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Peyton Manning approaches Super Bowl record held by Jim Kelly

Peyton Manning threw 50 passes in Super Bowl XLVIII - a product of his team trailing the entire game - but could not break the single-game Super Bowl mark held by one Jim Kelly.

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade.

Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos were behind from the opening snap of Super Bowl XLVIII. Manning ended up throwing the football a ton as the Broncos tried, fruitlessly, to climb back into the game. Still, the future Hall of Fame quarterback didn't sling it more than Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame inductee Jim Kelly in Super Bowl XXVI.

Against the Washington Redskins, Kelly threw the ball 58 times to set the single-game record for Super Bowl passing attempts. The record he broke was held by Dan Marino in Super Bowl XIX - 50 passes - a number Kelly would also match in Super Bowl XXVIII. In Super Bowl XXXIX, Donovan McNabb passed the ball 51 times, to sit second on the single-game list. Manning slots behind those four performances with his 50 passing attempts in last night's loss.

Manning did set the record for most completions in a single Super Bowl - a record that Kelly once held, as well - connecting on 34 of his 50 attempts. Tom Brady and Drew Brees held that record at 32 while Kelly was next with 31 completions in Super Bowl XXVIII. (Kurt Warner also completed 31 passes in Super Bowl XLIII.) Kelly held the record for completions for 10 years, until Brady's win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Brady and Brees are the only two quarterbacks mentioned here that won their games.

The 58 passing attempts was the most of any game in Kelly's NFL career, and they came in a losing effort on the grandest stage.