The Broncos turned back to Peyton Manning at quarterback in the third quarter of Sunday’s game with the Chargers after San Diego took a 13-7 lead following Denver’s fifth turnover of the game.
The Broncos wouldn’t turn the ball over again and they’d outscore San Diego 20-7 the rest of the way to secure a 27-20 win and the top seed in the AFC playoffs. The turnaround wasn’t sparked by Manning’s right arm -- he was 5-of-9 for 69 yards -- but by holding onto the ball and strong running by C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman, which left Manning shrugging off credit after the game.
“I don’t know if I can -- sometimes those things are so easy to say after the fact because Ronnie made a good run and C.J. made a couple of good runs,” Manning said, via the Denver Post. “I’m not sure that had much to do with me being in there. I think just that the execution was better in the second half. Up front, they gave some bigger holes to run the ball. I can’t take credit for having a really good handoff, like I’m helping those guys hold onto the ball. I refuse to do that.”
Coach Gary Kubiak hasn’t made a call about who will start when the Broncos play their first postseason game and has sent different messages about the quarterback position at different points since Manning’s foot injury. What looked like Brock Osweiler’s job definitely appears to be back up in the air after a successful relief appearance on Sunday afternoon.
