Indianapolis ? If Peyton Manning has proved anything this season, it is that nothing is out of reach.

He’s already thrown five touchdowns in an NFL-record three games this season. He’s thrown at least three TD passes six times and is on pace to shatter Dan Marino’s seemingly untouchable single-season record of 48 TD passes.

“He’s as close to a football god as there is right now,” Chicago Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. “The way they’re playing on offense, it’s like Madden 2005.”

Manning’s statistics are impressive, but it’s the way he has responded to challenges that has awed observers.

Coming off his 2003 MVP year, Manning was constantly asked whether he was worth a new seven-year, $98 million contract. His play this year has delivered his response.

In nine games this season, Manning already has thrown for nearly 2,800 yards, 31 touchdowns and his quarterback rating is 122.7. He’s thrown more touchdowns in the last three weeks, 14, than 24 teams have all year.

He’s beaten teams with his arm, his feet, even throwing left-handed.

At this rate, Manning will finish with the second-highest yardage total ever (4,887), 55 TDs and a rating that would crush Steve Young’s NFL record of 112.4.

Even Manning cannot ignore the chase some consider football’s equivalent of baseball’s home-run record.

Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning unleashes a pass during last season's AFC playoffs against Denver. Manning has thrown 31 touchdown passes this season.

“If I had 47 going into the Denver game, it would be hard to say it hadn’t crossed my mind,” Manning said, referring to the Colts’ season finale. “The more I think about it, the more I’m amazed by what Marino did.”

Marino, an analyst for CBS and HBO, also is surprised his TD record is in jeopardy.

He’s joked the last three weeks that Manning needed to stop throwing touchdowns and even was asked Thursday whether he tried to break Manning’s right arm during an interview.

Marino clearly wants the record, but he can also sense it slipping away.

“You don’t want someone to break your record, that’s a natural thing,” the former Miami Dolphins quarterback said. “But because of Peyton and who he is, I’m rooting for him to win.”

How good has Manning been?

After Sunday’s 320-yard, five-touchdown performance against Houston, Colts coach Tony Dungy said he had come to expect it. Dungy isn’t the only one among the Colts who has increased his grading standards for Manning.

“If he puts up 10 touchdowns, that would surprise me,” wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. “Nothing else does.”

The son of Archie Manning, a former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback, and older brother of Eli Manning, the No. 1 overall draft pick this year who makes his first start Sunday for the New York Giants, Peyton has won two division titles, played in one AFC title game, been to four Pro Bowls and established himself as the league’s best pocket passer in less than seven seasons.

He engineered the largest turnaround in league history when the Colts went from 3-13 in 1998 to 13-3 in 1999.