Peyton Manning won’t even be active for the Bengals game

Peyton Manning #18 of the Denver Broncos signs autographs before the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on December 20, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“You know, Brock is a different type of quarterback, so you know his (ball) is for sure faster with a little more thump behind it”, Thomas said Monday. Manning is now 39 and he suffered performance-damaging injuries each of the past two years.

Peyton Manning threw on Sunday, and we’re starting to see the media leaks that he’s “rapidly getting healthy”.

Kubiak was non-committal on what the workout would mean for Manning’s status in practice this week or for action next weekend.

Another week with Manning on the sidelines begs the question – why don’t the Broncos just place him on injured reserve?

The AFC West-leading Denver Broncos (10-4) play host to the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals (11-3) in a Monday night game with major playoff implications. “We’ll proceed just like we have”.

The offense is slightly more effective on a per-game and a per-possession basis with Osweiler than Manning, who will not practice this week after encountering foot soreness following two days of practice before last week’s loss to the Steelers. If something would change, the players would know first and you all would know second. “I hope. The team should always be first”. “But so long as Osweiler remains healthy and continues to play reasonably well, it’s time to consider that Manning may have played his last down with the Broncos”.

“This is Brock Osweiler’s team the rest of the way, barring some sort of collapse”. He didn’t practice Friday because of soreness. “Our mindset right now goes to San Diego and we’ve got to get ourselves good and freshened up, ready to play”.

Although the win secured a playoff spot for Denver, a Week 17 loss coupled with a Kansas City Chiefs victory would hand the division to the Chiefs, who were once left for dead at 1-5. By beating the Broncos, they’d clinch both the AFC North and a first-round playoff bye. Osweiler has proven capable of running the offense, but lacks the type of refined decision-making that the Broncos are accustomed to. And it will likely be that way for the remainder of the season.