Peyton Manning Named Broncos Starting QB For AFC Divisional Playoff

The Broncos made Peyton Manning’s return to the starting lineup official on Thursday when they announced he would be at quarterback when the team opens their playoff schedule at home in the divisional round.

During last Sunday’s regular season finale, Manning came off the bench and led Denver on four scoring dives during a 27-20 victory.

Earlier this week, though, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said he wouldn’t name a playoff starter until Manning’s left foot was evaluated further.

Kubiak called his quarterbacks into his office Thursday when players returned from a three-day furlough and informed them of his decision.

The plan is for Osweiler to be the No. 2 quarterback, behind Peyton Manning, when the Broncos play their postseason opener January 17 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Maybe the Broncos want to give Manning enough time to prepare for the game, but the fact remains that Denver has now lost any element of surprise when it comes to their opponent (Pittsburgh, Houston, or Kansas City) drafting up their defensive gameplan. “We have a lot of guys nicked up coming out of the football game”. The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback was cited for driving with expired license plates last weekend, when he failed to report to the team’s facility for a medical assessment and was seen in Las Vegas.

Kubiak said Osweiler didn’t do anything to deserve a demotion but he felt the team needed a jolt. “So this is kind of a week to work on yourself physically getting ready to play getting some time in and we’ll do that next couple days just like we did today”, Manning said. They came into the season hopeful, with the best defense they’ve put on the field since Manning arrived. “Looking forward to Peyton leading our football team, (we) feel very good about that”. Regardless, the prospect of another Brady-Manning playoff game is a tantalizing one to think about. Manning, who missed six games with plantar fasciitis, returned last week as a backup, only to replace Osweiler when the Broncos offense was struggling. Still, it seems that Kubiak prefers Manning’s leadership and 17 seasons of experience to Osweiler’s flashes of brilliance mixed with occasional inconsistency.

Kubiak surely won’t hesitate to go back to him if he has to.

“You know what, it doesn’t boil down to that, and it doesn’t boil down to one player or one play”, Osweiler said.

And just like on Sunday night, Kubiak reiterated, “He know’s exactly what we think of him”.