Nuked from Orbit: Peyton Manning Drops Truth Bomb on AFC West Rival

Peyton Manning is still taking deep shots at a former AFC West rival, five years into his retirement.

Peyton Manning has a memory like an elephant. He doesn't forget. 

Perhaps in that spirit, as the former starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, the rival posture he once had for the Los Angeles Chargers persists even today. Interpreting a recent comment Manning made in regards to his former rival, it's difficult to come to any other conclusion. 

Manning was recently asked to address the Denver Nuggets via a virtual Zoom conference call. The NBA, of course, is poised to restart its season in 'the bubble' without fans. 

When a player asked Manning how he'd prepare for a season without fans, the NFL's only five-time MVP nuked the Chargers from orbit. 

“He was like, ‘I’m just not the one to answer that question,’” Nuggets center Mason Plumlee told the Denver Post of the meeting with Manning. “’You’d probably have to ask somebody with the Chargers or one of these other teams.’ . . . It was like talking to somebody in the locker room, which was really cool.”

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Manning has a scathing wit to go along with some surprising comedic chops. Anyone who's watched Manning's commercials, appearance hosting Saturday Night Live, or even his weekly pressers as a player, can vouch — The Sheriff is funny. 

He's also as competitive as they come. When the comedy gods pitch you a meatball over the middle of the plate like that, it'd be sin to not knock it out of the park. 

Manning's smart enough to grab that low-hanging fruit when opportunity knocks. For Broncos fans, it's just another reason to love him. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.