November 15, 2015 was just another Broncos Sunday, but on this warm mid-November day, the course of the franchise took a dramatic turn. The three-and-a-half seasons prior featured the high scoring, aerial attack led by none other than Peyton Freaking Manning. There was lots of passing, a little bit of rushing, and a lot of points ticking up on the scoreboard at Sports Authority Field. However, after three seasons of playoff disappointment, the architect of the Broncos, John Elway decided that he had seen enough of the high flying, “Star Wars Offense”, and decided to bring back Gary Kubiak to install the same offense that helped an aging quarterback finally break through to the tune of two Super Bowl victories to close out his Hall of Fame career.
When Kubiak was hired, Manning said all the right things. He spoke fondly of the challenges of learning a new offensive system, he relished at the challenge of coming into camp leaner, and more mobile. He laughed at the notion that he couldn’t adapt to any style short of the Wing T; but at the end of the day, it was engrained deep down in Peyton Manning that he had to do it all.
For the entirety of his illustrious career, Manning had always had to carry the load; he must have had the strongest shoulders in the land, as his teams had always been on his back, as he did all the heavy lifting, lifting unbalanced and incapable teams to heights they could have never seen without the mastery of Peyton. The biggest knock on
Peyton always was the playoff failures; the one-and-done’s, the losing record in the big game, and the inability to capitalize on the always-great regular season success that Peyton Manning-led teams always had.
2015 was a different animal entirely. This team was not built for Peyton to carry, but was built to carry Peyton for perhaps the first time in his career. The Broncos attempted to put Manning directly into the scheme that has made Gary Kubiak such a successful play-caller for so many years, but it just didn’t work. Manning made a career of getting to the line of scrimmage, diagnosing the defense, putting his team in the best possible play to succeed, and exploiting the tenancies that the defense lead on. Kubiak wanted Manning in the huddle, executing plays that he called, and for Manning to read the defense post-snap. Manning was uncomfortable, and it showed in the first few weeks as the offense looked like it couldn’t score against a practice squad defense.
To top off the unfamiliarity of the new system, Manning also had a rapidly declining skill set. He was more immobile than ever before, the throws he once made look so easy, now sputtered to areas he didn’t intend for them to go to. For the first time in his storied career, Manning looked very very mortal. Manning was throwing interceptions at a record pace, and the touchdowns were not following. Despite all of the struggle, the team was still winning, but not in the same way they did in years past. Gone were the days of 42-24 victories; a blowout was simply out of the question. The defense was not only controlling the games, but they were bailing out Manning and the offense time and time again with timely turnovers when they needed them the very most. Gary Kubiak tried his hardest to incorporate what Manning was comfortable with to his system by putting Manning in the pistol, and not forcing him to go under center; something that Manning was very uncomfortable with. There were times where they had some success, such as the lone dominant offense performance of the season put on display against the Green Bay Packers. But on November 15, that all changed.
In the week leading up to the Kansas City game on the sunny November day, the legend Peyton Manning had a new problem entirely; an injury. Not only was he still uncomfortable in his new offense; not only was he experiencing his skills decline at a very rapid pace, but now he had a foot injury, which is never a friend to an already immobile, 39 year old quarterback. Foot injury or not, Manning was still out there on this franchise defining day, as Manning had never before sat out a game due to injury, aside from the lone season he sat out following his four neck surgeries.
On the second drive of the game, Manning would make history on a four yard pass to running back Ronnie Hillman. Manning was now 1-2 in the game, for four yards, with an interception already under his belt for the day, and his team trailed 7-0, as the Kansas City Chiefs had marched 50 yards for a score following the pick. However, Manning was now the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards. As Manning tried to get his team back to the line for another play, the officials stopped the game so that the crowd could acknowledge the historical feat that had just been accomplished. A visibly irritated Manning embraced the crowd, holding the ball over his head, and quickly tossing it to the sideline so it could find it’s way to Canton.
As the afternoon went on, the new leader in passing yards never relinquished the frustrated look on his face. More throws lead to more turnovers. The running game never opened up and Manning was determined to fire the ball all over the field as he had done for his entire career. The Chiefs intercepted Manning four times that day, and it could have been six or seven. One thing came into focus for Coach Kubiak that day; this style of play was no longer conducive to the formula that was going to win this team games, and give them a chance to compete for the ultimate prize; a Super Bowl Championship. Kubiak made a choice that afternoon as he reached into his bullpen. Enter Brock Osweiler.
By the time Osweiler entered the game, the damage had already been done. The game was way too far out of reach to think that a comeback was possible, but Osweiler showed enough in the closing quarter to warrant a changing of the guard moving forward. It was announced after the game that Osweiler would start the next week vs. the Bears, and that Manning simply wasn’t fit to return to game action with the foot injury. The Broncos called it an injury, but lets make no mistake, this was a benching. There is no doubt that Peyton was banged up, his foot hurt and it hurt his play, but it was the collective nature of the entire first half of the season that lead to the change to Osweiler. There was a formula that was clear for this team; play great defense, run the ball effectively, control the clock, and don’t turn the ball over, and Manning simply had not been able to take care of the football.
For weeks Manning rested his foot in a soft-cast that then progressed to a walking boot. He watched his protege lead the Broncos to wins over the Bears, the unbeaten Patriots, and the Chargers, only to stumble at home vs. the Raiders, and give up a gigantic halftime lead on the road vs. the Steelers. As he watched, he learned. From the sidelines, he saw the formula being executed by Osweiler, and then knew what it was going to take for him to make his way back onto the field one last time. He was going to have to let the team carry him, and for one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, this was as difficult a task as he could ever remember.
Manning watched Brock Osweiler win games, not by lighting up the scoreboard, but by merely not stepping outside of what this teams strengths were. Kubiak immediately put Brock under center, something Peyton did not want do often, as he was far more comfortable in the shotgun. They began to make a steadier
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commitment to running the football, and all the sudden the holes began to open up. Things were simpler on the line of scrimmage for this young offense line, as the play changed far less often with Brock at the helm. The throws were simple, and relatively risk-free, and turnovers dropped significantly. It’s not as if Brock was a better quarterback, as his football knowledge could never touch that of Manning’s, but he had simplified things, and followed the formula laid out by Gary Kubiak. For what the Broncos were trying to do, simpler was simply better.
As the foot healed, and Manning was able to watch from afar, he realized what he had to do. No more could he be the team, but he had to become merely a cog in the machine; someone to not screw it up. So when he was called back into action in the second half of the teams final game, with a number one seed on the line, Manning was prepared to execute the formula. During that game vs. the Chargers, and throughout the entirety of the storybook postseason, Manning operated within the formula that helped win Elway a pair of Super Bowls on his way out. The Broncos ran the ball a lot, even when it wasn’t working; they played great, opportunistic defense as they had all season long, they shortened the game, and the most important thing, Manning finally protected the ball. A punt–a word that sent shivers down his spine for the entirety of his professional career–was no longer a bad thing. Punts actually made it possible to gain the edge in the field position game; a punt allowed the strength of this team to get back onto the field. The defense was a monster that brought it’s greatness to an entirely new level. It was easy for a team to go 30 yards against the Bronocs for an occasional touchdown when they were aided by a Manning interception earlier in the year, but it was darn-near impossible to drive 80 yards on on this Broncos squad with any sort of consistency. For Manning, timely throws were necessary, but scoring 30 points was not. Manning learned how to value the possessions that he got, and learned to rely on the defense to get him the ball back for another try.
This turnover free formula was executed to a tee over the three game stretch that saw this team face three offensive juggernauts in the Steelers, Patriots, and the leagues highest scoring team, the Panthers. Had the Manning from early 2015 started those games, it would have been one and done for the Broncos. There was no room for error, and no room to let teams score easy points. The Broncos, a number one seed were home underdogs in the AFC Championship game, and
heavy underdogs in the Super Bowl as well. However, Manning knew exactly what he needed to do to beat the odds, and win the ultimate prize; follow the formula. He did just that, and by doing so, Manning became the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, passing his boss that laid out the blueprint for him to have that opportunity.
So why is this relevant now? 2016 offers a brand new roster, and a brand new set of challenges; 2016 also needs to follow the exact same formula for the team to put itself in a position to repeat as champions.
The Broncos currently find them with three quarterbacks battling to win the starting job. Whoever wins needs to understand what is going to be asked of him. He is going to be asked to follow that same formula that Peyton Manning followed a season ago after returning from injury. Handing the ball off is going to be a staple on offense, and a punt is almost never going to be a bad play with the same dominant defense on the other side.
John Elway focused this offseason on rebuilding what was a porous offensive line a year ago, and has seems to have succeeded. Running the ball shouldn’t be a problem this year, even though the team lining up on the other side will know it’s coming. The quarterback will be asked to make safe, efficient throws, and when the safeties creep up to help against the run, the quarterback must take the necessary shots down field and make the big plays; a staple of a Gary Kubiak offense.
But the biggest key for the quarterback that prevails will be to take care of the ball. The defense a season ago was simply incredible at bailing out Peyton Manning and the offense as he threw for 17 interceptions in nine games. A repeat performance like that cannot be counted on, no matter how good the defense is. If the Denver Broncos have a kryptonite this season, turnovers will be just that. The Broncos have a winning formula that they need to follow, possessions come at an absolute premium, and limiting the other teams possessions is a key.
Mark Sanchez, Trevor Siemian, and Paxton Lynch take notice, the one of you that protects the ball the best will probably be same guy running out of the tunnel September 8th to lead the team to battle against the Panthers.
Preseason starts Thursday; who else is ready to see what crazy twists and turns this quarterback competition is about to take?