Peyton Manning to Start Divisional Round Playoff Game

If Gary Kubiak meant what he said over the past two months, going back to Peyton Manning as his starting quarterback was the only decision he could have made.

The decision to start a healthy Manning over the inexperienced Osweiler is unsurprising. Only the Denver Broncos’ second-round AFC playoff game on January 17 can answer that.

He added: “I handle Brock the way I’ve handle him every day”.

“We were flat-lining a bit offensively at that point in the game”, he said. “I’ve got nothing for you, so we’ll just get ready to go and we’ll go back to work Thursday”.

John Elway, the Broncos’ executive vice president of football operations/general manager, had said when the team signed Manning in 2012 and DeMarcus Ware in 2014 that “I like Hall of Famers with chips on their shoulders”.

“Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Who knows?” said Osweiler, who threw for 1,967 yards this season with 10 TDs and six interceptions. You’re going to see the same exact guy out of me that you’ve seen, you know, the whole season. Broncos coach said “He actually worked harder probably than he would have worked had he been with the team, just because it was individualized workout”, Coach Kubiak also stressed the difference he saw in Manning’s performance in his past two weeks saying, “I just think the last two weeks were different, much different”.

“The bottom line: I just care about this football team winning games, and if Coach thinks that Peyton gives this team the best chance, then I fully support that”.

“As he came out of the cast, there were steps to take to getting back to work”, Kubiak said. Would Peyton Manning, suffering from a torn plantar fascia, ever play another snap in a Broncos jersey? I feel good about how far Peyton has come, where he’s at physically, mentally and everything. Manning threw four interceptions in that game before being pulled in favor of Osweiler. He has completed 598 of 935 passes (94%) for 6,800 yards (2nd most all-time), 38 touchdowns (4th most all-time), 24 interceptions (5th most all-time), and an 88.5 passer rating (14th best all-time).

Peyton Manning will begin the National Football League playoffs as the team’s starter at quarterback, the team announced Thursday. Osweiler played extremely well in the first half, tossing 3 touchdown passes and leading the Broncos to a 27-13 halftime lead.

According to ESPN, Kubiak has stated that Manning would return to the helm when he was healthy enough to do so, blaming many of Peyton’s struggles on the fact that he was playing injured.