Mile High Sports

Peyton Manning breaks passing record but has arguably his worst half in Denver

MHS Staff

Nov 15, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) fumbles the ball under pressure from Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Jaye Howard (96) during the first half at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Peyton Manning had to wait for history and the Denver Broncos had their worst first half of the season as they trailed the Kansas City Chiefs 19-0, looking like a team in complete disarray.

The Broncos received the ball first and on third and seven Manning underthrew Vernon Davis on the third play of the game. Marcus Peters turned it into a heartbreaking interception. Kansas City responded immediately with a five-play, 31-yard touchdown drive capped by a four-yard Charcandrick West touchdown run.

On his very next touch, Manning fumbled the football under pressure. Thankfully, Ronnie Hillman was there to scoop it up. Manning finally connected with Hillman on the next play, passing Brett Favre for the NFL’s all-time passing yards record.

Even with the pressure of the record-breaking pass behind him, Manning and the Broncos couldn’t get into rhythm, going three-and-out on their next two possessions.

Kansas City, meanwhile posted another three points and led 10-0.

Denver would finally earn a pair of first downs after trading punts, but Manning was intercepted for a second time, this time by Sean Smith. It’s hard to believe, but the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback was being booed by the home crowd in the very same quarter that he broke the NFL’s all-time passing record.

Early in the second quarter, Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos hit a 49-yard field goal to put Kansas City ahead 13-0.

Denver responded with another three-and-out. At the time, they had amassed just 29 yards of total offense on five possessions.

After finally getting a stop, Denver took over with 6:02 left on the clock. After just three plays, Manning had thrown yet another pick and the boos from the stands were impossible to ignore. On social media, the calls for Brock Osweiler couldn’t be ignored either.

Manning was called for an intentional grounding on the Broncos’ next possession. By the time Denver gave the ball back to Kansas City after yet another three-and-out, Manning had a passer rating of 0.0 and was just four-for-15 with 30 yards passing.

To add insult to injury, Alex Smith led Kansas City on a 12-play, 46-yard scoring drive to ice the half and send the Broncos to the locker room to lick their wounds.

When it was all said and done, Denver trailed 19-0. It was the first time the Broncos have been shut out in the first half of a game since Jan. 1, 2012. Coincidentally, it was against Kansas City.

Here’s what all of the first-half storylines looked like as they unfolded on social media via the Mile High Sports team and the greater-Denver media:

Manning picked on first passing attempt…

Manning fumbles on his next touch…

Manning passes Favre, finally…

https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/666008198504013824

But Manning wasn’t the only one having a tough start. The defense also lost its first quarter edge…

The rest of the offense didn’t do much to help…

Just how bad did things get for Manning?

And the calls for Brock ensued…

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