No starting spot anymore, but Brock Osweiler enjoys Super Bowl 50

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A play here, a play there, and Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler might have been sitting up at the No. 6 podium right in the middle of the SAP Center on Super Bowl Opening Night.

Instead, Peyton Manning spoke to a group that never seemed to shrink to less than 50 media members at the middle podium. Osweiler stood maybe 100 feet away, talking to the few folks interested in his fairly crazy season.

“I wouldn’t say strange, but I’d say this season has taken a lot of turns that maybe a normal season doesn’t,” said Osweiler, who was on the cover of Sports Illustrated about three months ago.

Osweiler was one of the NFL’s hottest stars of the season. He took over for Manning in November after Manning suffered a bad foot injury. Osweiler was up and down in his seven starts but helped the Broncos pull off some enormous wins, including overtime wins against New England and Cincinnati, the second and third seeds in the AFC. Brock Osweiler's season included two wins against the Bengals and Patriots. (AP)

The Broncos got the No. 1 seed in the AFC because of the wins that Osweiler quarterbacked. Then they won the AFC championship game at home, beating the Patriots by two points with Manning under center.

Broncos coach Gary Kubiak pulled Osweiler in a Week 17 game against the San Diego Chargers as the offense struggled. Manning went in, led a win, was given the job for the playoffs and here they are in the Bay Area. Manning is one of the major stories of the Super Bowl. It’s impossible to believe that this week Osweiler won’t think about what might have been, as he helps simulate Cam Newton on Denver’s scout team, even if he said that hasn’t crossed his mind.

But give Osweiler a lot of credit for how he has handled this odd situation, because he has been nothing but supportive of his teammates.

“I wouldn’t say disappointing is the word. But certainly as a competitor, a quarterback, as a guy who wants to be competing with his teammates he loves, it’s hard to sit back and not play,” Osweiler said about not starting this week. “But as long as this football team wins games, and if we win Sunday, there’s going to be nobody happier than myself.

“It’s hard to sit back and not be out there competing with your teammates, but this is the ultimate team game and as long as we win, I’m happy.”

In some ways the respect for Osweiler has grown in the Broncos locker room because of how he handled the situation. He never complained, never said anything negative and has been supportive of his team even as he sits and watches.

It’s obvious to say the Broncos wouldn’t be at the Super Bowl without Osweiler’s contributions on the field when he was starting quarterback. It’s also fair to say the Broncos might not be in the Super Bowl if Osweiler hadn’t handled a really sensitive and difficult situation when he was benched. He never was a distraction.

“He’s so mature,” Broncos tight end Owen Daniels said. “He’s a super positive guy. I think he did a great job playing his role, and I’m sure he wanted to keep playing and be the guy because you expect that out of a great competitor, but he was super mature about everything. Both guys were. It was awesome.”

Osweiler said he and Manning never had any “special conversations” after Kubiak made the move, but they both went on like nothing happened, with Osweiler taking back the role of helping the starter whenever he needed it.

“I was there to support him, and he was there to support me when I was playing,” Osweiler said.

Osweiler said he has a great working relationship with Manning and a great relationship off the field. He said he won’t speculate on Manning’s future, but it matters for him.

Osweiler will be a free agent after this season, and he’ll have options. His seven starts produced 1,967 yards and an 86.4 rating. He was a second-round pick a few years ago, he has proven now he’s not overwhelmed by being an NFL starter, and the way he has handled having Manning take back the starting spot won’t work against him as teams consider him in free agency. But Osweiler said he hasn’t thought about his next move.

“When that bridge comes, we’ll cross it at that time, but right now I’m 100 percent focused on the Super Bowl,”

Osweiler didn’t want to talk about whether he’d prefer to return to the Broncos, where he’d presumably take over as the starter next season.

“We’ll cross the bridge when it comes up,” Osweiler said.

Osweiler has been to a Super Bowl before, two seasons ago, but that was truly as the backup. He rode the bench all season as Manning won an MVP trophy. When asked how this Super Bowl was different for him, it was clear he was proud of his contributions to get the Broncos to Super Bowl 50, as he should be.

“It feels a little different,” Osweiler said. “I feel like I was able to contribute and help my team for a couple months.”

As usual on Opening Night — known before this year as Super Bowl Media Day — Osweiler got a few unusual questions. At one point, he was asked who he’d have start at quarterback if he needed to win one game, Manning or John Elway.

“Myself,” Osweiler said after very little hesitation, with no further explanation.

Podcast: What will Peyton Manning do next year?: