“He got me right in the chest”, Manning said.
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Has Denver hit upon the formula for success?
As critical as I have been of Manning’s declining play and the media’s treatment of him, I’m not going to pretend that he didn’t look good on Sunday.
With Peyton Manning entering Sunday’s game against the Chargers mid-game, this leaves a question mark on whom will start for the Denver Broncos in their first playoff game of the season.
Kubiak said he had no timeline to make a decision, but several Broncos players said following Sunday’s game they hoped, and expected, Kubiak to tell the team who the starting quarterback would be this week, possibly as soon as Thursday. Who will be the Denver Broncos starting quarterback in the playoffs? He made $3.25 million in the final year of a deal he signed with the Texans and is expected to fetch possibly around $10 million or more annually in free agency.
Ten teams had already booked their postseason tickets before Week 17, but most had plenty to play for in the form of home-field advantage and first-round byes.
The Jets controlled their own destiny, needing only a win to advance, but ex-coach Rex Ryan and the Bills played spoiler.
In the NFC, Carolina and Arizona had already locked up bye weeks, while Minnesota claimed the third seed and the NFC North title by beating Green Bay in the late game. although their reward is to face the red-hot Seattle Seahawks, who trumpeted their form by shelling the Cardinals 36-6 in Arizona.
But before I do, I will note that I know the majority of fans did not play part in this. Osweiler has also proved he can scramble for yards when given the opportunity, rushing for 61 yards and a touchdown on 21 attempts.
For one thing, Manning didn’t disrupt what the team had been working on for more than a month – the quarterback behind center, lots of between-the-tackle runs and play-action passes off the fake handoff. And he did…something. After coming in halfway through the third quarter, following Denver’s fifth turnover, Manning wasn’t great, and he wasn’t bad.
The house-cleaning traditionally associated with the NFL’s Black Monday is already well underway.
GOODBYE CHARGERS: It may have been their last game as the San Diego Chargers. Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer out in Cleveland.
Miami GM Dennis Hickey joined early season coaching casualty Joe Philbin on the way out as the Dolphins look for a new direction, while other coaches likely to receive P45s inculde Indianapolis’s Chuck Pagano (pictured).
49ers 19, Rams 16 (OT): In Santa Clara, California, Phil Dawson kicked a 23-yard field goal 11:33 into overtime to lift San Francisco. This was a lost season – one in which Philip Rivers finished with 4,792 yards, only 10 short of the team’s single-season passing record (Dan Fouts), but the Chargers only mustered four wins.
The Titans are on the clock.
Here is the full order of the top 20 picks, with the remainder to be decided based on results in the play-offs. The Browns looking for an AWOL Johnny Manziel.
Manziel was not required to be at the season finale against Pittsburgh because he was recovering from a concussion.
“Football is the ultimate team sport”.
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Three years ago, they lost in the divisional round to the Baltimore Ravens in double overtime.
