Osweiler named Broncos quarterback for Week 17

Denver’s Demaryius Thomas told NFL Media ahead of Monday night’s game against the Bengals that Brock Osweiler throws harder than Manning.

In that scenario, the Broncos would fall from the No. 2 playoff seed – which carries the reward of advancing through the first round without having to play, and a second-round game at home – to either a No. 5 or 6 seed, which would mean having to win a first-round playoff game on the road before advancing to a second-round game that would also be played away from home.

By leading the Denver Broncos to a huge overtime win Monday night, Brock Osweiler got his team closer to a bye week in the playoffs… which gives Peyton Manning another week to get healthy. The former quarterback is said to healing his foot but it remains to be seen whether or not he will be active for the regular season finale. Everybody in that locker room, Week 16, is banged up. “This isn’t about Peyton, this isn’t about myself, this is about this football team”.

There seem to be two things that have helped Osweiler during this quarterback soap opera. Stuff like that can matter. “I’m going to show up whether I’m the starter or whether I’m the backup”.

“He’s a very positive guy”, Daniels said. In a given football game, there are going to be good plays, there are going to be bad plays.

That is even more significant in their case because of their quarterback situation with Dalton, who played his way into the league MVP conversation for much of the season before suffering a fractured right thumb, potentially in line to make a return during the postseason.

The Broncos have won three overtime games this season, including over the Patriots and Bengals – both in the AFC playoff field – with Osweiler behind center. And, really, there’s little reason to suspect at this point that the Broncos will turn back to Manning, even if he is healthy, for the playoffs. But the sentiment changes every week around here, and Osweiler can blame his own inconsistency for that. Next up: San Diego in Week 17. Looking to kick-start the offense, Kubiak spread out the formation, put three wide receivers in the game much of the time and put the game in Osweiler’s hands.

Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported Sunday morning that the Broncos are “Brock Osweiler’s team going forward”. But last night was a signature performance by a budding QB.