The Denver Broncos suffered their first loss of the season and a bounce back game is needed as they prepare to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that provided plenty of fireworks the first time around. While the Broncos offense has been questionable under Peyton Manning, things could be getting worse as the quarterback is reportedly dealing with a foot injury that has been bothering him for some time now.
According to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com, Manning has missed practice for a foot injury that has reportedly been lingering for some time now. According to the quarterback, it is just soreness from the turf and he fully expects to play against the Chiefs as he remains three yards shy of breaking the passing yards record held by Brett Favre. He is also one win away from getting a new record for wins by a starting quarterback. Manning told the media that at this point in the season, everyone is hurt and it is simply not a big deal.
"I've got to get a little treatment rest of the day [Wednesday], just that time of the year you have different things, like all players," Manning said, via ESPN.com. "Made some progress [Wednesday]; hopefully it'll be better [Thursday]. Who's not sore? What are we in? Week? What week is this? Nine? 10? You have natural soreness, but get some treatment on it and hopefully get a little better."
Manning certainly had his issues against the Colts tossing two interceptions. The rise of Owen Daniels certainly helped as he led the team in receiving while grabbing a touchdown catch. The Broncos are hoping that Vernon Davis is the next tight end to breakout as they get him more involved following more practice. Kubiak noted it was hard to get him involved on Sunday as he had just been with the team a few days, but after some observing Davis is feeling good to go.
"Coach told me prior to the game that I would be limited so that I could get comfortable with everything in the system,'' Davis said, via ESPN.com. "I agreed. I said, 'Yeah. I'm with you 100 percent. I think that I need to get everything so that, when I go out there, I can be on the same page as Peyton. I don't have to worry about asking questions; I can just go and play."
The biggest thing that will help Manning is a better run game. Once again, both CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman struggled to get productive on the ground. Anderson had just 37 yards while Hillman accounted for one. That is not going to get wins for Denver and while much can be made about the play of Manning, the run game is the true issue of the offense. Once either Anderson or Hillman can get momentum, the Broncos' offense will fall into place.