Peyton Manning not traveling with Denver Broncos to Chicago
By John Buhler
Peyton Manning will not make the trip to Chicago with the Denver Broncos, as head coach Gary Kubiak wants him to focus on recovery and rehabilitation.
According to Mike Klis of 9News, head coach of the Denver Broncos, Gary Kubiak, has excused injured starting quarterback Peyton Manning from traveling with the team to Chicago this weekend for their Week 11 match up against the improving 4-5 Chicago Bears.
After breaking Brett Favre’s passing record in the first quarter against AFC West rival Kansas City on Sunday, Peyton Manning’s play at quarterback bottomed-out almost instantaneously. The future NFL Hall of Famer had one more completion (five) than he had interceptions (four) before Kubiak benched Manning in favor of never-used backup Brock Osweiler. The Broncos lost to the Chiefs at home, 29-13.
This is not the type of distraction that Osweiler or the Broncos need. Osweiler is not only making his first NFL start on Sunday, which also happens to be his 25th birthday, but not having Manning in the same state as him because of plantar fasciitis does not bode well for the Broncos on Sunday.
Manning travels to see his alma mater, the University of Tennessee, play annually. Why can’t he get on a plane and support his teammates when they take on his former coaching staff in Chicago? That’s not really the boost of confidence young Osweiler needs.
Though Manning told Osweiler Monday per Klis, “Go win this game for us. If you need anything I’m here for you.”, being in a different time zone than your football team isn’t exactly being there for the Osweiler.
Denver’s offense has been a growing concern under Manning, as it has been the team’s defense that has kept them atop the AFC West standings. While Peyton Manning’s career is surely coming to a close, his leadership on Sunday could have helped Osweiler significantly.
30 teams in the NFL don’t know what Brock Osweiler is capable of at quarterback with the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, the two teams that do are Denver and Chicago, whose head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase drafted Osweiler out of Arizona State in the 2nd round of the 2012 NFL Draft, ahead of Nick Foles and Russell Wilson.
Since Manning is going to make the trip to Soldier Field, Osweiler’s backup is former Northwestern Wildcat Trevor Siemian. With the way that the Bears are playing for Fox, Gase, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, this could get ugly for the Broncos, especially if Bears quarterback Jay Cutler limits his turnovers.