**UPDATE: Peyton Manning ruled out for Week 11 vs. Bears**
Peyton Manning made prestigious history on Sunday, surpassing Brett Favre as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage. He proceeded to total 35 yards passing, throw four interceptions, and get benched. The scene was bizarre, but everyone received clarity Monday morning, when it was announced Peyton Manning has a torn plantar fascia in his foot.
That would help explain his shockingly bad performances at times, and also begs the question of what John Elway and the Broncos are going to do moving forward. Denver is 7-2, and a near shoo-in to win the AFC West, so what are Elway’s options at QB?
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It appears he has two options: do nothing, and like it.
Brock Osweiler was 14-of-24 for 146 yards, with one touchdown and one interception in relief of Manning. He was far from a disaster, but Osweiler’s performance never screamed “quarterback of the future,” or even significant upgrade from Manning. Manning’s diagnosis is a partially torn plantar fascia, which is more painful to play on than a complete tear per ESPN. Still, it is possible for him to play through the injury; his brother Eli Manning had one in 2009 and never missed a game, and Peyton has been battling this injury for much of the season.
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Peyton aggravated the injury vs. Indianapolis, but claimed he was honest with the team’s doctors.
" ... I thought I felt good enough to play. That's what I thought," Manning said. "Maybe that was the wrong -- maybe that was a false feeling by me or whatever that was ... I was honest with them with how I felt, thought I was good enough to play.”
Even with the injury, Manning remains Denver’s best option. Osweiler simply has too little experience to be an improvement, and he’s playing behind an offensive line that has struggled to protect the quarterback since Week 1. Ask Manning, who has been sacked 15 times in 10 games and is nursing an injury.
As the season enters Week 11, it’s also too late to acquire a quarterback and integrate him into Kubiak’s offense. The brainiest quarterback would require weeks to fully immerse himself in the game plan, and the available talent is underwhelming at best.
Denver has to close their eyes, and hope Manning resembles the Week 9 version (281 yards, two scores vs. the Colts) and not last week’s injury-ravaged iteration. Of course, if Manning is struggling to walk as ESPN reported, Osweiler must be the choice. But if Manning can gut it out, he’s the man for the job.
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