Osweiler or Manning? Kubiak mum on starter decision

It seems the Steelers have gone all-in on preparing for Osweiler to quarterback the Broncos this Sunday.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning warms up during an NFL football practice at the team’s headquarters Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015, in Englewood, Colo. Head coach Gary Kubiak has made it a point to approach the QB position with a week-to-week mindset ever since Manning went down so as to avoid distractions. Even without Manning, the Broncos remain a victor, 10-3 record and one victory away from claiming a playoff berth.

Manning threw passes Wednesday and Thursday, working in individual and seven-on-seven periods, and also had some scout-team repetitions.

The frustrations boiled over in the locker room after Denver’s 15-12 loss to Oakland when Harris, who held Amari Cooper without a catch, fumed, “I’m hot”. On Sunday, he hit career highs in attempts (51), completions (35) and yards (308), but the Broncos lost to the Raiders 15-12 and haven’t scored a touchdown in 23 consecutive possessions over the past two games. With Osweiler at the helm, they’ve turned it over just four times in four games. He noted Schofield has played through an ankle injury.

Not planned was Manning needing a day off after just two practices.

Osweiler has thrown for five touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 63.5% of his passes this season, drawing “tall Alex Smith” comparisons from our Dave Bryan. Both games are at home.

This is the first time he has had to work his way back, and the first time his team has had to seriously consider if he will be inserted back into the starting lineup when he gets healthy.

In comparison, Manning and Osweiler are close when it comes to statistics.

There have been rumors dating back months that the Denver Broncos were ready to move on to Brock Osweiler on a full-time basis. Or will he turn the offense back over to the future Hall of Famer in Manning? The 39-year-old veteran said his foot was sore when arrived at the Broncos’ facility. He was bothered by the injury during the week and then got stepped on in warmups.

Here’s what Coach Kubiak had to say about Manning’s soreness.

“I’ve got to see where [Manning] is at”, Kubiak said, via the Broncos official website. “I think that we can do it”. “If we went out to practice today, absolutely nothing has changed today”, Kubiak said Monday, via USA Today.

The Broncos will still start Brock Osweiler as the team is 3-1 in his four starts this season.