5 reasons Broncos will not repeat as Super Bowl champions

2. An unknown at quarterback

On the surface, this may seem more like a reason Denver will repeat rather than a weakness in 2016. Most quarterbacks would be an improvement over Manning at this point, including Osweiler, who is the heavy favorite to take over the reigns next season.

Osweiler started seven games for Denver while Manning sat out with plantar fasciitis before being pulled in Week 17. The fourth-year backup to Manning completed 61 percent of his passes for close to 2,000 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions in the first real shot at playing time in his career.

There were certainly some flashes of ability from Osweiler during his stint as a starter, while he also struggled at times. For Denver to repeat as Super Bowl champions, Osweiler is going to have to show some improvement while also being consistent over the course of the entire season.

This year’s Denver team seems like it could have won with anybody this side of Matt Cassel at quarterback. However, it’s not reasonable to expect the Broncos’ defense to have another historically great run in 2016 given personnel changes and other factors.

That means the quarterback play has to improve significantly for the Broncos to repeat in Super Bowl LI. Osweiler has the ability to be a good NFL quarterback, it’s just a big step for an inexperienced signal caller to take and another hurdle working against the Broncos’ repeat chances.

Of course, Manning could still shock everybody and come back for another year without being cut, or there’s even a very slim chance the Broncos decide Osweiler is not the answer and look for a different option. In any case, the quarterback situation next year in Denver is going to be an unknown at best.

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