Brock Osweiler just keeps playing, oblivious to Broncos’ QB drama

DENVER — By leading the Denver Broncos to a huge overtime win Monday night, Brock Osweiler got his team closer to a bye week in the playoffs … which gives Peyton Manning another week to get healthy. Oh, the irony.

Ah, yes, the Broncos’ quarterback issue. It’s impossible to spend any time in Denver and not hear about it. But it’s probably best to stop handicapping the Broncos’ quarterback situation until Manning is fully recovered from a foot injury because the popular opinion changes week to week — sometimes even half by half. Osweiler looks like the answer, until he doesn’t and it seems like the door is back open for Manning to start again. After a 20-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in which Osweiler played very well, the roulette ball is back on Osweiler. We’ll spin the wheel again on Sunday.

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This must be peculiar for Osweiler. Imagine having to answer questions every week about the possibility of keeping your job. Imagine an entire region debating it constantly, with opinions changing entirely based on how you performed the previous week. Osweiler is trying to lead the Broncos, playing an impossibly tough position, all with the NFL’s only five-time MVP waiting to come back at some point from a foot injury.

“I don’t hear it,” Osweiler said about the media speculation. “A coach once told me — no offense, anybody — but close your ears to all that and focus on your job. I’m very appreciative for that advice.”

Dec 28, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) looks to pass the ball during the overtime period against the Cincinnati Bengals at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 20-17 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports All coaches and athletes say they don’t read stories or listen to the media, but many of them can recite with remarkable accuracy every slight that has been said or written about them. But in Osweiler’s case, it seems like he might be telling the truth.

If he didn’t block out the daily debate about whether he or Manning should start for the Broncos, he’d probably lose his mind.

“I know he’s got to answer a lot of questions every week, and if we don’t get it done as a team they’re going to question him. That’s the nature of the position but he does a great job handling it,” tight end Owen Daniels said. “He’s a level-headed guy.”

When Osweiler won his first two starts, he was on a Sports Illustrated cover and he was the talk of the NFL. Then after another win, the Broncos lost two straight. After Osweiler followed a great first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago by going 7-of-26 in the second half, it seemed like Manning would get another shot … if the Broncos even made the playoffs. That wasn’t a lock going into Week 16.

On Monday night Osweiler went 27-of-39 for 299 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions and helped the Broncos to a 20-17 overtime win, clinching a playoff spot. With a win Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, the Broncos will win the AFC West and have a first-round bye. The tide shifts back in Osweiler’s favor.

“He just continues, to me, to get better,” said coach Gary Kubiak, who has done a masterful job avoiding saying anything about who Denver’s starter will be when Manning gets healthy.

There seem to be two things that have helped Osweiler during this quarterback soap opera. First, he doesn’t give fuel to the discussion. Every question about whether he’ll continue to start gets deflected and followed up with some form of, “I’m just focused on this week’s game.”

“This isn’t about Peyton, this isn’t about myself, tonight is about this football team, and what this football team went out there and did tonight is truly special,” Osweiler said in regards to a question about the quarterback discussion.

Second, Osweiler has a very positive demeanor. That sounds trite, but it rubs off. When the Broncos were trailing the New England Patriots a few weeks ago, or when they were down 14-0 to the Bengals on Monday night, the quarterback’s attitude didn’t change. Stuff like that can matter. After Brandon McManus missed miserably on a 45-yard field goal to win it in regulation (“In my 24 years on this earth, I don’t think I’ve kicked a ball like that in my life,” McManus said), Osweiler and the Broncos just regrouped and drove for another go-ahead field goal in overtime.

“He’s a very positive guy,” Daniels said. “Even when things go really bad, you’re not going to see him hanging his head or sulking. You want to see your quarterback, as a leader of the offense, you want to see his demeanor be good so it rubs off on other people.”

Manning has been working out, presumably he’ll be healthy enough to play before Denver’s season is over, so at some point the Broncos will have to make a decision. Osweiler has earned the right to start until Denver’s season is over, especially considering Manning hasn’t played in six-and-a-half games and still leads the NFL in interceptions. Manning wasn’t a very good quarterback this season, before the injury. But the sentiment changes every week around here, and Osweiler can blame his own inconsistency for that.

Osweiler is just taking it as it comes. Next up: San Diego in Week 17. The rest of the football world can debate who should start in Denver, but Osweiler’s blinders are still on.

“I’m not focused on that,” Osweiler said, when asked if he thought he had earned the starting job the rest of the season. “I’m very excited about this win we got tonight. I’ll celebrate it with my family, with my teammates, but the focus moving forward will be San Diego. And very quick.”

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