Broncos look to ride Manning to playoff success

In a move that was pretty much exactly what was expected, the Denver Broncos announced on Thursday that Peyton Manning will be their starting quarterback for the playoffs.

Which all brought Kubiak to Thursday, when he first told Manning and Brock Osweiler, followed by the team, that Manning was ready to start the Broncos’ Jan. 17 playoff opener.

“We think the world of Brock”, Head Coach Gary Kubiak said.

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”. It’s very possible that this will be the last we see of one of the NFL’s all-time greats, so it would be nice to see Manning have success and go out on top. The Steelers were third (48.0 sacks), Kansas City fourth (47.0), and Houston fifth (45.0) during the regular season, with the Texans also ranked seventh with 106 quarterback hits. If the Broncos win, they likely will not make a change back to Osweiler unless Manning was to be injured.

He returned to action Sunday when he relieved Brock Osweiler in the second half and led the Broncos (12-4) to a 27-20 win over San Diego.

A few days before the Denver Broncos decided on their playoff starter, Osweiler said that winning would be what matters the most, not who ends up starting at quarterback.

Osweiler’s last play before getting pulled Sunday was C.J. He quarterbacked the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl victory to cap the 2006 season.

Manning said that his left foot is fine and he’s even refreshed after taking almost two months off. He completed five of his nine passes for a total of 69 yards.

Osweiler played well while Manning was sidelined, posting a 5-2 record. “It’s something I probably expected, to be honest with you”, Bledsoe said.

While it seems Manning would be the obvious choice based on his experience in the post season, Broncos fans might feel a little nervous about Peyton’s return. Aside from that, there were good, bad, and unsafe aspects of this game, let’s take a look. I stand behind this team, ” Osweiler said. He also threw 17 interceptions on the year. As they are approaching the playoffs they were not sure if Peyton Manning would be able to take on their first postseason game, but there could be some good news heading their way.