Peyton Manning Expected to Miss Two More Weeks

Peyton Manning is expected to be sidelined at least two more weeks due to the plantar fascia tear in his foot.

Peyton Manning suffered a partially torn plantar fascia against the Kansas City Chiefs, prompting Brock Osweiler into the game. Moreover, the injury forced Peyton Manning to miss the Denver Broncos’ road matchup against the Chicago Bears. By Manning missing the game, Osweiler earned the first start of his young career. It remained to be seen how long Peyton Manning would be sidelined from this injury, but earlier this week, Gary Kubiak name Osweiler the starter for the Broncos’ home game against the undefeated New England Patriots.

In addition to the news that Brock Osweiler would start for the second-consecutive game, news broke that Peyton Manning would miss, at least, an additional two games, including the Denver Broncos’ matchup against the Patriots. That leaves Peyton Manning with a possible return against the Oakland Raiders in week 14. With a rough return date set for Manning, Brock Osweiler gets a three-game tryout for the starting role for the Broncos; moreover, if Osweiler passes with flying colors, he might pose a threat to Peyton Manning’s starting job moving forward.

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Peyton Manning led the Denver Broncos to an impressive 7-0 start to the 2015-2016 season, but one might make the argument that the Broncos’ defense carried them to their torrid start this season. However, Peyton Manning is one of the NFL’s best game managers, so not all of the Broncos’ early season success lies in the defense’s hands. Despite the Denver Broncos’ fast start, they lost two-straight games after their 7-0 start, and the Broncos’ defense looked vulnerable for the first time all season. With a 7-2 record, Brock Osweiler took the reins of the offense heading into Chicago.

This season, Manning battled injuries on a near-weekly basis, and it likely caused Manning to put together one of the worst seasons of his career, up to this point. Moreover, Peyton Manning’s week 10 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs saw him put together the worst game of his Hall of Fame career. He completed just five passes for 35 yards and finished the game with four interceptions. Through the first 10 weeks of the season, Peyton Manning led the NFL in interceptions, and his arm strength appeared to be diminishing by the day.

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With Peyton Manning’s recent setback, his main focus is to rehab to become a stronger quarterback and lead the Denver Broncos into the playoffs. Kubiak expects Peyton Manning to be ready, at the earliest, by week 14, but he could miss between two-to-four more weeks after his absence in week 11’s matchup against the Bears. Regardless, Peyton Manning will see the field again in the 2015-2016 regular season. However, if Brock Osweiler performs well in his extended stay as starting quarterback, Gary Kubiak has a tough decision on his hands leading up to the playoffs.

Next: Brock Osweiler to Start Against Patriots?

In week 12, the Denver Broncos face their stiffest competition of the season, and they hope to end Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s unbeaten run to begin this season. With a win against the Patriots, the Broncos will look like favorites, once again, to enter the playoffs as a top seed. The Broncos have three tough matchups remaining on the season, with the Patriots, Steelers, and Bengals presenting a threat. The Denver Broncos are all-but-locked into the playoffs, but Peyton Manning hopes to return to the field sooner rather than later.

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