Bell: Balanced Broncos running well without Peyton Manning
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Gary Kubiak, the coach with the big quarterback quandary looming, stood right up Monday afternoon to set the record straight.
No, it wasn’t a declaration for January — assuming Peyton Manning is healthy and Brock Osweiler is still humming — but it was revealing in another sense.
Did Osweiler change the play?
“We just called it, called it off, talked about it, called it back on,” Kubiak said of the 48-yard overtime touchdown run by Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson that ended the New England Patriots' undefeated season Sunday night. “Does that make any sense?”
Of course it does. Especially when it works.
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Osweiler had his big throws. But just as significantly, Denver won with Kubiak’s system exploding with a prolific running game.
The Broncos have produced their two biggest rushing games of the season the past two games with Osweiler, 25, filling in for injured Manning. After pounding out 170 yards against the Chicago Bears, they ripped off 179 yards against New England, including a 19-yard TD by Ronnie Hillman on the same type of toss play, but to the opposite side, as Anderson’s game-clinching run.
All of a sudden, without Manning, the running game is clicking. This does not strike me as a coincidence.
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Manning has surely made some clutch run-checks over the years (ask Edgerrin James or Joseph Addai) on top of all of his passing records. Yet given how this season has progressed, I’m wondering whether Manning, who had gotten to the point of taking virtually all of his snaps from the shotgun or pistol formations, would have even been in position to run the same toss play to Anderson.
That’s the strategic quandary that might really underscore the decision to reinsert Manning if he returns to full strength from a partially torn plantar fascia.
Giving Manning, 39, his job back when he is healthy would be the right thing to do. Manning’s mind, which Osweiler lauded as an assisting factor Sunday, would be a terrible thing to waste. And if he can throw with zip and avoid the interceptions that have dogged him this year? So much the better.
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Manning, with his left foot still in a cast, won’t be back for Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers. On Monday, Kubiak wouldn’t put a timetable on it, but alluded to the rehab that will follow after the cast is removed.
Whenever Manning returns, will the five-time NFL MVP be willing and able to roll with more snaps under center? No doubt, he can run any system from a mental standpoint. He’s a team player. He wants to win. Taking snaps under center, though, will require mobility and conceivably add stress on a rehabbed foot.
How this plays out will be an intriguing subplot for a Manning return to an evolving offense.
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Meanwhile, Osweiler threw just one interception in winning his two starts, which is so essential in complementing a Wade Phillips-infused defense that is one of the best in the league.
At the moment, at least, the formula is working. Manning can dissect the reasons better than the rest of us, but it’s also evident that the results on the ground the past two games flow with the vision of Kubiak’s system. And think how that would look in January. There’s nothing like bringing an all-weather run game to lean on during the playoffs.
Osweiler looks every bit the quarterback of the future, groomed the right way and proving that John Elway knows a thing or two about spotting passers. But that is all bolstered by a suddenly balanced offense.
Manning or Osweiler?
Kubiak mentioned Monday that Manning is “the No. 1 guy I’m talking to on a regular basis” about the looming quarterback decision. That sounds like some major respect, coinciding with communication about the superstar's physical progress.
“He’s been great,” Kubiak said. “His frame of mind has been really good.”
That’s a good thing, because whenever Manning comes back, it could be a different world.
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Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell
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