ICYMI in NFL’s Week 17: Is Peyton Manning Denver’s QB again?

The highlight of the day was when Ryan and the Buffalo Bills stopped the Jets from making the playoffs and gave the Steelers the final playoff spot in the AFC.

Peyton Manning rallied Denver in the second half to give the Broncos the top seed in the AFC playoffs and finalize the pecking order in the conference.

Denver’s veteran quarterback Peyton Manning replaced Brock Osweiler in the third quarter and led the Broncos to a 27-20 victory over San Diego that clinched the top seed in the AFC.

“I’ve got a lot of friends over there, and I want them to be successful, but not at my expense”, Ryan said. The Denver Broncos were among the NFL’s worst in rushing yards per game, but when Osweiler began starting, the Denver Broncos routinely (almost weekly) have a 100 yard rusher.

The Vikings won their third straight game and will host the Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs, when Green Bay visit NFC East champions Washington. But he was victimized by five turnovers, including two interceptions that weren’t his fault, and a fumble by Emmanuel Sanders at the 10-yard line after a 46-yard reception. Looking back at this season and the coverage surrounding the Broncos, it is a wonder that they were as successful as they were, considering head coach Gary Kubiak and his team overcame several obstacles.

THE OTHER REPLACEMENT: Manning entered the game at about the same time as backup right tackle Tyler Polumbus, who replaced the struggling Michael Schofield. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Denver makes it to the Super Bowl”.

With the Patriots concerned about protecting Tom Brady’s health, he threw a season-low 21 passes in New England’s 20-10 loss to Miami that bumped the Pats from the No. 1 seed when Manning led Denver’s comeback.

Manning, 39, who got a standing ovation from the Denver crowd when he trotted onto the field, directed scoring drives on four of his first five possessions, even though his numbers weren’t gaudy – 5 for 9 for 59 yards, with no touchdowns and no turnovers.

In the aftermath of the victory, the media horde first pinned Manning to the wall of the Denver locker room, then encircled Osweiler, in a scene that was the very definition of a quarterback controversy.

With a bye on Wild-Card Weekend, Kubiak has time to evaluate each player in practice and make a final decision. The longer this drags out, the bigger the distraction for a team that doesn’t need any more drama.

On the game’s second play, Osweiler hit Demaryius Thomas for a 72-yard score.

With 8 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter Sunday and the leading 13-7, Kubiak sent back into the Broncos’ season. Does Osweiler believe his head coach has confidence in him?

The tricky thing, Luper and Walsh say, is that Osweiler really didn’t do anything to deserve to get pulled on Sunday. Coach Pete Carroll said he had not spoken with Lynch but saw him working out Monday morning. Although I wish I could have brought more wins to the franchise for the passionate fans of this great city, I will have many fond memories to cherish from my time in Cleveland.

Indeed, Manning himself noted that, while the home fans roared when he was on the field Sunday, “I’m pretty sure everybody was in their same seats when they were booing my butt off against Kansas City back about six weeks ago”. Sunday’s win went on Osweiler’s record, so Manning remains tied with Brett Favre for most wins in the regular season by a starting QB at 186. “Obviously Peyton did a great job early in the season before he went through the injury”. But just my gut told me to turn it over to him and let him lead the football team. Yesterday it took both of them.