Peyton Manning gets in, Broncos come back to clinch AFC’s top seed
We hadn’t seen the last of Peyton Manning on an NFL field, after all. After Sunday, it’s possible we haven’t seen his last playoff start either.
A lot changed on Sunday afternoon in Denver, as the Broncos came back in the fourth quarter to beat the San Diego Chargers 27-20 and win the AFC West. Denver gets a bye and the No. 1 seed in the AFC, thanks to its win and the New England Patriots’ loss to the Miami Dolphins earlier Sunday. And now the Broncos will have two weeks to answer questions about their quarterback before their playoff opener.
With the Broncos struggling in the third quarter and trailing they benched Brock Osweiler and put in Manning, another turn in the running quarterback soap opera in Denver. The 39-year-old Manning came in to a lot of cheers, and completed his first pass attempt to Virgil Green on a third down to extend his first drive. Anderson finished Manning’s first drive with a short touchdown run.
The defense made the game’s biggest play. Late in the fourth quarter safety Shiloh Keo picked off Philip Rivers and on the next play Ronnie Hillman scored on a 23-yard run to give the Broncos a lead. After falling behind 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, the Broncos scored the last 10 points of the game. Manning finished 5-of-9 for 69 yards.
Manning told CBS after the game that Kubiak asked him at hafltime if he could play if the Broncos needed him in the second half. Manning had been the backup in practice all week, getting almost none of the reps with the starters, something he wasn’t used to. Sunday was the first time in his NFL career that he was active and not the starter.
“It was a very different week that’s for sure,” Manning told CBS after the game. “A week like I’ve never been through.”
Before a strong finish with Manning the Broncos struggled with Osweiler, though it wasn’t completely his fault. Even Manning, in his interview with CBS after the game, noted that Osweiler caught some bad breaks that led to the quarterback change.
The Broncos turned the ball over for the fifth time early in the third quarter against the Chargers, and coach Gary Kubiak apparently wanted to give the team a spark. Osweiler had two interceptions and a lost fumble. But Osweiler got the hook after Anderson fumbled. Perhaps Kubiak was just looking for an excuse to get Manning, the NFL’s only five-time MVP, in a game to see what he could do before the postseason starts. Manning went in right after the Chargers cashed in Anderson’s fumble for a touchdown and a 13-7 lead.
Manning hadn’t played since Nov. 15 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He suffered a foot injury, and Osweiler played pretty well in his absence though he has been inconsistent. Osweiler seemed to wrap up the starting job through the rest of the Broncos season by playing well in a comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals last Monday. Also, Manning hadn’t played well all season. Despite not playing for six-and-a-half weeks, Manning still led the NFL in interceptions going into Sunday’s game.
The Broncos needed a win or a Chiefs loss on Sunday to clinch the AFC West, and they took an early 7-0 lead on a long touchdown from Osweiler to Demaryius Thomas. But with the Chiefs winning in Kansas City and the Broncos struggling in Denver, the Broncos turned to Manning to save the division title. Sunday was the first time Manning was even active for a game since Nov. 15. The Chiefs ended up winning, putting the pressure on the Broncos to win themselves to take the AFC West. They pulled it out in the final quarter.
And with Manning getting the call when the Broncos needed him, a whole new set of quarterback questions have opened up in Denver right before the playoffs begin. At least they’ll have the bye if they need some extra time to figure out the answers.
– – – – – – –
Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
