NFL Winners and Losers: Welcome back, Peyton Manning

Gary Kubiak wouldn’t say after Sunday’s win if Brock Osweiler or Peyton Manning will be his starting quarterback in two weeks when the Denver Broncos open the playoffs.

That sums up the Broncos’ quarterback craziness well. The No. 1 seed in the AFC doesn’t know who will start at quarterback in the playoffs.

Honestly, Kubiak likely knows who will start. Kubiak has had more than a month to consider every ramification when it came to handling this situation. When he went to Manning in the third quarter on Sunday, he knew exactly what he was getting into. And this strange quarterback situation, with opinions on “Osweiler or Manning?” changing every week, now seems to be in Manning’s favor at the time it matters most.

This quarterback situation, given the wild swings because of Osweiler’s inconsistent play, has been like any other in recent memory. On Monday night it seemed inconceivable that Manning would start again this season barring an Osweiler injury, or even play again. By the end of Sunday’s games, it seemed hard to believe the Broncos could turn back to Osweiler. The pendulum has swung that way about a dozen times since Osweiler took over as the starter.

Kubiak didn’t put Manning in without thinking about it for a long time. He benched Osweiler after a fumble by running back C.J. Anderson. Make of that what you will. Manning didn’t play great, but he didn’t play poorly either, and when he got in the Broncos pulled out a comeback win. Coaches in every sport are hesitant to change things after a win, no matter how illogical that might be. That’s why it seems Manning will be the choice. But given how many times the story has twisted and turned, who knows what will happen next?

The Broncos had five turnovers when Osweiler was benched, and they weren’t all his fault. The Broncos were outgaining the Chargers 279-93 at halftime. The Broncos were probably going to win against a beat-up Chargers team with Manning or Osweiler. Manning astutely pointed out after the game that the offensive line seemed to start blocking better and the running backs ran better when he got in, a nod to Osweiler catching some bad breaks. However, again, Kubiak knew exactly what he was getting into when he made the quarterback change on Sunday.

The safer move, as far as avoiding criticism all offseason, is to start the NFL’s only five-time MVP. The move that gets the Broncos closer to a championship might be to stick with Osweiler. With him as the starter the Broncos have already beat the No. 2 and 3 AFC seeds, New England and Cincinnati. Manning was not a good quarterback before a foot injury sidelined him for six full games and halves of two others. Despite missing basically seven full games, Manning finished second in the NFL with 17 interceptions, just one behind Blake Bortles of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Broncos have a better idea after Sunday what Manning can offer them in the playoffs. And Manning was in when the Broncos won on Sunday, which would give Kubiak a reason to go back to him if he doesn’t trust Osweiler in a playoff game. To repeat: Kubiak understood every ramification that came with putting Manning into Sunday’s game. He had weeks to think about it. It’s nothing he would do lightly.

So in this crazy, wide-open AFC, we don’t know who will start at quarterback for the best team in the conference when it starts the playoffs. But it might be the 39-year-old who, many times over the past few weeks, seemed like he might never play in the NFL again. Seems about right.

Here are the winners and losers from Week 17 of the NFL season:

WINNERS

DeMarco Murray, Sam Bradford and the Eagles: On his first touch after Chip Kelly was fired, Murray ran 54 yards for a touchdown. You can’t even make this stuff up.

The growing sentiment the past few weeks was that Kelly was holding Murray back somehow, even though Murray hadn’t played well all season. That run helps his case, for sure. His next 11 runs got 15 yards, but whatever, right?

The entire Eagles offense seemed to be just fine without Kelly on Sunday. Sam Bradford was 30 of 38 for 320 yards, a great audition for him before he hits free agency. The Eagles scored 35 points in a win over the Giants. One has to wonder what Kelly was thinking when he saw it all.

Terrelle Pryor, Josh Freeman, Ryan Lindley and others trying to win a 2016 job: There were plenty of meaningless games on Sunday, as far as the playoff picture is concerned, but they weren’t meaningless for many of the players who are trying to put something good on film right before the offseason starts.

In Indianapolis, two quarterbacks signed less than a week ago helped their case. Josh Freeman got the start for the Colts and went 15 of 28 for 149 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Ryan Lindley played for the Colts, too, and was 6 of 10 for 58 yards and a touchdown. That might get them on a couple of teams’ free-agent lists this offseason.

Freeman in particular needed something positive to pitch to teams when he’s looking for his next job. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round pick hadn’t started a game since 2013 with the Vikings and it seemed like he might not get another chance. But Colts injuries gave him an unexpected shot, and he did fairly well. His touchdown throw was a good reminder of the talent he has.

Pryor is trying to keep his career going switching from quarterback to receiver. Pryor had a nice 42-yard catch that will help his cause (although a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty later in the drive wasn’t the best look).

All around the NFL there were players who got an unexpected chance because of injuries or other odd circumstances. Look through the box scores and find those promising performances from players who hadn’t been given much of a chance before Sunday. If you don’t think that matters, remember that a relative unknown named Arian Foster had his first 100-yard game with a pair of touchdowns for the Houston Texans in Week 17 of 2009.

Calvin Johnson and Drew Brees: How many times have we spent months wondering if a longtime veteran will be cut, only for the player and team to come to an agreement we should have seen coming all along? Keep that in mind this offseason when a bunch of words are written on the possibilities that Johnson and Brees will be parting ways with the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, respectively.

But if Sunday was it for two players who are among those franchise’s all-time greats, it was a good way to go out.

Johnson had 10 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown in a vintage performance. Brees completed 32-of-42 passes for 323 yards and a touchdown. Brees also edged Tom Brady for his sixth NFL passing yardage title. The Lions and Saints finished their seasons with wins, thanks in large part to their superstars.

Johnson has a $15.95 million base salary for 2016. Brees’ base salary is $19.75 million. That’s why there will be a lot of speculation about them this offseason. Cutting them would free up a lot of salary-cap room for either team. But Sunday showed another thing: If Brees or Johnson does become a free agent, each of them has a lot left in the tank for a new team.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The worst loss of the NFL season, the Steelers falling to the Baltimore Ravens last week, can be forgotten now. The Steelers snuck back into the playoffs.

The Steelers haven’t looked as dominant the past two weeks (a competent quarterback would have given the Steelers a test on Sunday that the Cleveland Browns and Austin Davis couldn’t) and running back DeAngelo Williams’ ankle injury left him in a walking boot after the game, but the Steelers are in. And they’re still very dangerous. 

The Steelers have flaws, but everyone in the AFC does. It’s not too hard to imagine the Steelers getting hot for a few weeks and going to a Super Bowl. And if they do, they can thank the Jets and their brutal loss on Sunday.

LOSERS

Kenbrell Thompkins: The play that Jets fans will replay over and over and over and over this offseason came with less than 30 seconds left at Buffalo. The Jets needed a miracle to win and make the playoffs, and almost got it.

Thompkins got open down the right sideline. Bills defensive back Mario Butler got turned around. Ryan Fitzpatrick delivered a nice pass that Thompkins caught in stride. It would have gone down in Jets history.

Then Butler recovered and got his shoulder on the ball, popping it loose for an incompletion. Fitzpatrick was picked off on the next play. It went from a possible 73-yard miracle touchdown and a Jets playoff berth to an incompletion and the Steelers getting in the playoffs instead. Just like that.

Even for the Jets, one of the NFL’s tortured franchises, that was too cruel. And we haven’t even mentioned it came against Rex Ryan.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Most of this season, Fitzpatrick was a great story. He got a shot to start at quarterback for the Jets in large part because Geno Smith got his jaw broken in a locker-room fight, and he made the most of it. After beating the Patriots last week, Fitzpatrick was on the verge of the first playoff trip in his 11-year NFL career. He had played pretty well all season.

And then he picked the worst possible time to implode.

Fitzpatrick had just 181 yards and he threw three interceptions in Sunday’s loss to the Bills. All three interceptions came in the fourth quarter. One came in the Bills’ end zone. Another came right after the two-minute warning. The final one was in the final seconds to end the game.

It’s impossible to say if the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick will ever get another chance to go to the playoffs as a starter. He’s a free agent after this season. The Jets, or another team, might sign him as a starter. But it’s hard to get to the playoffs in the NFL, and Sunday’s opportunity might not come again. That fourth quarter in Buffalo might stick with him for a long time.

NFL defenses: Before this season, there were two 1,800-yard receiving seasons in NFL history. Calvin Johnson had 1,964 yards in 2012. Jerry Rice had 1,848 in 1995. That was it.

The list doubled this season.

Julio Jones won the receiving yardage title, as his 1,871 yards edged out Antonio Brown’s 1,834. Those two have the second- and fourth-best seasons of all time now, in terms of receiving yardage. And they’re each in their prime.

It’s clear that it’s not a good time to be an NFL defensive player. All the rules are against you, and you have to deal with players like Jones and Brown. That’s not fair.

New England Patriots: The Patriots were one of the few teams playing for something on Sunday. They could have clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a victory. Instead, they lost to the Miami Dolphins and the Broncos are the top seed in the AFC.

Maybe that will end up meaning nothing. The Patriots have won on the road in the playoffs before. But it’s obvious it’ll be tougher if they have to go to Denver for an AFC championship game. Manning operates better before the snap when he has a quiet home crowd cooperating, or Osweiler won’t have the chance to get rattled by a road crowd.

The Patriots have dealt with a lot of injuries, and Tom Brady was moving gingerly after Sunday’s game. They’ll have the bye to rest up, but the road to the Super Bowl doesn’t go through Foxborough anymore. That doesn’t mean the Patriots can’t make it. It’s just that the road got a lot harder on Sunday.

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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