Peyton Manning’s former head coach and one of the Denver Broncos’ best former players both expressed an interest in the head coach Gary Kubiak starting Brock Osweiler over Manning at quarterback when Denver plays the Chicago Bears in Week 11.
“I would not start him [next week],” former Colts head coach Tony Dungy said on NBC’s Football Night in America, via SI.com. “No, not off of this performance that I saw. This is not the Peyton Manning we’re used to seeing.”
The 39-year-old Manning completed only five of 20 passes for 35 yards and four interceptions against the Kansas City Chiefs. He was benched in the second half with the Broncos down, 22-0.
Former Broncos running back Terrell Davis thinks the Broncos could survive with Osweiler taking over.
“You talk about a quarterback that is mobile, and that is what Gary Kubiak really wants in an offense,” Davis said, per NFL.com. “I think Brock Osweiler can run the offense that Kubiak wants to run. I think for a short period of time he can be a pretty good quarterback, obviously with the weapons he is surrounded with.”
Osweiler completed 14 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception in mop-up duty Sunday.
Kubiak may have no other option but to start Osweiler if Manning isn’t healthy enough to play against the Bears.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Manning has a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot. The Broncos also listed Manning with a ribcage injury prior to Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. The combination of ailments might make it impossible for Kubiak to justify starting his rapidly regressing quarterback before he’s more physically ready to compete.
Given the way Kubiak spoke after Sunday’s loss, it’s hard to see him making the same mistake twice.
“I’m disappointed in myself, this is on me,” Kubiak said, via ESPN. “I probably should have made a decision not to play him in the game. I needed to make probably that tough decision there.”
Through nine games, Manning has nine touchdowns and a league-high 17 interceptions. After posting a passer rating of 0.0 (the first time a quarterback has finished at 0.0 with at least 20 attempts since 2004) on Sunday, Manning now ranks 31st out of 32 qualified quarterbacks at 67.6.
Starting Osweiler next week looks like a no-brainer. Not only would it give the 7-2 Broncos a chance to see what their young quarterback can do, but it’d also give Manning at least a week to heal the various injuries he’s currently dealing with. If Osweiler flops, Kubiak could go back to Manning when he’s healthy enough to play. If the youngster plays well, the Broncos might have a chance to save their sinking season.
Expect Kubiak to follow the wisdom of Dungy and Davis and start Osweiler against the Bears next Sunday.