Peyton Manning got work done today in the Denver Broncos' 24-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round of the 2014 NFL Playoffs.However, while everyone was watching how Manning handled the Chargers, one thing many also noticed is what significant word kept coming out of the quarterback's mouth.
Omaha.
Throughout the game, there wasn't at least one play where Manning yelled it out. In fact, "Omaha" probably got stuck in a lot of people's heads for that Sunday.
https://twitter.com/JoshDhani/status/422529911291912192
The city of Omaha generated a lot of buzz, and they were quite happy with the soon-to-be five-time NFL MVP yelling out the word:
https://twitter.com/VisitOmaha/statuses/422509031190573056
With all that said though, what the heck is the point of it? Manning is known to say random words that don't mean a single thing during games, while also being known for being the king of audibles.
So what is the meaning of Omaha?
Houston sports radio host Lance Zierlien suggests that it's a way to catch the defense offsides, as the play count would go on two rather than one:
https://twitter.com/LanceZierlein/statuses/422513910139191296
After much speculation, it sure looked like that in the game. Tony Dungy, who worked with Manning for about a decade as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, confirmed this:
https://twitter.com/TonyDungy/statuses/422498151870648320
And there ya go, folks. That's Omaha.
Now, it's likely the New England Patriots have caught on to this already when they play the Broncos next week in the AFC Championship game, but knowing Manning he's probably going to come up with a new word pretty soon to catch Bill Belichick's defense off-guard... if he can.
[H/T: LBS]
