Peyton not ready to play
Osweiler will make sixth start at QB Monday vs. Cincy.
For ENGLEWOOD, COLO.— the first time since taking over Denver’s offense from an injured Peyton Manning, Brock Osweiler made it clear he has no intention of giving up his gig very easily.
Osweiler will make his sixth straight start for the Broncos (10-4) when they host the Bengals (11-3) on Monday night.
Since he took over for Manning in the third quarter against Kansas City on Nov. 15, Osweiler has insisted that this job is still Manning’s and so is this team.
However, he acknowledgedWednesday that his mentality all along has been to make any decision tough on the coaches if and when Manning is healthy enough to return from a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.
“I think that’s any athlete’s mindset,” Osweiler said. “You know, once you get your feet on the field, you don’t want to go back to the bench, if you will.
“So, you’re always out there trying to prove something. You’re always trying to prove to your teammates that you’re capable of getting the job done. You’re trying to prove things to your coaching staff and you’re trying to prove things to the fan base.
“You always want to put forward your best foot.”
That’s something Manning, the league’s only five-time MVP, just isn’t capable of doing yet.
Manning returned to practice last week, but only for two days. He was too sore to practice Friday. Although coach Gary Kubiak refused to characterize it as a setback, he did put it this way: “the progress stopped last Thursday.”
OnWednesday, Manning returned to practicing on his own at the team’s indoor facility, something he did two weeks ago and what he’ll do the rest of this week.
“He just didn’t have a good day last Friday, so we just start the process over again this week,” Kubiak said. “I’m going to have him working inside because I think that’s what’s best. I like that routine, so that’s what we’re going to do this week. Hopefully we can make progress each and every day.”
Asked if he could say Osweiler would start next week against San Diego, Kubiak replied, “Brock is our starter moving forward and we’re trying to get Peyton healthy. That’s where we’re at.”