Denver Broncos: Better Off without Peyton Manning?
The Denver Broncos head into week 11, against the Chicago Bears, with Brock Osweiler as their starting quarterback; thus, are the Broncos better off with Peyton Manning on the bench?
The Denver Broncos were on top of the NFL power rankings just two weeks ago, headed by a supreme defense. However, with back-to-back loses, the Broncos are scrambling for answers on both sides of the football. In addition to their lackluster offense, the defense struggled to force turnovers the past three weeks. For a team that was among the league-leaders in takeaways, zero turnovers in the past three weeks is somewhat alarming.
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Perhaps, some of the blame for the defensive struggles over the past two weeks lies in the hands of the Denver Broncos’ offense. With an inability to move the ball on offense, the defense played longer than before. Also, against the Chiefs, the Broncos were without two star defenders, Aqib Talib and Demarcus Ware. But with the Broncos turning to Brock Osweiler in week 11, he may provide a boon to the offense and help them down the stretch.
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Week 10 marked the first time all season that Brock Osweiler attempted a throw, and he looked pretty good in his first action of the season. With Peyton Manning suffering a multitude of injuries, most recently a plantar fascia tear, Osweiler figures to see an increased workload from week 11 and beyond. The Denver Broncos’ matchup against the Chicago Bears presents a unique situation for the team. If Osweiler performs well, who gets the nod at quarterback for the remainder of the season?
It is no secret that Peyton Manning is in the twilight of his career, and the Denver Broncos are in the midst of a playoff push. So, the Broncos need to make the smart decision and not the politically correct decision moving forward. If Osweiler takes the job and runs with it, he should be the quarterback for the Broncos from week 11 and beyond. Manning struggles to throw the ball week-in, week-out, and defenses are cheating up on him because they do not fear him beating defenses over the top.
With Brock Osweiler having a cannon for an arm, he can stretch the field with passes down field; thus, that makes defenses fear the deep ball. Perhaps, if the Denver Broncos have a quarterback capable of throwing the deep ball, their passing offense opens up running lanes for their run game. The Broncos are one of the NFL’s worst teams running the ball, and they need this aspect of their game to improve if they want to make a deep playoff run.
Next: Brock Osweiler to Start Over Peyton Manning in Week 11
Peyton Manning comes off of his worst performance as a professional in week 10, completing just 20 percent of his passes (five for 20) for 35 yards and four interceptions. Manning leads the league in interceptions, and he is more immobile than ever before in his career. The changing of the guard for the Denver Broncos is in full effect. Osweiler needs to take advantage of this situation, because the Broncos view him as their quarterback of the future.