Imagine if Peyton Manning had bolted for the NFC when he hit free agency following the 2011 season?
In a wide-ranging conversation with Bill Simmons of The Ringer on his podcast Friday, Manning said that one recurring theme in his mind following his release from the Indianapolis Colts was that at heart, he was an AFC guy after spending the first 13 seasons of his career in Indy. But he also factored in that in order to win the Super Bowl at the time, you were likely to need to go through the New England Patriots one way or another.