The Broncos gave up 24 unanswered points to the Steelers on Sunday in a shocking 34-27 loss that endangered their postseason standing. Despite being in first place, and having 10 wins with two games left, it’s possible for the Broncos to miss the playoffs. Part of the reason was quarterback Brock Osweiler.
The Broncos’ offense has fallen to pieces in their last two games, losses to the Raiders and Steelers. Denver couldn’t score a touchdown vs. Oakland last week and was held scoreless vs. Pittsburgh after they racked up 27 first half points. In particular, Osweiler is showing a glaring lack of chemistry with his receivers at times, most notably Demaryius Thomas and TE Vernon Davis.
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Thomas’ drops have been dreadful, and they’ve been plaguing the Broncos their overtime victory over the Patriots on Nov. 29, in which Thomas caught one pass (in overtime) despite 13 targets. The counter to this is that Denver had one of the NFL’s worst offenses with Peyton Manning running the show too, but Manning was dealing with a torn plantar fascia. He returned to practice last week, so the question everyone is asking is whether to install him as the starter if he can go.
The better question is, “Can he go?”
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Manning addressed his status, as well as rumors that he told the Broncos that if healthy he would refuse to back up Osweiler.
"That's 100 percent bull----. No. 1, it is bull----. And No. 2, it's insulting. The worst part about being hurt is that a lot of people seem to know everything about you and speak for you, even when it's somebody you don't even know,” Manning told The Denver Post.
As for his foot, it seems like Manning himself won’t know until he practices consistently for a week and sees how his body responds.
You want to avoid compromising to the point where you can't do your job. It's not fair to anybody," Manning said.
"The idea now is not to go backwards. The next thing is to not be thinking about it as you're stepping and throwing. It's to not be in pain as you're stepping and throwing. It's seeing if you can go through a whole week of practice. It probably feels best when you're not on it. In order to be able to play, you've got to be able to stay on the field for a full week of practice."
Manning’s performances this season have been awful, and he didn’t go a single game in 2015 without throwing an interception. But if he’s in better condition, it’s hard to envision Osweiler’s upside this year being higher than Manning’s.
If Peyton can play, he must start.
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