They said it: Bears-Broncos

They’ll have to play to Osweiler’s strengths while recognizing the importance of managing his limitations. He ran a very nice two-minute drill before halftime.

Osweiler was the second-round pick of Denver in 2012 and got his first career start after 43 months. In the boot-action, Kubiak offense, Ronnie Hillman got going, finishing with 21 yards on 102 carries, averaging 4.9 yards a pop, helping maintain drives for Osweiler and Denver’s offense. He deserves the chance to find out. The Broncos do too. If Osweiler prevails, he could take the starting position entirely over Manning. Particularly in the second half, more Denver receivers found themselves with no one around them, leading to backbreaking plays.

Osweiler replaced Manning in the third quarter of the Broncos’ Week 10 loss to the Chiefs after Manning threw four interceptions and recorded a 0.0 quarterback rating. Osweiler got his team off to a fast start on its first possession, finding wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for a 48 yard touchdown pass. Osweiler had big shoes to fill, starting for future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, and he certainly exceeded expectations. He has ben mentored by Manning and Broncos GM, John Elway. The Broncos added Wes Welker and made it to the Super Bowl in 2013 but were not competitive with Seattle.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning reportedly intends to play in 2016.

-Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard will require season-ending shoulder surgery, ESPN reported.

UPDATE: As it turns out, confirmation only took a few minutes.

Manning, Kubiak and the Broncos medical staff will determine if the quarterback can do on-field work this week. What would you do with Peyton Manning given these circumstances? “You know, he was probably a little nervous”. They left with a win on the strength of 170 rushing yards (4.7 yards per carry vs. 3.8 prior, 27th in the NFL).

“We said that we would go back and review the entire situation at the beginning of this week, which we have done”. And you dread the time when you and Kubiak have to break it to Manning that it ain’t happening. Let’s hold off on Peyton Manning’s football funeral for as long as we possibly can. “The difference today is that we just did our jobs again”, Broncos running back C.J. Anderson said. “He’s earned it after 18 years of greatness”.

There’s going to be a lot of that.

“Cutler said he didn’t want to get into details of the decision, but it involved the coverage he saw, as well as “… box counts, there’s shade looks”, he said. For the third consecutive game, the Bears defense gave up a touchdown on its first series. So having the mobility that he (Osweiler) brings to the table may be a better fit. It might be a close call. Osweiler could step on his junk next Sunday night. But that’s just bookkeeping, because the simple truth is that “Brady vs. Manning” stops traffic.

“His message was, I’m going to go out there guys and give you all I’ve got”, said Broncos tight end Vernon Davis. (Given the state of quarterbacks in the National Football League, it wouldn’t be hard for him to generate interest.) Florio quotes an unnamed source saying that Manning isn’t ready to retire. But Manning didn’t even make this trip.