The Denver Broncos are preparing to re-match against the Kansas City Chiefs who are not as deadly as they were when the two teams first played one another earlier in the year. The Broncos need a bounce back game, but injuries could hurt that effort going forward. With Peyton Manning reportedly hobbled by a foot issue, Emmanuel Sanders is also struggling with injuries.
According to the Denver Post's Cameron Wolfe, Sanders have missed two practices now for an ankle injury that is leaving his status for Sunday up in the air. The wide receiver suffered the injury in the game against the Colts, but was able to continue playing. However, things appeared to be getting worse which is leaving Sanders off the field and uncertain for Week 10. That is certainly not good news for an offense struggling to stay consistent.
One good thing for Denver is the return of Peyton Manning who has been dealing with a foot injury for several weeks now. Head coach Gary Kubiak told ESPN.com that the injury has been lingering and is due to soreness from turf. Manning missed practice this week, but returned Thursday looking better as he went through a walk through with the team and did all of his checks without issues. Kubiak noted that as long as Manning seems healthy, the team will not rest him in Week 10.
"If he can play, if he can go out and do all the things that he normally does, we need him to lead our football team," Kubiak said, via the Denver Post. "I would say [that for] every player. We want to be at full strength in everything that we do, but at the same time, if you think a guy can't go out there and do the job that he normally does, you make the decision accordingly regardless of who the player is."
If the Broncos are without Sanders, getting Vernon Davis more involved will be critical. The tight end made very little impact in Week 9 after just joining the team, but now with a week of practice under his belt, the Broncos expect much more from him. With Owen Daniels improving, Kubiak would be able to run the offense that he favors. Davis told the media that he has made a lot of progress and expects to see much more playing time in Week 10.
"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.'"
Davis improving is a good sign, but the better sign would be a more productive run game with CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman. The team has yet to get things moving on the ground. The improvement of the two running backs could make or break the second half of the season.