USA TODAY International Edition
Broncos’ Manning dinged in win against Chargers
Quarterback fires four TD passes, ends with a limp
Peyton Manning crashed to the grass at Qualcomm Stadium late Sunday afternoon, driven to the ground when San Diego Chargers defensive end Corey Liuget wrapped up Manning’s legs.
Manning, the Denver Broncos’ 37year- old quarterback, immediately grasped at his right leg. He climbed to his feet, awkwardly took a few steps and went to his knees.
Yes, the Broncos won, beating their AFC West rivals 28- 20 and improving to 8- 1 heading into next week’s critical game against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. But little that happened in the first 10 weeks of the season, let alone the first 58 minutes of Sunday’s game, would matter much if Manning were seriously injured.
Manning, after spending a few moments screaming at officials who had charged Denver with a timeout, hobbled back to rejoin his teammates. Before he was hit, Manning completed a pass to wideout Demaryius Thomas, and the first down ensured the Broncos would be able to run out the clock. He handed the ball off twice to running back Knowshon Moreno and twice took a knee to end the game.
Manning will have an MRI today after the Broncos return to Denver, though Manning declined to reveal which leg or which part of his body would be checked out.
“I’m pretty sore. Pretty sore,” he said. “They kind of got me twice, in that lower area.”
Manning had an MRI on his ankle two weeks ago and wound up missing one practice before the Broncos’ Week 8 victory against the Washington Redskins. He didn’t practice during the bye week and was not limited in practices leading up to the game in San Diego.
Manning said today’s MRI would serve as kind of an update to that earlier test — and he was hoping it would reveal no damage. But Manning paused before answering the final question of his nine- minute news conference.
Was he confident he’d be able to play next week against Kansas City?
“I certainly plan on it,” he said.
The Chiefs ( 9- 0), who had a bye Sunday, have played backup quarterbacks from the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills. Denver’s backup quarterback is Brock Osweiler, a secondround pick in 2012 whose only regular- season experience has been limited minutes in garbage time of blowout wins.
Osweiler appeared ready to come in for the final few snaps against the Chargers, but Manning didn’t leave the field.
“I didn’t think we were going to be running any sprint- outs or naked bootlegs at that point,” Manning said. “So I felt OK to stay in and finish it out.”
Denver left tackle Chris Clark, sitting in his locker in the back corner of the visitors locker room, needed a couple of moments to try to describe what it felt like to see Manning take such a hard hit.
“No matter whose guy it was, it doesn’t matter. We all take it upon ourselves. We can’t let that happen,” Clark said. “To see that happen, it’s just so devastating, and I don’t ever want to see that again. I’m sure the other guys feel the same way.”
Before Manning’s big hit, he threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns, including three to Thomas and one to tight end Julius Thomas.
Manning was sacked twice, including a third- quarter hit in which he was chased down from behind and stripped of the ball — his fifth lost fumble of the season. The Chargers ( 4- 5) scored a touchdown two plays later to cut Denver’s lead to 28- 13 midway through the third quarter.
That was San Diego’s first touchdown of the game. Despite dominating time of possession in the first half ( 22: 29 to 7: 31 for Denver), the Chargers managed only two field goals on three scoring chances. One drive ended with a missed field goal attempt.
“As you go along, that’s critical. You’ve got to finish and get touchdowns,” Chargers first- year coach Mike McCoy said. “There are certain situations where you wish you could go back.”