FACTBOX: NFL highlights of the past 10 years

Dec 30 - Factbox on highlights from the past 10 years in the National Football League (NFL) selected by Reuters New York sports correspondent Larry Fine:

Player of the decade

Peyton Manning, precision quarterback and consummate leader of the Indianapolis Colts, lived up to his billing as top overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft out of Tennessee with an extraordinary 10-year run of iron-man brilliance, never missing a game while serving as de-facto coach on the gridiron with his meticulous preparation and pinpoint throwing.

Manning transformed the Colts from a 3-13 team into a perennial powerhouse, steering Indy into the playoffs nine times, earning nine Pro Bowl selections, claiming NFL Most Valuable Player honors three times (2003, 2004, 2008), snaring the Super Bowl MVP award in their 2006 championship season and posting seven successive seasons of 12 or more wins while dominating statistical charts at the game's key position.

Defining moment

A crushing tackle by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis drove three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Bledsoe of New England out of the second game of the 2001 season and forced the Patriots to rely on their sixth-round pick of the 2000 draft -- Tom Brady of Michigan, the 199th player chosen that year by NFL talent evaluators.

Brady, quickly grasping the intricacies of the offense and showing more mobility than pocket quarterback Bledsoe, posted an 11-3 record as emergency starter and went on to lead New England to a Super Bowl crown. They added two more NFL titles for a total of three in a four-year period. Brady claimed two Super Bowl MVP awards, NFL MVP honors in 2007 and four Pro Bowl bids.

Event of the decade

The Super Bowl following the 2007 season produced the only blemish on a near-perfect campaign by the New England Patriots, who were denied a 19th victory without a loss and their fourth NFL title of the decade by the New York Giants, thanks largely to an extraordinary catch by seldom-used receiver David Tyree in the dying seconds of the championship game.

Tyree pinned the desperation third-down throw by scrambling quarterback Eli Manning against his helmet for a 32-yard gain, somehow keeping the ball from hitting the ground and coming loose as he was tackled. The superb play set up a game-winning touchdown grab by Plaxico Burress that gave the Giants a 17-14 upset and kept the Patriots from joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the NFL's only unbeaten champions.

(Editing by Clare Fallon)