Peyton Manning Outside the Huddle

In the Nov. 16 issue of SI (on newstands now), Peter King's cover story goes "Inside the Helmet of the League's Most Cerebral Quarterback." Here, SI's photographers detail Peyton Manning's day outside the huddle in a recent victory over the Houston Texans.

Manning has the Colts undefeated and on a 17-game regular season winning streak heading into this weekend's showdown with New England.

It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine Manning winning another MVP award.

New coach, new receivers, no running game? No problem for the NFL's most productive quarterback.

Manning is the first quarterback to throw for 40,000 yards in any decade, and he's tied with Fran Tarkenton for the fourth-most wins by a starting quarterback with 125.

Thanks in part to Manning, Jim Caldwell (right) is the NFL's first rookie coach to start 8-0 since Potsy Clark in 1931.

Manning limbered up enough to complete 14 passes to tight end Dallas Clark (44), who finished one catch shy of tying Kellen Winslow and Jason Witten for the NFL record at the position.

Manning has completed more passes and thrown for more yards and touchdowns in a career-opening 11-year span than any other NFL player.

With a 70.6 completion percentage and 318.1 passing yards per game, Manning is more accurate and more productive than in any of his previous 11 pro seasons.

The Colts jumped to a 13-0 lead over the Texans and avoided overtime when a field goal attempt by Houston was off the mark as time expired.

By dialing up 34 completions for 318 yards against Houston, Manning finished with his seventh 300-yard game this season.

Manning has benefited from having only one offensive coordinator at Indy, Tom Moore (right).

With Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark at his disposal, Manning has a quick-strike offense.

In Week2 , Manning earned his 119th victory with the Colts, breaking the team record for a quarterback that he had shared with Johnny Unitas. In that game, Indy had the ball for only 14:53, the lowest time of possession for a winning team in the NFL since 1977.

Houston quarterback Matt Schaub (left) is the only quarterback with more passing yards than Manning this season (2,653 to 2,545).

Indy fans aren't the only ones who appreciate Manning's uncanny talent -- he's respected league-wide.