Amidst all of the take around Peyton Manning and the HGH scandal now surrounding the veteran, the Denver Broncos still went out on Monday night and beat the Cincinnati Bengals to secure a playoff spot. Brock Osweiler led the Broncos to a comeback-win over the Bengals as he will be the starting quarterback regardless of what Manning's health status is. Moving forward, will Denver be forced to part ways with Manning in the future?
Osweiler ended the game with an injured shoulder and sore elbow, but he will remain the starting quarterback going forward. According to head coach Gary Kubiak via the Denver Post, Osweiler is fine and will remain the starter for the last game of the regular season and likely into the playoffs. Manning is continuing to try and come back from a partially torn plantar fasica and right now Kubiak is simply seeking consistency at the position.
"Yeah, I mean I've said that," Kubiak said, via the Denver Post. "Nothing has changed with Brock. If something would change, the players would know first and you all would know second. I told you guys that this week, but our football team is moving forward. Our mindset right now goes to San Diego and we've got to get ourselves good and freshened up, ready to play."
According to team sources via ESPN.com, the Broncos are Osweiler's team and could continue to be his team into next season. That seems to sit well with several players on the roster. According to receiver Demaryius Thomas, Osweiler throws a better ball right now than Manning. Emmanuel Sanders appears to agree while the offense has simply been more efficient with the backup quarterback in place. It is no secret that Manning has struggled heavily this season despite the injury and the players like Osweiler over the veteran.
"(Osweiler has) been playing great, but the timing -- the timing is a little different," Thomas said, via NFL.com. "I got used to that because I practice with him, but the different placement of the balls, the velocity as well. I don't want to make excuses, but it's a little different. I know everybody is pointing out all of my drops because I got nine, but I ain't the only one because it's a little different when you're switching quarterbacks."
The Broncos must determine what the future of Manning is. According to the Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, the quarterback has told teammates that he intends to come back and play in 2016. He ideally wants to play again in 2015, but right now that is not happening. Manning will be a free agent in 2017 while being owed $19 million in 2016. It is unclear what the Broncos plan on doing with the veteran quarterback especially since Osweiler continues to win games. No one has breached the topic just yet, but Denver will have some hard decisions to make regarding Manning in the coming months.
