Peyton Manning‘s 62-game starting streak for the Denver Broncos will come to an end this weekend.
No one knows – not even Manning himself – if this will mean a one- or-two-game absence or signals the end of his Hall-of-Fame career, but the partially-torn plantar fascia in his left foot and the alarming number of bad passes thrown by his right arm means four-year backup Brock Osweiler will make his first NFL start this coming Sunday in Chicago.
Osweiler, the Broncos’ second-round pick (57th overall) in the 2012 draft, had attempted all of 30 regular-season passes in three seasons prior to his 14-of-24, 146-yard, one-touchdown, one-interception performance in mop-up duty Sunday after replacing the struggling and ailing Manning in the third quarter.
The next milestone up for the 6-foot-7, 240-pound QB is his first pro start on his 25th birthday Sunday morning against his former coach and offensive coordinator in the Windy City. Osweiler insists he’ll be ready to go.
“I think there is nothing that replaces game reps and obviously tonight I got a lot of live game reps against a great defense,” Osweiler told the media following Sunday’s 29-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. “So, did my confidence go up? Yes. Do I feel more comfortable out there? Yes. I think that is something that happens naturally the more game reps you get.”
Although he entered the game with the Broncos in 22-0 hole, Osweiler overcame an early three-and-out possession and an end-zone interception to direct two TD marches on Denver’s final two drives. And whether it was a little motivational veteran-speak or not, Osweiler’s teammates said they liked what they saw.
“He was extremely impressive,” said Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who watched from the sideline after being pulled earlier due to a concussion scare. “I think Brock’s been waiting for an opportunity, and when it came, he had a stellar performance. How he was shaking the defenders off of him and creating plays with his legs, it was pretty awesome to see.”
That Osweiler did. He was sacked three times, but, showing the elusiveness and mobility Manning has long lacked, he escaped and scrambled away from pressure several times, including his 7-yard TD toss to Andre Caldwell with 1:45 remaining when he eluded the rush and kept the play alive long enough to throw his second NFL TD pass.
“I think the extending plays portion is actually maybe one of the easier parts of football – that’s just backyard football,” Osweiler said. “When the pocket breaks down, and I need to extend something on my feet, I think that is something that comes naturally to myself.
“But at times – I’m going to have to go back and look at the tape – I might have put myself in bad situations. Maybe the o-line was doing a great job, and I didn’t need to run. Tonight was a great learning process.”
Of course, it would be better to learning and winning, but it’s clear going to take a better all-around team effort for the Broncos to snap out of their current two-game skid. The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots loom in two weeks, but Denver can ill afford to look past a surging Bears team that’s won two straight road games.
“We have just got to play better as a whole,” receiver Demaryius Thomas said after the team’s 221-total-yard, five-turnover Sunday. “It was probably our worst performance since one-eight (Manning) has been here. We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and see what we can do better. It’s not going to be easy because they [opposing defenses] are throwing a lot of different things at us.”
As for Brock Osweiler, Demaryius said, “He didn’t look bad at all. He was out there moving the ball, scored two touchdowns, and he definitely did good on his part.”
Osweiler is expected to get his first start next week against his former coaches, John Fox and Adam Gase, in Chicago.
