4. Week 16: Denver Broncos vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 20-17 OT
Will this end up being the last significant moment of Brock Osweiler’s season? Quite possibly, but at least it was a good one.
What’s so interesting about this game, specifically the second half, was that it looked to be the defining moment of Osweiler’s young career; it looked as if they naysayers finally had come around. But then, just a week later, he’s pulled from the game following a C.J. Anderson fumble, and he may not see a significant snap the rest of the way.
If that really is how things play out, and Manning does lead this team throughout the playoffs, then the second half of the Bengals game will end up being the performance we point to all offseason as we prepare for the the 2016, Osweiler-led Broncos.
He really was great — not perfect, but clutch. For all intents and purposes, he drove Denver down the field on four scoring drives against a defense that was leading the league in points allowed; they wouldn’t have needed that final one if Brandon McManus hadn’t shanked the game-winning field goal at the end of the fourth quarter.
And the Bengals didn’t gift anything to him, either; Osweiler had to make some big-time throws in some big-time moments. Without him, they don’t win that game.
