Bring in Manning, but only in relief

With coach Gary Kubiak mum on the hottest debate in the NFL playoffs, everybody in Broncos Country wants to know: Which quarterback gives Denver the best chance to win the Super Bowl? Peyton Manning or Brock Osweiler?

So I asked Kubiak: When deciding on a starting quarterback, is there a football manual available to consult?

“If there is, I don’t have it,” Kubiak replied Monday.

Maybe the answer to the quarterback controversy is so obvious we’re all tripping over it. If this flawed Denver team is going to win the Lombardi Trophy, it’s going to take contributions from both Osweiler and Manning. I don’t get what all the fuss is about.

This is Manning’s time. But it is Osweiler’s team.

Start Osweiler. Bring in Manning off the bench.

Manning can conjure that old Hall of Fame magic, but only in small batches, like finely aged bourbon. Sip it, and resist

the urge to chug. Try to play Manning extended minutes behind this leaky Denver offensive line, and his brilliant NFL career could end like Humpty Dumpty, in a thousand ugly pieces.

Or did you miss the wicked shot to the chest that defensive end Damion Square gave Manning midway through the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ 27-20 victory against San Diego?

“I got a good welcome back to on-the-field football by somebody hitting me hard, and he left a little message as he was getting up,” Manning said Sunday, anticipating he would be very sore after leading four scoring drives in relief of Osweiler.

Manning has not consistently performed like a franchise quarterback in more than a year. His injured foot is too fragile, his arm too unreliable, his unsavory record of one-and-done in the playoffs too well-documented.

But Manning can be the best relief pitcher in the NFL. Could Mariano Rivera still finish the ninth inning for the New York Yankees at age 39, when he recorded 44 saves? There’s no