Peyton Manning watched the Broncos' 17-15 win over Chicago on Sunday somewhere in Denver. There's no telling when he will be back on the field with his teammates.
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak was predictably non-committal when asked whether fourth-year pro Brock Osweiler will start at quarterback again next week against the Patriots. This was his answer when asked about Osweiler starting again:
"I knew that was coming. Here's the deal- we got healthier here today. We've got some guys on this team that we're trying to get healthy, so that's important. And we won our eighth game. So we're going to focus on winning today and enjoy winning and we'll go back to work next week," Kubiak said.
That didn't tell us much, but you could read between the lines on other parts of his press conference.
"He can do everything," Kubiak said of Osweiler. "He's a very composed young man and the more he plays, I think, the better he's going to get."
Kubiak also noted the Broncos avoided the costly turnovers that the team (Manning) had in the past, and that Osweiler did a good job staying composed despite a lot of pass rush presser.
"He did his job, did a heck of a job and his team played well around him and that's the most important thing. Very proud of him, he was ready to go," Kubiak said.
Translation: It would be a shock if there was another Manning-Brady showdown in a week. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that we should expect an extended audition for Osweiler as the team tries to get Manning healthy. Sunday's result should only help Osweiler's case to keep the job.
