There was a lot of doubt surrounding Peyton Manning entering 2015. The quarterback ended last season on a low note and was forced to take a pay cut with the Denver Broncos in order for the team to free up salary cap space. He did very little to answer his critics in Week 1 as the Denver Broncos barely pulled out a win against the Baltimore Ravens. However, do not ask Manning if he thought he underperformed on Sunday.
According to Manning, the Broncos' offense is a work in progress. With a new coaching staff taking over, the Broncos looked out of sorts in Week 1 resulting in a lack of touchdown passes from the quarterback. The 39-year-old was asked to rate his performance against the Ravens and he went with fair while making it clear he is not feeding into headline-making questions.
"I'm going with fair," Manning said, via Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post. "If you need a catchy headline for your little article or whatever it is you might be doing, we're trying to get better every single week. What's another cliché I can think of? We're chipping away."
Fantasy owners might be a little frustrated with Manning considering both Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders produced quiet games in the season opener. The quarterback spent most of the day under pressure resulting in some tough throws, sacks and interceptions. He finished going 24-of-40 for 175 yards. Manning insists that there is no need to sound any alarms. The Broncos still one and the offense will pull things together.
"Like I said, the one thing that no matter how many times you ask it, this is not three different teams we have here. We don't have a Broncos offensive team, a Broncos defensive tea and a Broncos special teams. That's how you have to ask the question, right? But the Broncos beat the Ravens today. There's your summary right there," Manning said, via NFL.com."
There were a few bright spots for the Broncos. Ronnie Hillman led the run game with 41 yards rushing while CJ Anderson continued as a versatile threat with 29 yards on the ground and another 19 receiving. Those two players will be critical for Manning as the Broncos continue to work out offensive issues moving forward. With Montee Ball out of the picture, they are the run game going forward and need to pick it up.