Bell: Peyton Manning finally in sync with Broncos' offensive vision
DENVER – Peyton Manning won’t say I told you so.
Not here. Not now.
Yet shortly after the aging Denver Broncos star had his best game of the season in a Sunday night romp – outplaying reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers in a battle of unbeatens – Manning was surely tempted.
Would you blame him?
All season, the 18th for Manning, the narrative has pretty much concluded that he’s washed up, carried by the NFL’s best defense on a trip headed to another early playoff exit.
But that’s not all she wrote, after all.
“How can I say this, without hurting anybody’s feelings?” Manning said after passing for 340 yards and tying the NFL record for career victories by a quarterback (186) in the 29-10 statement against the Green Bay Packers. “I just don’t give what y’all say that much energy.
“I’m not going to pull a Jim Mora on you and say the famous, ‘You think you know, but you just don’t know and you never will.’ It’s a great line. I’m not saying that. I’ll say it at some point. It’s not the time now. I just have been very determined to get comfortable in this offense.”
What a fine time for Manning, 39, to have a retro performance. The Broncos inducted team owner Pat Bowlen into the team’s Ring of Fame at halftime, although Bowlen, stricken by Alzheimer’s disease, could not attend. During the weekend, they also honored the 1997 Super Bowl championship team – which, by the way, defeated the Packers for the crown.
So in addition to team architect John Elway, so many of the Broncos stars from the ‘90s – Shannon Sharpe, Terrell Davis and Rod Smith among them – were at Invesco Field. Even Mike Shanahan, who left with hard feelings, came back.
“Anytime you put your owner in the Ring of Fame, you have to win the game, right?” Manning said.
Right.
Yet this Broncos performance was most significant because of what it meant for the present – not the past.
Finally, the new offense installed by new coach Gary Kubiak (Elway’s former backup) operated like the unit he envisioned all along – with Manning leading the way, but getting much-needed help.
Denver rolled up an even 500 yards, and when that type of production is complemented by the NFL’s best defense (which flustered Rodgers and limited the Pack to 140 net yards), it lends credence to the notion that the Broncos might indeed be able to win a big one with Manning.
Of course, this was one night. The New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals are the two other AFC teams that match Denver’s 7-0 start. There’s a lot of football left.
But for the first time this season, the Broncos put together the complete package that showed the formula that it will take to make a serious championship run.
It’s funny to think that an undefeated team can get a confidence boost about now, but given the struggles that have been there for the offense, it was just that.
DeMarcus Ware, who had one of the three sacks on Rodgers, called it, “a big measuring stick.”
Especially for Manning, who entered the game tied for the NFL lead with 10 interceptions and dead-last among active throwers with a 72.5 pass efficiency rating (only since-released Ryan Mallett had a lower mark among qualifiers).
Kubiak said it is more a matter of Manning having confidence in the pieces around him as he adapts to a new offense, but that goes both ways.
In any event, Manning found his rhythm on his big night by repeatedly stinging the Packers with passes over the middle. If not Demayrius Thomas (8 catches, 168 yards) working slants and in-patterns, it was Owen Daniels or Virgil Green, the tight ends, working the seams.
Then you knew he was on, when he connected with Thomas on a 47-yard rainbow along the sideline to open the second quarter. Deep passes have been such a drag this season for Manning.
With that throw, Manning showed that there is still some deep accuracy left in his golden arm.
No, he didn’t throw a touchdown pass and he had another pick, on another throw to the sideline.
But those details didn’t define the game. Not when the running game came to life with 160 rushing yards, including 101 on 14 carries by C.J. Anderson. Like his quarterback, Anderson exploited the middle of the Packers defense on a 28-yard touchdown run. Ronnie Hillman, meanwhile, ran for two touchdowns.
This is what happens when a young, much-maligned offensive line plays its best game, opening holes for the backs and protecting Manning to the point that he was never sacked and generally had the time needed to scan the field.
“This doesn’t guarantee anything,” Manning cautioned, “but it proves what we are capable of when we execute.”
Afterward, Kubiak presented Bowlen’s wife, Annabel, with a game ball.
Surely, Manning will get a well-deserved game ball, too.
Although Manning played it cool, Ware shed some light on just how geared up his quarterback was to have a big game before the national TV audience.
Ware said that since coming to Denver, he’s established a ritual of encountering Manning and urging him to, “Show up and show out.”
Before Sunday’s game, though, it was Manning who sought out Ware to deliver that message.
It showed Ware that Manning was indeed in the right space.
Now it’s a matter of staying there.
Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.
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