Peyton Manning is just, off. The Denver Broncos quarterback struggled once again as the Cincinnati Bengals got the win over Manning on Monday Night Football. Manning just did not have it and looked simply human in the 37-28 loss as four interceptions plagued him on the night. The Denver Broncos can still lock down the first week bye in the playoffs as long as they beat the Oakland Raiders at home. However, the team might need to re-evaluate their offense with the playoffs looming.
Manning's boxscore was not pretty. The quarterback finished 28 of 44 for 311 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. One of those interceptions went for a pick-six which helped seal the win for the Bengals. Naturally, Manning blamed himself for the bad throws and noted that his injury earlier in the week that caused him to miss practice was not a factor in the performance, but the Broncos have cause to be concerned with the playoffs just weeks away.
"That was a bad throw," Manning said, via ESPN.com. "The guy had good coverage. ... Think probably had Emmanuel [Sanders] open over the middle, even had Julius [Thomas], think his guy might have fallen down. Definitely picked the wrong guy to throw to. [I] wasn't good. Four interceptions, you're not going to beat very many good football teams."
Both Julius Thomas and Demaryius Thomas were quick to come to the defense of their quarterback, taking blame for some of the interceptions, but it is clear something is off with the Broncos' passing game. Some speculate it is a Manning issue rather than the players around him. Since Week 9, the quarterback has posted a rating under 90 in five of the last eight weeks. His arm strength is suffering even though he completed give passes that went past 25 yards. The Broncos are dealing with a shaky offensive line, putting more pressure on Manning which is causing his decision making to waiver. As a result, the Broncos are throwing less and running more which will likely be the game plan heading in to Week 17.
There is no doubting the talent of both Manning and the Denver offense. However, there is also no denying that the quarterback has hit a rough patch. Could it be that Manning has never had this type of stretch before and it is simply a shock or is there reason to be concerned about the quarterback going forward?
