Brock Osweiler to Remain Broncos Starting QB vs. Bengals

ESPN reported earlier today that Osweiler would be getting the start, not Manning, in his team’s game on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. So much so, that when Peyton Manning is practicing he’s not even with the rest of the team so as to not be a distraction. Coach Gary Kubiak said Wednesday that the plan was for Manning to focus on rehab and Brock Osweiler would be the starter moving forward.

The Cincinnati Bengals travel out to Denver for their consecutive week of heading west to face the Broncos on their home turf on Monday night for a huge showdown to further determine playoff seeding.

“I need to shut up”, Kubiak said, laughing.

If the Broncos don’t win, they could be in danger of losing their division.

The Broncos owned the Steelers on the road in the first half and promptly coughed up a huge lead as the offense fell apart and Antonio Brown lit up the Denver D. “That’s just part of it, I think he’s done a great job of that, the team had done a great job of that”. The recovery timetable of four to six weeks ensured that he would not be available to return until after the AFC Championship Game, if the Broncos advance that far, leading to the team’s decision to place him on injured reserve. A Bengals win will secure the AFC North title and the other first-round bye.

In Week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, the Bengals ran the ball 36 times as opposed to just 21 pass plays.

Manning returned to practice last week, but only for two days.

“Oh yeah, absolutely. I know how hard that is and we stand behind him 100 percent”, Kubiak told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Denver will attempt to begin a turnaround with quarterback Brock Osweiler making his sixth career start. He’s first QB in National Football League to do that since Manning in ’13…. That won’t be good enough to topple Cincy; they’re 7-1 against teams averaging fewer than 23 points per game.

“Everything’s not going to be ideal in a game – we want it to be, but it’s not going to be, that’s football – but to play with the best of your ability”, McCarron said.