Heading into a game against the 30th ranked pass defense in the league, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos needed a big day in the air to quiet the doubters and start getting the offense back into rhythm. But as the final whistle blew on a 16-10 Broncos win, there were more doubts than ever about the future of the Broncos offense with Manning at the helm.
Yes, the Broncos are 5-0 and have a (so-far) comfortable lead in the AFC West. But Sunday’s win against the Raiders marked the second game in which the Broncos did not score an offensive touchdown. What’s worse, Manning has now thrown more interceptions than touchdowns (a 7-to-6 ratio) and has been picked twice in each of his past two games. his passer rating declined again this week, a 62.3 effort following last week’s 68.9. In five games, Manning’s passer rating has been above 100 just once.
Things started with some promising plays for the Broncos quarterback, but as the game progressed Manning regressed, and the calls from the Denver media (and beyond) started to get louder about whether or not Manning has enough left in the tank to lead the team week in and week out.
Here’s how the dialogue about Manning unfolded on social media as the game played out in Oakland…
Horrible pass defense in Oakland, if Peyton is going to break out, today is the day.
— Gil Whiteley, Now and Then (@Gilfest) October 11, 2015
That almost looked like it was going to happen…
Peyton steps up under pressure and hits Sanders deep down field! #Broncos gain 43 yards
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) October 11, 2015
But Denver settled for no points through the first quarter – reinforcing a disturbing trend…
End of the first quarter, scoreless. Broncos still without a first-quarter touchdown this season.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 11, 2015
Minus one big play, Manning and the offense struggled throughout the first half.
Unless I'm missing something… and someone will tell me I'm wrong… but besides long pass to Sanders… #Raiders have dominated. #Broncos
— Eric Goodman (@EricGoodman) October 11, 2015
Manning wasn’t getting any help from a running game that couldn’t get going. (And never did; before the Broncos’ final possession, they had amassed less than 40 yards on the ground.)
The Broncos running game is absofarginlutely non-existent. . .
— Gil Whiteley, Now and Then (@Gilfest) October 11, 2015
Manning, as has been the case much of this year, couldn’t connect on deep targets, even when they were open…
Like seeing Manning take shots deep, just missed Emmanuel that time on the go route
— Arran Andersen (@arranandersen) October 11, 2015
The missed big plays led Manning back into a comfort zone that yielded little success…
Bubble screen. That's so 2013. Stop already. Please. And thanks.
— Mark Kiszla (@markkiszla) October 11, 2015
After his pick to Charles Woodson, the real doubt about Manning started to creep in along with some scary stats…
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/653323504222257152
It didn’t help that his receivers were failing to pull in catchable touchdown passes on multiple occasions…
Ronnie Hillman drops a TD pass that hits him in the numbers.
Demaryius Thomas drops a TD pass that bounces off his hands.
OAK 7, DEN 6
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) October 11, 2015
But Manning continued to struggle, throwing a second interception to Woodson…
If that PM pass was thrown with any more loft, it would have been mistaken for a hot air balloon. Bad pass.
— Les Shapiro (@LesShapiro) October 11, 2015
There was no protecting Manning, as the pass was simply a bad one…
For those who think it's Kubiak's offense that is main problem, that wounded duck INT is Exhibit A to prove you wrong.
— Mark Kiszla (@markkiszla) October 11, 2015
Even when things worked out in Denver’s favor, like a pass interference call on a crucial third down, it was in-part because Manning wasn’t on his game…
That throw was so bad it drew interference call. Brilliant by PM.
— Mark Kiszla (@markkiszla) October 11, 2015
Former Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth might have summed it up best with his tweet at the conclusion of the game…
But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a silver lining. Peyton Manning set a record (again) on Sunday…
With 248 pass yds so far, Broncos QB Peyton Manning has set an NFL record for most overall career pass yds (reg & postseason) w/ 77,707.
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) October 11, 2015
After the game, the team tweeted out picture of their postgame meal, which included chicken parmesan. An homage to Manning? Maybe they were expecting a big day for the QB like we were. Something tells us Manning went with the fish after this performance.
Postgame spread. pic.twitter.com/OzSZZBs3r0
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 12, 2015