on the Redskins (2-5) looked familiar enough. He completed 25 of 35 passes for 342 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a quarterback passer rating of 140.4.
He started strong, with a 92-yard first-quarter scoring drive. He finished stronger, with three third-quarter touchdown passes.
The contrast in images before and after halftime couldn't have been sharper. Manning jogged to the locker room a few seconds before halftime, looking woozy and trailing 14-13. He returned and directed three straight scoring drives, capped by two short touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison and a 51-yard home run to Reggie Wayne.
"Our mindset offensively is any time we don't score, we feel like we've usually done something wrong," Manning said. "Defenses are going to make plays, but usually we feel it's on us."
In those three drives, which covered 55, 81 and 66 yards in 15
combined plays, the Colts faced only one third-down play. And that turned into Harrison's second touchdown catch.
"When you can do that, boy, that puts a lot of pressure on the defense," Manning said.
The return of the Colts' high-scoring offense coincided with a fairly strong defensive effort. The Colts were without defensive tackle Montae Reagor, who was in the hospital with a head wound after an automobile accident early Sunday afternoon. In his place was newly acquired Anthony "Booger" McFarland, the former Tampa Bay stalwart who came via trade last week.
McFarland recorded his first tackle on his first play from scrimmage and helped the Colts maintain relative control of the Redskins' running game. Washington rushed for 114 yards, the second-lowest total allowed by the Colts this season.
"All in all, I thought we played better," Dungy said. "We played a little faster and played with more aggressiveness. And I thought Anthony did a good job and helped us out."
As improved as the defense looked, people will be talking for days about how Manning was physically rocked.
The Colts have never had to deal with even the possibility of Manning being injured. He has started all 134 games since he entered the league. But when Manning was hit low by the Redskins' Andre Carter, followed by a blow to the neck from Phillip Daniels that sent Manning's helmet flying and his head and body reeling backward, it was a worrisome scene.
Manning ended up flat on his face, grimacing and holding his shoulder. When he slowly got up, his face was covered with residue from the turf. The Redskins were not even called for a penalty. To be fair, however, NFL rules do not specifically have a penalty called "decapitating the quarterback."
Later in the half, Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington hit Manning with his helmet in the back of the legs and was called for roughing the passer.
"We never like to see our quarterback get hit," Dungy said. "It's something that we try to not have happen. He got hit a couple times today, and fortunately he was fine and got through it."
Manning and Harrison extended their NFL records to 11,057 yards and 97 career touchdown connections. Harrison's 113 career touchdown catches ties Lenny Moore's club record. Wayne led the team with 122 yards receiving, his 13th game of more than 100 yards.
"I'm always looking for Marvin and Reggie," Manning said. "When it's a true one-on-one, it's hard to cover those guys."
Manning smiled at the thought of that scenario, fat lip and all. Apparently, when it comes to the rigors of the NFL, it never hurts to win.
This column is the commentary of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The News-Sentinel. E-mail Reggie Hayes at rhayes@news-sentinel.com.
