When Jeff Saturday Switched Teams Just to Take One Last Snap With Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning was a great player, but an even greater teammate. Perhaps no moment captured this better than when his longtime center, Jeff Saturday, switched teams just to snap him the ball one last time. It was a heartfelt display of friendship that the lineman truly appreciated at the time.

It took place at the NFL Pro Bowl in 2013. Saturday was playing in his last game ever after announcing his retirement, representing the Green Bay Packers in the NFC. Peyton, on the other hand, was on the Denver Broncos in the AFC.

At around the 5-minute mark in the first quarter, Saturday requested and then switched teams for a single snap with Peyton. It was a clean exchange that ended up as a run for a loss of yards. But the moment was a meaningful one, as it was the last time we’d ever see the two link up for a snap.

Looking back on it, Saturday sounded grateful for being able to pull it off.

“After doing it that long with him, we figured it’s our last run together … might as well get one more. So, that’s something special I’ll always remember,” Saturday told NBC Sports after the game.

Saturday played his final season in Green Bay, but he spent the first 13 years of his career with the Indianapolis Colts. He made two All-Pro First Teams and five Pro Bowls as a member of the team.

Saturday and Peyton also won the Super Bowl in 2006 together, the franchise’s first since 1970. They were two pillars of the Colts for over a decade. That’s why it’s a fun moment to reminisce about. The two deserved to have their final moment in the sun together, and with the low stakes of the Pro Bowl, it was the perfect stage to capture it. 

Saturday would eventually go on to get an interim head coaching job with the Colts in 2022. They went 1-7 and ranked near the bottom of the league in practically every statistical category. But he did go 4-for-5 on challenges, so there’s that to stand on.